Quitman County farmers eligible for emergency loans after winter storm

Quitman County farmers now have a federal financing option after January’s severe winter storm, with USDA emergency farm loans open to producers who suffered substantial damage or loss and cannot get enough credit elsewhere. The county was listed as an eligible contiguous county under the disaster declaration tied to the Jan. 23-27 storm, giving local growers a path to recover equipment, livestock and operating cash.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency said applications are due Dec. 10, 2026. The loans can cover up to 100% of actual production or physical losses, with a cap of $500,000, and can be used to replace essential items, reorganize a farm operation or refinance certain debts. Local USDA Service Centers are handling notice-of-loss questions and eligibility help.

For Quitman County, the program matters because agriculture remains a large part of the local economy. The USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 224 farms in the county, with 182,110 acres in farms and $84.764 million in market value of products sold. Soybeans, cotton and corn rank among the county’s top crops by acreage, which means damage to fields, stored supplies, farm machinery or access roads can quickly hit cash flow during planting and repayment season.

The storm’s impact has not been limited to a single county or a single week. FEMA approved a major disaster declaration for Mississippi on Feb. 6, 2026, for the winter storm that struck Jan. 23-27, opening the door for federal recovery efforts across damaged parts of the state. In that declaration, Coahoma, DeSoto and Tunica were listed as primary counties, while Quitman was among the contiguous counties eligible for help.

State damage reports show why the federal response still matters months later. Mississippi State University Extension said the storm left thousands of acres of timber damaged or destroyed, adding more cleanup and financial strain for landowners. Extension also reported that by Feb. 4, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency had identified 438 homes, 30 businesses and 23 farms damaged or destroyed in 51 counties, while utility crews had cut outages to about 27,000 from a peak near 180,000.

For Delta producers, the June 4 USDA notice was less a routine announcement than a late-season relief window. With the deadline set for Dec. 10, Quitman County farmers who took a hit from the storm still have time to decide whether emergency credit can keep planting plans, payroll and recovery work on track.