Small businesses in the western Upper Peninsula have until May 25 to apply for loans to counteract the financial damage done by 2009's spring drought.
The
U.S. Small Business Administration is offering loans up to $2 million at 4 percent interest for terms of up to 30 years, through its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and many private non-profit organizations in Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron and Menominee counties are eligible.
The drought disaster area is those counties that border Wisconsin and were affected by drought that began March 1, 2009.
"These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in Wisconsin,"says Frank Skaggs, director of SBA's Field Operations Center East, which includes the U.P. "The SBA recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included."
The Secretary of Agriculture issued a disaster declaration for these areas, which is meant to help farmers recover from crop damage and losses, explains Skaggs. The SBA uses the same criteria, but for different applicants. While farmers and ranchers aren't eligible for the SBA loans, nurseries and other farm-related entities may be.
Eligibility is based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and financial resources, according to the SBA.
For more information on the disaster loans, or for application forms, call the SBA's Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 during business hours, or by sending an
e-mail.
Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA's website
here, and those affected by the disaster may apply for disaster loans from SBA's secure website
here.
The deadline by which complete loan applications must be returned to SBA is May 25.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Frank Skaggs, Small Business Administration
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