WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall today announced that farmers and ranchers in Colfax, Harding, Mora, Quay, San Miguel, Taos and Union counties will qualify for federal disaster relief from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) due to losses caused by drought and high winds that occurred in 2009.
The assistance includes FSA emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months to apply for emergency loan assistance.
"This aid is critical to farmers affected by the bad weather and high winds that occurred in 2009 in the northeast part of the state," Udall said. "I encourage our producers to apply for these benefits to help aid in the recovery of their New Mexico farmlands."
Colfax and Harding counties have been declared as primary natural disaster areas and Mora, Quay, San Miguel, Taos and Union Counties are named as contiguous disaster counties because of their proximity to the primary areas.