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Kasich: ‘It’s a terrible time for Ohio farmers’
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order Wednesday seeking assistance for Ohio farmers struggling through drought conditions that, for some areas, have led to total rainfall up to 9 inches below normal.
The governor and Agriculture Director Dave Daniels announced the steps, including potentially allowing producers to cut grass in state-owned rights-of-way along roads for use as livestock feed.
“The drought really has been frankly devastating to Ohio farmers,” the governor told an audience at the state fair Wednesday, noting that more than half of Ohio crops are rated either “poor” or “very poor” and 90 percent-plus of the state’s topsoil does not have sufficient moisture for crop growth.
The governor added, “We’ve had just terrible weather as it relates to our agricultural community. The heat is one thing, but when the heat does not bring rain, you have a real crisis. ... It’s a terrible time for Ohio farmers.”
The executive order, directs state officials to request assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a move that would allow farmers to access loan and other drought-related programs.
Kasich said the state also will consider other measures to assist producers, including temporary changes to truck load limits to allow livestock feed and other products to be moved throughout the state.
And he said the Ohio Department of Transportation is considering areas along state roads where farmers could harvest hay to feed to livestock.
“I think that we’ve all driven down some state highways where there’s 40-, 50-, 60-foot right of ways on either side that the state has been out mowing,” Daniels said.
“Hopefully, we can get permission on some of those from the director to allow farmers to go out with some equipment, make that cutting and roll that up....”
Daniels said the last time the state experienced this type of dry spell was in the late 1980s.
The Department of Agriculture and other state agencies are planning information sessions to help farmers understand the assistance programs that are available to them.