Anson was one of 13 new counties to be named as eligible for potential farmers’ disaster assistance following Hurricane Matthew.

On Nov. 22, President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in the state of North Carolina based on losses caused by Hurricane Matthew that occurred Oct. 4-5.

As a result of this major disaster, three North Carolina counties were declared eligible for federal disaster assistance, including Farm Service Agency emergency loans for eligible family farmers. Those primary disaster counties are Montgomery, New Hanover and Pamlico.

In addition to those three primary disaster counties, 13 additional North Carolina counties are named as contiguous counties where eligible family farmers may qualify for FSA EM loan assistance, in accordance with Section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Those counties are: Anson, Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Davidson, Hyde, Moore, Pender, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan and Stanly.

Tiffany Ariel, executive director of the Anson County FSA, said that effective Nov. 22, 2016, farmers in Anson County may apply for EM loans for physical and production losses. July 24, 2017 is the deadline for filing an application.

The county office is located at 1758 Morven Road, Wadesboro and has office hours of 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Ariel said that any farmer who suffered a physical and production loss should contact her office for additional information.

For the Record