Pres. Donald Trump has designated 11 counties in Mississippi as primary natural disaster areas due to storm damages April 22-23.

Livestock and farming producers who suffered losses caused by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding on these dates may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency emergency loans in the following affected counties: Lawrence, Amite, Pike, Jefferson Davis, Claiborne, Covington, George, Jones, Simpson, Smith and Wayne.

The natural disaster designation allows FSA to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disaster losses. The emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including replacement of essential equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinancing of certain debts.

Producers in contiguous counties are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. These counties are Lincoln, Copiah, Franklin, Walthall, Clarke, Forrest, Greene, Hinds, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Newton, Perry, Rankin, Scott, Stone, Warren and Wilkinson.

Deadline to apply for these loans is March 9. FSA will review loan applications on the basis of extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

Interested parties can contact their local USDA service centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Offices can be located online at https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov.

Additional information is also available online at www.farmers.gov/recover.