Farmers in Maricopa County are now eligible for drought relief loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In March, three Arizona counties bordering Nevada and California qualified for emergency loans to cope with the drought.
Now, the USDA has designated Yuma County as a natural disaster area due to farm loss from the recent drought.
In a release, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says his heart goes out to Arizona farmers and ranchers, and the USDA stands with the affected communities.
But, Yuma farmer David Sharp says most of his county is irrigated farmland, and would not be affected by this declaration.
“The rangelands is what would fall under the drought condition and in Yuma county there is nobody grazing on open rangeland," Sharp said. "Really, it’s a non-issue”
Because Maricopa and Pima counties border Yuma, farmers and ranchers in those counties also qualify for natural disaster loans.
