SALEM, Ohio — Drought-affected farmers in Ohio could get extra financial help from the state if a new piece of legislation can make its way quickly through the state legislature’s lame-duck session.
House Bill 683, introduced by state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, on Oct. 29, would give $10 million to soil and water conservation districts to spend on drought relief. The House Finance Committee unanimously approved the bill on Nov. 26; it now goes to the full House for a vote.
This money will fill gaps in disaster relief funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“It’s time for the state to act,” Jones said, during his testimony on the bill during a Nov. 20 Finance Committee meeting. “As a farmer from southeast Ohio, I can tell you that we are the last people who would ask for help, and we are asking.”
The USDA has declared more than half of Ohio’s counties as primary natural disaster areas due to the drought since September.
The southeastern corner of the state, which is dominated by livestock and forage production, has been especially hard hit by the drought.
While recent rains have improved conditions, it’s too little too late for many farmers. Most farms in the region did not get a second or third cutting of hay, while also being forced to tap into winter hay stores early after their pastures dried up without rain. Farmers have also been hauling water to their livestock, and to ease the burden heading into the winter months, some producers have sold off livestock.
This USDA’s disaster designation allows producers in these counties to get emergency loans and other financial assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. This includes the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, which compensates farmers for grazing losses, and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program, which compensates producers for above-normal costs of hauling water and feeding livestock. The USDA also recently authorized emergency haying and grazing on conservation program acres to help drought-impacted producers.
While these programs are helpful, they can take time to get into and may not cover all the costs farmers are taking on due to program restrictions.
“I’ve spent money I never planned to,” Jones said. He runs a farm in Harrison County with about 30 head of cattle. Jones said during the hearing that he spent $12,000 buying hay this year and received $4,460 from the USDA.
“It is my fear that $10 million will not be enough, but with respect to state revenues, I’ve tried to ask for the lowest possible amount,” Jones said.
Jones recognized that most of the state has been dry, but the emergency funding would focus on farmers in the southeast. While these producers may be involved in the USDA’s conservation programs, few of them participate in safety net programs like federal crop insurance or even the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which covers forages.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, the Ohio Treasurer’s Office and Ohio Chamber of Commerce also testified in favor of the bill.
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