The U.S. Ag Secretary has declared 42 Iowa counties are disaster areas “due to damage and losses caused by drought and excessive heat.”
More than half of all the counties in the United States have now been designed as agricultural disaster areas because of this year’s brutal weather conditions. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has also opened up more Conservation Reserve Acres for livestock haying and grazing. It means 3.8 million acres of CRP ground across the country can now be used by livestock farmers who’ve seen their pastures dry up and haven’t been able to find enough hay for their livestock.
In addition, the U.S.D.A. announced that crop insurance companies have agreed to give farmers an extra 30 days to make their 2012 premium payments without being charged a penalty for paying late.
Here’s the list of Iowa counties that have just been declared disaster areas: Appanoose, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, Tama, Van Buren, Wapello, Wayne.