USDA Designates 68 Arkansas Counties Primary Natural Disaster Areas
Decision Allows Farmers and Ranchers to Apply for USDA Assistance
The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated 68 counties in Arkansas primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from June 1, 2006, and continuing.
| Arkansas |
Lincoln |
| Ashley |
Little River |
| Baxter |
Logan |
| Benton |
Lonoke |
| Boone |
Madison |
| Bradley |
Marion |
| Calhoun |
Miller |
| Carroll |
Mississippi |
| Chicot |
Monroe |
| Clark |
Montgomery |
| Cleburne |
Nevada |
| Cleveland |
Newton |
| Columbia |
Ouachita |
| Conway |
Perry |
| Crawford |
Phillips |
| Crittenden |
Pike |
| Cross |
Polk |
| Dallas |
Pope |
| Desha |
Prairie |
| Drew |
Pulaski |
| Faulkner |
Saline |
| Franklin |
Scott |
| Garland |
Searcy |
| Grant |
Sebastian |
| Hempstead |
Sevier |
| Hot Spring |
Sharp |
| Howard |
St. Francis |
| Independence |
Stone |
| Jackson |
Union |
| Jefferson |
Van Buren |
| Johnson |
Washington |
| Lafayette |
White |
| Lawrence |
Woodruff |
| Lee |
Yell |
Also eligible because they are contiguous are the following counties:
| Craighead |
Izard |
| Fulton |
Poinsett |
| Greene |
Randolph |
The following counties in the adjacent states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas are also eligible.
Louisiana
Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, East Carroll, Morehouse, Union, West Carroll, and Webster counties.
Mississippi
Bolivar, Coahoma, De Soto, Issaquena, Tunica and Washington counties.
Missouri
Barry, Dunklin, McDonald, Oregon, Ozark,Pemiscot, Stone and Taney counties.
Oklahoma
Adair, Delaware, Le Flore, McCurtain and Sequoyah counties.
Tennessee
Dyer, Lauderdale, Shelby and Tipton counties.
Texas
Bowie and Cass counties.
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on.Dec. 14, 2006, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
Interested farmers may contact their local FSA office or go to http://www.fsa.usda.gov. for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Michelle Kitchens, Legislative Research Coordinator, (501) 228-1324.
Livestock Drought Assistance Grant
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided block grants to states to help livestock producers in 20 states. Arkansas has received $2.0 million under this program for distribution to livestock producers in 39 counties. The counties were selected by USDA using data from the Drought Monitor operated by the National Drought Mitigation Center at Lincoln, Nebraska.
Eligible Arkansas counties include:
| Arkansas |
Ashley |
| Benton |
Bradley |
| Carroll |
Chicot |
| Clark |
Conway |
| Crawford |
Desha |
| Drew |
Faulkner |
| Franklin |
Garland |
| Hempstead |
Hot Spring |
| Howard |
Jefferson |
| Johnson |
Lincoln |
| Little River |
Logan |
| Madison |
Miller |
| Monroe |
Montgomery |
| Nevada |
Perry |
| Phillips |
Pike |
| Polk |
Pope |
| Pulaski |
Saline |
| Scott |
Sebastian |
| Sevier |
Washington |
| Yell |
|
The Arkansas Agriculture Department is administrating the Livestock Assistance Grant Program. Producers must have suffered production losses and owned eligible livestock during March 7, 2006 – August 31, 2006. Payment rates will be based on standard animal units. The applications for participation must be completed and a Federal W-9 Form attached and submitted to the Arkansas Agriculture Department on or before Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Once the total numbers of eligible livestock are claimed by all Arkansas applicants, the dollar amount per animal unit will be determined.
Livestock producers can download the necessary forms below or pick up forms in the county Farm Bureau offices in the affected counties. Forms will also be available at the county Extension offices.
LAGP Program Explanation
LAGP Program Application Form
Federal W-9 Form
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jeffery Hall, Associate Director National Governmental Affairs, (501) 228-1842 or Travis Justice, Associate Director of Commodity and Regulatory Affairs at (501) 228-1211.
Conservation Reserve Program Payments
USDA will issue $1.7 billion in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments to participating producers for fiscal year 2005. Producers holding 694,226 contracts on 405,792 farms will receive an average of $48.18 per acre. Payments for new CRP acreage will be issued starting in October 2006 or October 2007, depending when contracts become effective.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns also announced that farmers and ranchers can re-enroll or extend CRP contracts expiring in 2007 through 2010.
For more information contact your local FSA office or go to http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
Contact: Rodney Baker (501) 228-1245
Requirement for Heavy Equipment Decal - Act 1693 of 2005
The AR Department of Finance and Administration has passed Emergency Rule 2005-04 to implement Act 1693 of 2005, concerning the collection of sales and use tax on heavy equipment. At the time of sale, heavy equipment dealers are required to affix a decal to the equipment indicating that either the sales tax has been paid or that the equipment is exempt from the tax.
Agricultural exemptions remain in tact; however, if you plan to purchase or sale equipment not covered by the agricultural exemption you will be required to have a decal on the equipment.
Act 1693 of 2005 & Emergency Rule
A public hearing will be held Thurs., Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 2330 of the Joel Ledbetter Building at 1800 W. 7th St in Little Rock to receive comments on the rule to implement Act 1693 of 2005. Written comments may be submitted to John Theis, Assistant Commissioner of Revenue for Policy and Legal, Ledbetter Building-Room 2440, P. O. Box 1272, Little Rock, AR 72203-1272.
Government Benefits Website
The website, www.GovBenefits.gov, is being offered as a place to find government-funded benefit and assistance programs for which taxpayers may qualify. The government site is the result of cooperation among all the major federal agencies. A keyword search of “farmers” provides information about a dozen benefit programs for farmers and ranchers such as Farm Emergency Loans, Farmer and Rancher Interest Assistance Program, Farmers’ Tax Guide and Farm Storage Facility Loans.
USDA to offer electronic statements
USDA announced the availability of an electronic customer statement, as part of USDA's electronic government (eGovernment) initiative.
The Customer Statement allows USDA customers to view:
- Participation and application status in various conservation programs,
- Payments associated with commodity and conservation programs,
- Information on farm loans, and
- Conservation plan and land unit information.
Through the use of a USDA ID, only users will be able to see statements and business transactions with USDA. To view a Customer Statement, users can visit www.usda.gov and click on the Customer Statement button.