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The Emerald Ash Borer is to blame for emergency losses in Michigan that have affected three bordering Ohio counties. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated three Ohio counties as contiguous agricultural natural disaster areas, making nursery and tree production of Ash trees in those regions immediately eligible for USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) physical loss emergency loans.

On April 4, sixty-nine Michigan counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas due to damage and losses caused by the Emerald Ash Borer that occurred from February 2, 2007 and continuing. Fulton, Lucas and Williams counties in Ohio are eligible because they are contiguous.

Qualified nursery and wood lots in the three counties used for ash tree production are eligible for low-interest physical loss EM loans from the SBA and FSA, provided eligibility requirements are met. To qualify, farmers and nursery growers must be unable to obtain credit from commercial sources. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part or all of their actual losses. SBA and FSA will consider each loan application on its own merit, taking into account the extent of loss, ability to obtain other credit, security available and repayment ability.

USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers, including the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Interested farmers should contact their local FSA county office for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.