COLUMBUS — The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared five more Ohio counties as primary natural disaster areas due to drought on Oct. 21. Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas and Williams counties were added to the list that now contains 49 counties. The designation allows the USDA Farm Service Agency to extend emergency credit to farm operators in primary counties and contiguous counties. It also makes producers eligible for other FSA programs, like the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program and Tree Assistance Program.
The counties in the primary USDA natural disaster declaration are Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Defiance, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Gallia, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Harrison, Henry, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Lucas, Madison, Meigs, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Tuscarawas, Union, Vinton, Warren, Washington and Williams. Contiguous counties are also eligible for some aid.
Impacted producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options. Find a USDA Service Center near you at https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app.
