RICHMOND—Due to recent drought conditions, 22 Virginia localities have received natural disaster designations.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins declared Accomack, Caroline, Essex, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland counties drought disaster areas, and farmers in those localities are eligible for emergency assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency. Farmers in Fairfax, Gloucester, Hanover, James City, Mathews, New Kent, Northampton, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties and the city of Alexandria also are eligible for FSA drought emergency loans.

Farmers in eligible localities have eight months from the date of disaster declaration, March 25, to apply for emergency loans.

For more information on available assistance programs and the application process, visit the Virginia FSA website.

Media: Contact Mike Wallace, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services director of communications, at 804-786-1904.