BANGOR – Dave Lavway, executive director of USDA’s Farm Service in Maine, has announced that President George Bush declared a major disaster exists in the state and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by a severe storms and flooding beginning May 12 and continuing.

York County was designated as primary disaster areas on May 25. Also eligible because they are contiguous are Cumberland and Oxford counties.

The designation makes all qualified farm operators eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the farm service, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

The agency will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. It has a variety of programs available, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Emergency Conservation Program, federal crop insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Interested farmers may contact their local USDA service centers for information on eligibility requirements and applications for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.