New England Farmers Hurt By Freezes Eligible for Loans

BOSTON (AP) — Federal authorities say Massachusetts farmers are now eligible to apply for low-interest emergency loans to make up for some of the losses caused by cold weather earlier this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated most of the state's mainland as a primary natural disaster area due to losses caused by frosts and freezes that occurred from February through early May.

Farmers in Suffolk County, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are also allowed to apply for loans because they are contiguous with the declared disaster area.

Farmers in New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont in counties contiguous with the affected Massachusetts counties are also eligible.

Farmers and ranchers have eight months to apply.