Thirty-six counties, including Lincoln County, have been designated by the United States Department of Agriculture as a primary natural disaster area as a result of damage and losses Feb. 15-18, 2021. These losses were caused by winter storms, excessive snow or ice, freeze, high winds, hail and/or excessive rain.

Producers in the area may be eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency emergency loans. The loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or refinancing of certain debts. Deadline to apply is Jan. 10, 2022. FSA will review loans based on extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

Counties in the primary natural disaster area are: Lincoln, Copiah, Franklin, Amite, Pike, Adams, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Coahoma, Covington, Holmes, Itawamba, Jones, Lee, Lowndes, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Simpson, Tippah, Union, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston and Yazoo.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures, call 601-833-9321 ext. 3307 (Lincoln and Franklin counties) or visit www.farmers.gov/recover. The Lincoln-Franklin County FSA is located at 1395 Johnny Johnson Drive, Suite A, Brookhaven.

Producers in the following contiguous counties may also apply: Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Walthall, Alcorn, Claiborne, DeSoto, Forrest, Grenada, Hinds, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jasper, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leake, Leflore, Madison, Newton, Noxubee, Perry, Quitman, Rankin, Sharkey, Smith, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tishomingo, Tunica, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Yalobusha.