An early October storm that swept through southern Marshall County contributed to a disaster declaration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in late November.

The declaration triggers farm aid to those hit by the storm, which brought intense hail and high winds to a swath of county farmland and homes and outbuildings in rural areas and in Frankfort and Vermillion.

The window of time in which producers are eligible for the disaster-related loans also includes earlier storms in September and August that may have affected area farms.

“Farmers in Marshall and Nemaha counties who suffered crop or livestock losses due to excessive rain, flash flooding, high winds and hail occurring Aug. 9 through Oct. 2 may now apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loans,” said FSA farm loan manager Kay A. McCoy, Seneca.

To be eligible for an emergency disaster loan, an applicant must be operating a family-size farm or ranch, must be unable to get credit elsewhere, and must have suffered a qualifying physical and/or production loss from the disaster.

Riley, Pottawatomie, Brown and Jackson counties also became eligible under existing legislation which provides that farmers in counties bordering on those that have been designated for disaster assistance, may also qualify for such assistance.

Brandon Wilson, executive director of the Marshall County Farm Service Agency, said the Oct. 2 storm, which started in Mitchell County, entered Marshall County west of Waterville and exited the county north of Vermillion.

“Generally, a county cannot be considered eligible for a secretarial disaster unless a major crop in that county experiences a 30 percent production loss,” Wilson said. “Countywide the crop losses were less than 10 percent for each major crop (corn, soybeans and grain sorghum). However, in this situation, a smaller number of producers experienced a much larger percent of total damage (100 percent in some instances), therefore extenuating circumstances existed and prompted the State Emergency Board and the governor’s office to request optional relief for producers in the four counties hit hardest by the storm.”

Applications for assistance will be accepted by FSA until July 27.

Loans covering physical and production losses are scheduled for repayment as rapidly as feasible, consistent with the applicant’s ability to pay.

Source - http://www.marysvilleonline.net/