Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced that the state of Indiana is requesting a U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial disaster designation for 88 counties due to losses caused by flooding and excessive rain this planting season.
“Heavy and persistent rainfall has saturated fields across the state, hurting Indiana crops and our farmers,†Gov. Holcomb said. “As I continue to monitor this situation, Hoosier farmers can rest assured that we will keep a close eye on the long-term effects of these relentless rains.â€
The request was made today in a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and signed by Gov. Holcomb, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Indiana Farm Service Agency Executive Director Steven Brown.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric 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 the state’s 92 counties, 88 counties have reported data meeting that threshold.
The designation would allow emergency low-interest loans to be made available to farmers. The low-interest financing can also be made to counties contiguous to counties in the disaster zone.
The counties included in the requested designation are:
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
Whitley
