The office of the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry has issued a request to Boards of Supervisors across Virginia. The request pertains to a new procedure for declaring localities as impacted by climatic disasters, particularly focusing on droughts.
Under this new procedure, if a Board of Supervisors determines that drought conditions have adversely affected the agricultural community in their locality and subsequently passes a resolution seeking disaster area designation, such resolutions are to be forwarded to the Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Currently, the individual serving as the Executive Director is Dr. Ronald Howell, Jr. You can access his contact information here.
While it’s still possible for the Governor to initiate USDA Secretarial disaster designations, the Secretary prefers that all resolutions requesting disaster designations for localities be directed to the FSA State Executive Director. This designation opens various funding opportunities for localities facing challenges, which are detailed on the USDA’s official website or can be quickly reviewed using this brochure. For more information regarding the disaster designation and declaration process, click here.
VACo Contact: James Hutzler