Farmers and ranchers affected by natural disasters can now receive faster and less burdensome assistance from the U.S. Department Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today improvements to the Secretarial disaster designation process that will reduce wait time by 40 percent, reduce interest rates from 3.75 to 2.25 percent and reduce rental rates on Conservation Reserve Program lands qualified for emergency haying and grazing.

“It is ever more important that we have the proper tools to act quickly and deliver assistance to our farmers and ranchers when they need it most,” said Vilsack. “By amending the Secretarial disaster designation, we’re creating a more efficient and effective process. And by delivering lower interest rates on Emergency Loans and providing greater flexibility for haying and grazing on CRP lands, we’re keeping more farmers in business and supporting our rural American communities through difficult times.

The improvements streamline the disaster designation process by automatically qualifying counties a disaster area once they are categorized by the U.S. Drought Monitor as being in a severe drought for eight consecutive weeks of the growing season. Governors and Indian Tribal councils are no longer required to send a letter to the Agriculture Secretary initiating a disaster designation; however, the same criteria currently being used to trigger a disaster designation will apply. The criteria includes showing a 30 percent production loss of at least one crop countywide, or a decision must be made by surveying producers to determine that other lending institutions are not able to provide emergency financing. Learn more.