Meigs Included in Counties Experiencing Drought
Meigs County is included in counties experiencing drought and farmers are eligible for help.
On Aug. 30, the USDA announced Meigs County along with other counties in West Virginia and Ohio was a natural disaster for the ongoing drought.
According to the USDA, “This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to farm operators in primary counties and those contiguous counties through FSA emergency loan assistance. 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. The deadline for producers in designated primary and contiguous counties to apply for loans is April 21, 2025.”
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 eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.
Meigs County, at least parts of it, has been in the D4 for weeks. Many farmers have noted having issues with their normal hay production. Also, many farmers have been feeding hay due to the condition of fields cattle normally would be grazing on and needing to water as creek beds and other natural water sources have dried up.
On Aug. 30, the USDA listed counties initially involved in the drought designation:
- In Ohio, the areas listed as “Contiguous” include Meigs and Gallia. In West Virginia, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Lewis, Lincoln, Nicholas, Raleigh, Ritchie, and Wood Counties were listed as Contiguous too. That means they can still get help too.
- Primary Counties listed in West Virginia are Mason, Calhoun, Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, Putnam, Roane and Wirt Counties.
On Sept. 3, the list was updated to be:
- In Ohio, Contiguous counties added are Adams, Brown, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Columbiana, Coshocton, Franklin, Greene, Lawrence, Licking, Scioto, Tuscarawas, and Union Counties. Meigs remains in the Contiguous category but remains eligible for help. In West Virginia, counties added are Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Mason, Ohio, Pleasants, Tyler, and Wetzel.
- Primary Counties listed in Ohio are Athens, Belmont, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia (which had been listed as Contiguous), Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Vinton and Washington Counties.
For more information, especially for farmers seeking assistance, see the following links: 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.
