President Donald Trump this week designated multiple counties in Mississippi as primary natural disaster areas.

Eleven counties were designated for storms and storm-related damage that occurred Feb. 10-18. Producers who suffered storm-related losses in the following counties may be eligible for emergency loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency: Attala, Carroll, Claiborne, Clay, Copiah, Grenada, Hinds, Holmes, Leflore, Warren and Yazoo.

Producers in the following contiguous counties are also eligible to apply: Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leake, Lowndes, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Oktibbeha, Rankin, Sharkey, Simpson, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Webster, Winston and Yalobusha.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is Dec. 23.

Six other counties were designated as a primary natural disaster area for losses from storms on April 12. These counties were Lawrence, Walthall, Clarke, Grenada, Jasper and Panola.

Producers in the following contiguous counties are also eligible to apply: Lincoln, Copiah, Jefferson Davis, Pike, Calhoun, Carroll, Jones, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Leflore, Marion, Montgomery, Newton, Quitman, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Wayne, Webster and Yalobusha.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is Jan. 8, 2021.

FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. FSA programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; and the Tree Assistance Program.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at www.farmers.gov/recover.