State drought relief funding available to farmers

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is announcing the sign-up period for farmers to apply for state drought relief funding began Feb. 15, 2025, and will close April 1, 2025. Extreme weather conditions throughout the spring and summer significantly impacted Ohio’s agricultural producers.

“When your livelihood depends on the weather, droughts can be devastating,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “This funding relief will ensure our farmers have access to additional resources that will help strengthen their operations.”

Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 54 into law in December of 2024, which allocated state funding to provide relief to producers who faced challenging, persistent conditions. The legislation was spearheaded by State Representative Don Jones (Freeport), former State Representative Jay Edwards (Nelsonville) and State Senator Brian Chavez (Marietta).

Local Soil and Water Conservation Districts will help administer the relief funding to 28 counties designated as primary natural disaster areas by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) between Aug.… Continue reading