The Small Business Administration announced economic-injury disaster loans for eligible businesses and other organizations in parts of four Midwestern states after drought began on July 11. The July 24 release said eligibility included small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofits with losses tied directly to the drought. The declaration identified affected counties in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota; it did not make every county in those states eligible. [story-s1]
The loans were designed to bridge operating obligations, not restore revenue. SBA said eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities could seek up to $2 million, with terms as long as 30 years. The stated interest rates were 4 percent for small businesses and 2.375 percent for private nonprofit organizations. Permitted uses included fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid absent the disaster; the agency explicitly said the loans were not intended to replace lost sales or profits. [story-s1]
The eligibility boundaries matter: SBA said it could not provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers or ranchers, except aquaculture enterprises, while nurseries could apply for drought-related economic injury. Applicants were directed to use declaration number 18019, and the release set March 18, 2024 as the application deadline. The announcement therefore described a targeted working-capital channel for demonstrated disaster-related injury, rather than broad agricultural relief or a grant for lost earnings. [story-s1]
Source documents
- SBA Working Capital Loan Available in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota Following Secretary of Agriculture Disaster Declaration for Droughthttps://www.sba.gov/article/2023/07/24/sba-working-capital-loan-available-wisconsin-illinois-iowa-minnesota-following-secretary-agriculture