TRENTON, NJ (CBS) — Gov. Christie announced on Friday that the U.S. government has granted a Natural Disaster Designation for 14 New Jersey counties following Superstorm Sandy, a snowstorm, a Nor’easter, a drought and other extreme weather between June 28 and Nov. 8, 2012.

The designation opens up additional relief options for farmers who lost crops or suffered structural damages in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Sussex and Warren Counties.

For counties to be designated as primary natural disaster areas, they must have sustained a 30 percent or greater production loss to a single crop due to the disaster. Nine counties were designated primary areas, while Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic and Warren counties were included as contiguous counties, still making them eligible to receive help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Farmers should contact their local FSA office for details. To find a local office, visit:
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=nj&agency=fsa

For more information on FSA’s disaster assistance programs, visit: www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=diap&topic=landing