Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Declares Drought Disaster in 11 Louisiana Parishes
By Avery J. Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau News
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declared 11 Louisiana parishes as primary natural disaster areas due to drought. Vilsack informed Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards of the declarations in a letter dated September 6, 2023.
“A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary areas and those parishes and counties contiguous to such primary areas eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loan assistance, provided eligibility requirements are met,” Vilsack wrote. “Farmers in eligible areas have 8 months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans.”
The Louisiana parishes named primary disaster areas are Caldwell, DeSoto, Franklin, Ouachita, Red River, Richland, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Washington and Winn.
Farmers and ranchers in 20 contiguous Louisiana parishes, 10 Mississippi counties and two counties in Texas also qualify for emergency loans.