Scurry County farmers may be able to get some financial relief due to the current drought situation.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated Scurry County as a contiguous county to receive disaster assistance. Also named as contiguous counties were Borden, Dawson and Fisher. Garza and Kent counties were listed as primary counties.
In a statement, the USDA designated the counties of the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, along with those along the Red River and in northeastern Texas. Also covered by the designation are counties in Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico that are contiguous with the Texas disaster zone.
Qualified farm and ranch operators will be eligible for emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency. Those operators have until Nov. 11 to apply for loans to help cover their losses. Each application will be judged on its own merits.
Scurry County is among the 31 counties listed in a severe drought stage this week by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Also listed in a severe drought stage are Borden, Fisher, Mitchell and Nolan counties while Garza and Kent counties are currently listed in an extreme drought stage.
According to the map, 24.8 percent of the state is drought-free, mainly in East Texas, and 14 percent is listed in the severe to extreme category. No areas of the state are listed in the exceptional drought stage, which is the highest of the five stages.
Scurry County has only received 0.87 of an inch of rain this year. No rain is in the forecast for the next seven days, according to the National Weather Service.
As of this morning, 91 of Texas’ 254 counties are under a burn ban, including Scurry, Borden, Fisher, Garza and Nolan.
The Texas A&M Forest Service has listed the county’s wildfire danger as extreme to high for today because of possible wind gusts reaching 30 mph.