Drought of ’24 leads to disaster declaration

As the worst Ohio drought in decades has continued to expand, 22 Ohio counties were declared a Primary Natural Disaster Area in early September.

This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to farm operators in primary counties and contiguous counties through FSA emergency loan assistance.  Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability. The deadline for producers in designated primary and contiguous counties to apply for loans is April 28, 2025.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.… Continue reading