Loans available for nonfarm businesses affected by drought

Gov. Jay Nixon announced Tuesday that the U.S. Small Business Administration will make low-interest disaster loans available to small, nonfarm businesses in all 114 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis due to the prolonged heat and drought.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available because of the statewide agricultural disaster declaration issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the governor's request.

Those eligible for loans are small, nonfarm businesses; small agricultural cooperatives; small businesses engaged in aquaculture; and most private not-for-profit organizations of any size. These businesses may qualify for loans of up to $2 million to help meet expenses that could have been met had damage from the drought not occurred.

The deadline to apply for the loans is March 18.

The disaster declaration issued last month by the USDA makes farmers and ranchers eligible for low-interest federal loans from the Farm Service Agency.

Applications are available online at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Disaster loan information and applications are also available from SBA's Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or visiting www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. The hearing-impaired may call 800-877-8339.