WASHINGTON — On September 23, 2020, the New Jersey State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency (FSA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), requested a primary county disaster designation for three New Jersey counties due to losses caused by high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Isaias that occurred from August 3 through August 4, 2020.
USDA reviewed the Loss Assessment Reports and determined that there were sufficient production losses to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation; therefore, I am designating all three counties as primary natural disaster areas. In accordance with section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, additional areas of your state and adjacent states are named as contiguous disaster counties. Enclosed you will find documentation that provides a detailed list of all primary and contiguous counties impacted by this disaster.
A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for certain assistance from FSA, provided eligibility requirements are met. This assistance includes FSA emergency loans. Farmers in eligible counties have 8 months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account 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.
Disaster Designation Areas for New Jersey and Contiguous States
Primary Counties:
New Jersey (3)
Morris Sussex Warren
Contiguous Counties:
New Jersey (5)
Essex Passaic Union
Hunterdon Somerset
In addition, in accordance with section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, counties in adjacent states are named as contiguous disaster areas. Those states, counties, and numbers are:
Contiguous Counties in Adjacent States:
New York (1)
Orange
Pennsylvania (4)
Bucks Monroe Northampton Pike
—Sonny Perdue , USDA