Missouri Governor Jay Nixon was in Northeast Missouri surveying drought conditions devastating crops and livestock throughout the state Tuesday, July 17th. During the visit, Nixon announced that USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has now designated all 114 Missouri counties as disaster areas due to the excess heat and lack of rain.
Yesterday, Nixon toured the Sharpe family farm near Ewing, Missouri and met with Greg Sharpe and other area farmers to assess the hardships they have faced so far during these extremely dry conditions. The Sharpe family farms 800 acres of corn and soybeans. Nixon also visited farmers near Tarkio and Bolivar.
A disaster designation allows eligible farmers to be considered for assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency, including FSA emergency loans.
I addition to keeping an eye on crops and livestock, producers should document any losses or additional costs experienced as a result of weather events, including drought. That information is often required for producers to be eligible for physical and/or production loss assistance from the FSA, as well as other assistance programs.
Missouri also has a hay directory for livestock producers as well as other information and resources online at MO.gov.
Hope is also available for southeast Iowa producers, as ten counties along the Iowa-Missouri border have been issued the same declaration. The counjties include Davis, Van Buren and Lee counties, as well as Appanoose, Decatur, Fremont, Page, Ringgold, Wayne and Taylor counties.
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