On March 1, 2021, Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack declared a natural disaster in the State of North Carolina based on production losses caused by excessive rain that occurred January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.  As a result of this natural disaster, three North Carolina counties were declared eligible for Federal disaster assistance, including Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency (EM) loans for eligible family farmers.  Those primary disaster counties are:

Carteret
Craven
Pamlico

In addition to those 3 primary disaster counties, 6 additional North Carolina counties are named as contiguous counties where eligible family farmers may qualify for FSA EM loan assistance, in accordance with Section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.  Those counties are:

Beaufort
Hyde
Jones
Lenoir
Onslow
Pitt

Mr. Grady said that effective March 1, 2021, farmers in Jones and Lenoir may apply for EM loans for production losses.  November 1, 2021 is the deadline for filing an application. The local office is located at 165 Agriculture Drive, Suite A, Kenansville, NC 28349 and has office hours of 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.  Mr. Grady said that any farmer who suffered a production loss should contact his/her office for additional information.