Due to losses caused by flooding and excessive rain this planting season, Governor Eric Holcomb is requesting that a U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial disaster designation be put in place for 88 Hoosier counties, including Starke, Marshall and Pulaski.
Officials report that National Oceanic and Administration data shows that the past 12 months have been the wettest on record in the United States.
A USDA disaster designation can be requested when at least 30 percent of one crop is damaged or lost in a county. Of Indiana’s 92 counties, only 4 counties didn’t report meeting that threshold.
The request was made in a letter which was submitted to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday. It was signed by Governor Holcomb, Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and Indiana Farm Service Agency Executive Director Steven Brown.
If granted, the designation would allow emergency low-interest loans to be made available to farmers. The low-interest financing can also be made to counties adjacent to counties in the disaster zone.
Governor Holcomb commented that as he continues to monitor the situation, Hoosier farmers can rest assured that officials will be keeping a close eye on the long-term effects of the relentless rains.
All counties listed in the designation request are listed below:
Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clark,Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, DeKalb, Delaware, Dubois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Franklin, Fulton, Gibson, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jasper, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Porter, Posey, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Ripley, Saint Joseph, Scott, Spencer, Starke, Steuben, Sullivan, Switzerland, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Union, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warrick, Washington, Wayne, Wells, White and Whitley.
