DES MOINES – Governor Reynolds today sent a letter co-signed with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig to Secretary Tom Vilsack at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting federal assistance for farmers whose properties were damaged or destroyed by severe weather on April 26-27, 2024. 

The governor issued the letter after being notified earlier in the day that a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration had been authorized by the White House, opening Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration programs to disaster-affected homeowners, renters, and businesses in eight counties. 

An excerpt from the letter to the USDA is included below: 

“Iowa farmers have been significantly impacted by these storms and require assistance to recover from these catastrophic damages and to rebuild and replace destroyed grain bins, farm equipment, and operational business losses.  Disaster assistance programs only offered through the Farm Service Agency following a Secretarial Designation, including the Farm Loans Program and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program, are needed to help Iowa farmers recover from these storms. 

“As a result, we respectfully request your consideration and prompt issuance of U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial Designation and activation of any and all eligible assistance for the following eight Iowa counties:  Clarke, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, and Union.” 

The letter can be read in its entirety online.