USDA designates 12 counties as disaster areas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 12 counties in northern and northwestern Minnesota as agricultural disaster areas.
The declaration means farmers in Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Beltrami, Clearwater, Itasca, Polk, Red Lake, St. Louis and Roseau counties will be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty last month requested the disaster designation because of excessive snow and rain, flooding and cool temperatures this past spring and summer.
According to a loss assessment report, the counties in the disaster area had crop losses of 30 percent or more because conditions prevented some planting of crops.
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