This from the Kokomo Tribune:
HOWARD COUNTY, IN- Howard, Miami and Tipton counties are part of a state request to secure a disaster designation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to losses caused by flooding and excessive rain this planting season. The request was made Friday for 88 counties in a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Indiana Farm Service Agency Executive Director Steven Brown. 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. In Howard and Miami counties, hay was the crop which allowed the county to request the disaster designation request. Howard County Extension Educator Mathias Ingle said after crunching the numbers, it appears that most of the area’s corn and soybeans were able to get planted. Mathias said if the disaster designation is approved and low-interest loans are made available, it could have a real impact on some farmers’ ability to survive this year. The disaster relief request comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week it would extend Indiana’s crop acreage reporting deadline to July 22. Farmers filing reports with Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices are encouraged to schedule an appointment before visiting the office, according to the agency. Acreage reports will be considered timely filed as long as appointments are set up before the July 22 deadline, even if the appointment itself occurs after the deadline.