Ohio – In response to severe drought conditions, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated six counties in Ohio as primary natural disaster areas. This designation, effective immediately, allows for emergency credit assistance to affected farm operators in both the primary and contiguous counties.
The counties identified in Ohio include Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Coshocton, and Hamilton. Neighboring states also saw drought-related impacts, with additional counties in Indiana and Kentucky qualifying as contiguous areas eligible for support.
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will extend emergency loan assistance to help farmers recover from this drought, which has been classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (Severe) drought intensity for eight or more consecutive weeks, or a D3 (Extreme) or D4 (Exceptional) drought. The loans can be used to replace essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganize farming operations, or refinance certain debts.
Farmers in the designated areas have until June 2, 2025, to apply for these emergency loans. The FSA will assess each application based on the extent of losses, available security, and repayment capability.
In addition to the primary counties, contiguous counties eligible for assistance include:
- Indiana: Dearborn, Franklin, and Union Counties.
- Kentucky: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, and Pendleton Counties.
- Ohio: Clinton, Guernsey, Highland, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Montgomery, Muskingum, Pike, Preble, Scioto, Tuscarawas, and Warren Counties.
Farmers seeking more information on available resources can visit farmers.gov for tools like the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool and the Loan Assistance Tool. They can also contact their local USDA Service Center to file a Notice of Loss or inquire about assistance programs.
