Low Income Loans

10/21/2008

There could be more disaster assistance available to Wisconsin farmers hard hit by summer floods as well as those who suffered from heavy winter frosts last winter.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved requests he made earlier to have three separate disaster declarations issued for a total of 45 Wisconsin counties.

Those include Door County, which lost some 98 percent of its cherry crop this year due to extreme cold and frost from last winter.

The disaster declarations will allow farms to obtain low income loans and other assistance for damage caused by extreme weather conditions, the governor said. In all, 46 of Wisconsin's 72 counties are eligible in one way or another.

The major declaration involves 24 counties eligible because of massive floods in the summer of 2008. They include Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green Lake, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Vernon, Walworth, Waukesha and Winnebago. Fifteen counties near disaster areas are also eligible, including Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Washington, Waupaca, Waushara and Wood.

The five primary counties eligible through the combined effects of frost, freeze, extreme cold and winterkill include Burnett, Lafayette, Polk, St. Croix, and Door. The 10 contiguous counties also eligible for assistance are Chippewa, Dunn, Grant, Green, Iowa, Pierce, Rusk, Sawyer, Washburn and Kewaunee.

Source: madison.com/tct/news