Some farmers eligible for disaster aid after January freeze
BATON ROUGE — Farmers in six Louisiana parishes are eligible for disaster aid to help with losses from a freeze from Jan. 16-18.
State agriculture commissioner Mike Strain said in a news release Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared West Baton Rouge parish a primary disaster area, and five adjacent parishes as contiguous disaster areas. Those are East Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, Iberville and Pointe Coupee parishes.
Farmers and ranchers in those parishes can apply for a variety of programs including low-interest emergency loans to help cover losses from the freeze.
The loans are available to those who can prove at least a 30 percent reduction in a primary crop, or possibly losses to quality, such as crop prices cut 30 percent because of damage.