Four Additional Ohio Counties Added Under USDA Natural Disaster Designations

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)?Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced that Williams County,?Fulton County,?Morrow County, and Union County have been added to the list of Ohio counties covered by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretarial disaster designations.

Earlier in the week, Governor DeWine encouraged farmers in 40 other Ohio counties to seek potential relief from the USDA following Secretarial disaster designations in their counties or contiguous counties due to rain, flooding, or other weather conditions.

In a new letter, dated July 31, 2019, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said there were sufficient production losses to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation that adds the Ohio counties of Williams, Fulton, Morrow, and Union to the list of Ohio counties covered by the disaster designations.

According to the USDA, a Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary and contiguous?counties?eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the Farm Service Agency, which may include FSA emergency loans.

In June, Governor DeWine?requested?a USDA Secretarial disaster designation for Ohio and met with farmers about the effects of heavy rainfall this year.

Farmers should contact their local FSA offices for additional information. Additional information on USDA?s disaster assistance program can be found at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

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