Emergency Farm Loan Applications Accepted

TYLER — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting applications for emergency farm loans due to the drought for the period beginning January 1, 2012, and continuing. Smith County Senior Farm Loan Officer Michelle King asks farmers who want to apply for emergency loans to submit their applications as soon as possible. The deadline for applications is March 12, 2013, but King says if farmers wait too long, a backlog will develop and cause delays. Officials say generally, farmers who have lost 30 percent of their production or sustained any physical loss due to drought are eligible for the emergency loans. The FSA office is located at 4209 Republic Drive in Tyler.