USDA provides loan assistance for Connecticut farms damaged by Irene

10/12/2011

The damage done by Tropical Storm Irene to Connecticut farms has resulted in their eligibility for USDA disaster loans, the News Times reports.

A total of seven counties were designated as "disaster areas" by Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, and farmers in each county can apply for emergency USDA loans and supplemental assistance through the state offices of the USDA Farm Service Agency.

"Many of our farms were hit hard by Irene and then suffered from the subsequent flooding," Governor Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. "These funds will help mitigate some of the damage sustained by those in Connecticut's critical agricultural sector."

Irv Silverman, who runs a 30-acre orchard store in Easton, told the news source that high winds knocked over about half of his 75 apple trees, causing more than $5,000 in damage. Apples that hit the ground can no longer be sold for eating or crushed into cider.

Additional assistance programs made available to farmers by the USDA include the Supplemental Revenue Assistance program and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.