Rock Island Today

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) announced that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has designated four counties in Illinois 17th Congressional District (McDonough, Mercer, Fulton, and Tazewell) as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought. This follows the Illinois Farm Service Agency (FSA) authorizing emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for numerous Illinois counties in response to Sorensen’s request that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiate the processfor Illinois livestock farmers. 

“Intense drought has hurt our farmers across Central and Northwestern Illinois, making it difficult to grow crops and support their families,” said Sorensen. “I am grateful to Secretary Vilsack for acting swiftly to help our state’s most impacted counties and I encourage all who quality to take advantage of these resources to support their farms and businesses.” 

The permitting emergency haying and grazing applies to every Illinois county except Clay, Edwards, Fayette, Gallatin, Hamilton, Lawrence, Macoupin, Montgomery, Richland, Saline, Wabash, Wayne, and White. 

According to the USDA, disaster designation from the secretary 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 disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, considering 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. To locate your local FSA office, click here. If you need assistance navigating these resources, please contact Congressman Sorensen’s Rock Island office at (309) 786-3406. 

Congressman Eric Sorensen is the first openly LGBTQ person elected to represent Illinois at the federal level and is a member of the New Democrat Coalition. He serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Prior to serving in Congress, Sorensen was a local meteorologist in Rockford and the Quad Cities for nearly 20 years. His district includes Illinois’ Quad Cities, Rockford, Peoria, and Bloomington-Normal.

Original source can be found here.