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The wheels are in motion to have portions of Ohio declared eligible for disaster assistance based on the effects of this summer’s drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering 72 Ohio counties for disaster declarations, said Larry Adams, Ohio's state executive director of the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The FSA data was accompanied by a letter from Gov. Bob Taft asking USDA Secretary Mike Johanns to approve the request.

USDA’s response may not be known for several weeks, according to Adams. Also unknown is whether all 72 counties or only some of them will be approved. Should all 72 counties be declared disaster areas, it would in effect apply to the entire state because under FSA rules, contiguous counties also receive the designation.

Being declared a disaster area is only a first step in an extended process, Adams said. "Producers won’t know officially if they qualify for help until harvest time because the assistance comes only after a proven loss," he said.

The assistance program mainly qualifies farmers for low interest federal loans. Rick Borland of the FSA said that in 2004 only two Ohio farmers applied for the program.

The real value of having counties declared disaster areas could come later on, according to OFBF’s Constance Jackson. "If Congress were to pass an ad hoc disaster program, eligibility is normally tied to county disaster declarations," she said.

Adams said his best advice for now is to keep good production records. "After harvest, in these disaster counties, when (farmers) go in, they have to prove their loss, and good records will help the whole process move smoothly."