COLUMBIA — Beaufort and Jasper counties are among 36 in South Carolina on a list of primary natural disaster areas, according to a letter from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack.
His action came in response to S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s request for the designation on Aug. 13, because the summer’s heavy rainfall had harmed crops and soil conditions for future harvests.
Vilsack’s decision allows farm operators in those counties to receive federal assistance, including low-interest emergency loans, if they meet other eligibility requirements.
“The Department of Agriculture has reviewed the (loss assessments) and has determined that there was sufficient production losses in 36 counties to warrant a secretarial disaster designation,” wrote Vilsack to South Carolina’s Republican governor on Wednesday.
“Therefore I am designating 36 counties as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by excessive rain that occurre from March 1, 2013, and continuing.”
South Carolina isn’t the only state to benefit.
Because counties in adjacent states are included as contiguous disaster areas, Effingham, Chatham, Burke, Richmond, Columbia and Screven counties in Georgia are also listed on Vilsack’s letter. And to the north, 14 counties in North Carolina are named as other contiguous disaster areas.
via Farmers in S.C., Ga., counties eligible for federal help | savannahnow.com.
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