Carroll Farmers Eligible for Drought Disaster Relief

On December 18, 2024, the Maryland State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency
(FSA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), requested a primary county disaster designation
for eight Maryland counties due to losses caused by drought and excessive heat that occurred
from June 11, 2024, through October 22, 2024.

USDA reviewed the loss assessment reports and determined that there were sufficient production
losses to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation. Therefore, I am designating all eight
counties as primary natural disaster areas. In accordance with Section 321(a) of the Consolidated
Farm and Rural Development Act, additional areas of your state and adjacent states are named as
contiguous disaster counties. Please see below for this listing/information.

A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties
contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for FSA emergency loan
assistance, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have 8 months
from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers
each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production
losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator.
Local FSA offices can provide affected farmers with further information.

Please use the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool for more info. To contact our local Carroll County FSA (Farm Service Agency) please visit them at 698 Corporate Center Ct #K Westminster, MD 21157 or call 410-848-2780

DISASTER DESIGNATION AREAS FOR MARYLAND AND CONTIGUOUS STATES
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Primary Counties:
Maryland (8)
Anne Arundel Calvert Dorchester Prince George’s
Baltimore Charles Harford St. Mary’s
Contiguous Counties:
Maryland (11)
Caroline Howard Queen Anne’s Wicomico
Carroll Kent Somerset Baltimore
Cecil Montgomery Talbot
Contiguous Counties and Areas in Adjacent States:
Delaware (1)
Sussex
District of Columbia (1)
District of Columbia
Pennsylvania (2)
Lancaster York
Virginia (6)
Fairfax Prince William Westmoreland
King George Stafford Alexandria