Areas across the country are seeing drought conditions due to the lack of significant rain amounts. (NOAA Photo)
(Jefferson City) – On Tuesday, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon asked US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to designate all 114 counties in Missouri as primary agricultural disaster areas. The designation would permit assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency to farmers in those counties that have suffered losses to crops and livestock as a result of the ongoing drought throughout the state.
On June 25, Gov. Nixon requested that the Farm Service Agency assess agricultural damage across the state due to the ongoing extremely dry conditions. The assessment found that 114 Missouri counties meet the disaster threshold of having losses of at least 30% of the estimated yield of a single crop, or where individual farmers suffer productions losses of more than 30%.
In Arkansas, Governor Mike Beebe asked for a designation to cover all 75 counties in Arkansas, citing the persistently dry conditions causing a severe drought designation for 88% of the state, and an extreme drought designation for 36% of the state.
Farmers and ranchers with any questions about the request or the loans it may provide should contact their local Farm Service Agency office.