USDA Designates 3 Indiana Counties and 6 Ohio Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 10, 2024 – This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.

Impacted Area: Indiana
Triggering Disaster:  Drought (Fast Track)
Application Deadline: May 30, 2025
Primary Counties Eligible: Dearborn, Franklin and Ripley
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Indiana – Decatur, Fayette, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Rush, Switzerland and Union Counties
Kentucky – Boone County
Ohio – Butler and Hamilton Counties

Impacted Area: Ohio
Triggering Disaster:  Drought (Fast Track)
Application Deadline: June 2, 2025
Primary Counties Eligible: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Coshocton and Hamilton Counties
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Ohio – Clinton, Guernsey, Highland, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Montgomery, Muskingum, Pike, Preble, Scioto, Tuscarawas and Warren Counties
Indiana – Dearborn, Franklin and Union Counties
Kentucky – Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Kenton, Lewis, Mason and Pendleton Counties 

More Resources

On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help you determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.