October is typically the driest month of the year in Georgia, but this fall, the Northwest Georgia region has experienced little to no rain.  As of last week, most of Chattooga County is now considered to be in the “exceptional drought” category per the U.S. Drought Monitor.  The rest of the county is considered “extreme drought”. 

To date, the area is over 7 inches behind normal rainfall.  Georgia’s State Climatologist Bill Murphey said that while the fall is often dry in the Peach State, this year it has been exceptionally dry.  U.S. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsak announced that farmers in Chattooga, Walker, Dade and Catoosa Counties were eligible for USDA disaster loans because of the drought.  The Department of Agriculture has since added more counties to the list that are eligible that include Bartow, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, and Whitfield Counties.

USDA FSA loans can be used to meet various recovery requirements, including replacing essential items such as farm equipment or livestock, reorganizing a farming operation, or refinancing specific loans. FSA reviews all loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability of applicants.