Vilsack designates 42 counties disaster areas
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has designated 42 counties in Iowa primary natural disaster areas because of a summer drought devastating crops and driving up corn and soybean prices.
Polk County was named a natural disaster area and Warren County was named a contiguous disaster county, along with 15 others, according to a release.
Farmers in these counties now have eight months to file a claim for emergency assistance from the Farm Service Agency, according to a release.
Gov. Terry Branstad said he asked Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, for the disaster declaration in the middle of July.
“This drought has had a significant impact on Iowa agriculture and the farmers who work hard every day to feed a growing world population,” Branstad said in a release. “This disaster designation will provide affected Iowans with additional resources during these difficult times.”
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said yesterday that Iowa needs to get more rain in order to have a healthy corn crop. Northey’s comments followed the release of a Department of Agriculture crop report showing that 37 percent of Iowa’s corn crop is in fair condition.
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