The US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonai Purdue, announced 18 Iowa counties of natural disasters on Thursday, making farmers eligible for federal aid in the wake of the effects of COVID-19 and derecho on August 10.
Purdue visited the damaged farm in Iowa on Thursday to assess the extent of the impact.
The Dirico Disaster Secretary of Disaster Announcement released on Thursday between Benton, Bonn, Cedar, Clinton, Dallas, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Lynn, Marshall, Polk, Bauch, Scott, Story, and Tama are the primary disaster zones.
Twenty-four contiguous counties are also eligible for disaster relief programs, including Adair, Audubon, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Butler, Kaiser, Delaware, Dubuque, Franklin, Green, Grundy, Iowa, Jackson, Keokuk, Louisa, Madison, and Mahaska. Marion, Muscatine, Warren, Washington, Webster, and Wright.
The declaration entitles farm operators to FSA assistance programs in primary and contiguous counties. Farmers and landlords can learn more about USDA disaster assistance programs by visiting the farm.gov/recover website or contacting your local USDA service center.
