Indiana Counties Get Drought Disaster Designation
By: Web Producer
Updated: January 3, 2008
USDA Gives 74 Indiana Counties Disaster Designation The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted Governor Mitch Daniels’ request for disaster designation for 74 Indiana counties due to extended drought conditions from June through October 2007. The designation was sought because the extreme dry weather caused damage to one or more crops. The disaster designation makes farmers eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). “While Indiana was spared the worst of the dry weather, many counties suffered from lack of rain,” said Indiana Agriculture Director Andy Miller. “A review of initial reports from Indiana FSA showed significant losses of pasture, corn, soybeans, wheat and hay, which prompted the Governor to ask for the disaster designation to provide assistance for Hoosier farmers who need it.”
USDA determined the following 74 counties received sufficient production losses to warrant primary disaster designation: 1. Adams 2. Allen 3. Bartholomew 4. Blackford 5. Brown 6. Clark 7. Clay 8. Crawford 9. Daviess 10. DeKalb 11. Dearborn 12. Decatur 13. Delaware 14. Dubois 15. Elkhart 16. Fayette 17. Floyd 18. Franklin 19. Fulton 20. Gibson 21. Grant 22. Greene 23. Hamilton 24. Hancock 25. Harrison 26. Hendricks 27. Henry 28. Howard 29. Huntington 30. Jackson 31. Jay 32. Jefferson 33. Jennings 34. Johnson 35. Knox 36. Kosciusko 37. Lagrange 38. Lawrence 39. Madison 40. Marion 41. Marshall 42. Martin 43. Miami 44. Monroe 45. Morgan 46. Noble 47. Ohio 48. Orange 49. Owen 50. Parke 51. Perry 52. Pike 53. Posey 54. Putnam 55. Randolph 56. Ripley 57. Rush 58. Scott 59. Shelby 60. Spencer 61. Steuben 62. Sullivan 63. Switzerland 64. Tipton 65. Union 66. Vanderburgh 67. Vermillion 68. Vigo 69. Wabash 70. Warrick 71. Washington 72. Wayne 73. Wells 74. Whitley The following 10 counties are named as contiguous disaster counties: 1. Boone 2. Carroll 3. Cass 4. Clinton 5. Fountain 6. Montgomery 7. Pulaski 8. St. Joseph 9. Starke 10. Warren
Farmers in primary and contiguous disaster areas may contact their local FSA office for further information on emergency loan programs. FSA will consider each application on its own merit by taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. The Indiana FSA office can be reached by calling 317-290-3030 or go to www.fsa.usda.gov and click on “State Offices.”

