Gov. Evers Blasts Trump Administration for Leaving Behind Several Northern Wisconsin in Drought Disaster Declaration, Demands Correction

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today sent a letter to the Trump Administration urgently requesting that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designate eligible impacted Wisconsin counties that have experienced drought conditions in recent weeks as primary natural disaster areas due to drought. The governor notes that the Trump Administration recently designated only a handful of Wisconsin counties as being “primary” disaster areas. By failing to include at least nine other impacted and eligible counties across Northern Wisconsin, five of which have been experiencing extreme drought for nearly two months now, individuals in these communities have been left in the lurch and without the ability to access critical federal emergency loans and resources they desperately need to keep business afloat.

“The Trump Administration last month designated a handful of counties as being ‘primary’ disaster areas, failing to include nine other impacted and eligible counties across Northern Wisconsin, including five that have been experiencing extreme drought for nearly two months now. In so doing, the Trump Administration left Wisconsin farmers and small businesses in Wisconsin’s rural areas with economic uncertainty at a time when they are already experiencing soaring costs and economic volatility caused by President Donald J. Trump’s erratic tariff taxes and reckless trade wars,” Gov. Evers said in his letter to the Trump Administration.

“Farmers, growers, and small business owners across Northern Wisconsin are making difficult decisions right now about how to finance the months ahead and cover losses due to the prolonged drought conditions—and this is on top of the twin economic calamities the Trump Administration has created for Wisconsin’s farmers and producers,” Gov. Evers continued. “Every week without a drought designation is another week they make those decisions without the federal support for which many already qualify. I urge you to act on these requests swiftly and issue these drought designations without any further delay to ensure Wisconsin’s farmers and producers can get the support they need.”

As of the U.S. Drought Monitor map dated October 8, approximately 20 percent of Wisconsin is now in extreme drought or worse. Exceptional drought, the most severe category, now covers most of Iron and Ashland counties and half of Bayfield and Douglas counties. However, Douglas County was the only county to be designated as a primary natural disaster area by the Trump Administration. Wisconsin is currently experiencing the highest amount of exceptional drought at one time since the U.S. Drought Monitor was launched in the year 2000.

Additionally, the USDA designated Burnett, Pepin, Pierce, and Washburn counties as primary natural disaster areas, but 16 other Wisconsin counties meet all the primary disaster declaration criteria, yet none received a primary drought designation from the USDA at all. These 16 counties include: Ashland, Chippewa, Florence, Forest, Iron, Marinette, Oneida, Price, Vilas, Barron, Bayfield, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, and St. Croix.

In his letter, the governor also asked that the USDA designate Buffalo, Clark, Eau Claire, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, and Taylor counties, all of which have experienced drought conditions for the past seven weeks, as soon as they reach eight consecutive weeks in severe drought, which is anticipated to occur this week. Finally, the governor is requesting that USDA use its discretionary authority to designate Door County, which has experienced severe drought conditions for six of the past seven weeks and remains in moderate drought this week.

The USDA’s failure to include several qualifying counties in Northern Wisconsin as primary natural disaster areas is currently forcing local farmers, growers, and small business owners to make difficult decisions about how to finance the months ahead and cover losses due to the prolonged drought conditions. These communities are not only struggling under the environmental and economic strains of drought conditions but simultaneously facing economic uncertainty due to soaring costs, including sky-high diesel prices, and economic volatility caused by President Donald J. Trump’s erratic tariff taxes and reckless trade wars. Every week without a drought designation is another week they make those decisions without the federal support for which many already qualify.

The governor’s letter comes as President Trump and the Trump Administration have repeatedly come under fire for slashing funding for emergency preparedness and response at FEMA while also prioritizing Republican-run states to receive disaster relief. Recent reporting indicates that it is three times harder for Democratic-led states to get disaster funding under the Trump Administration than Republican-led states, with the Trump Administration rejecting disaster aid for Democratic-led states at the highest rate in the history of FEMA.

A transcript of the letter is available below.

Dear Secretary Rollins:

I write to request that the USDA designate additional Wisconsin counties as primary natural disaster areas due to drought.

The Trump Administration last month designated a handful of counties as being “primary” disaster areas, failing to include nine other impacted and eligible counties across Northern Wisconsin, including five that have been experiencing extreme drought for nearly two months now. In so doing, the Trump Administration left Wisconsin farmers and small businesses in Wisconsin’s rural areas with economic uncertainty at a time when they are already experiencing soaring costs and economic volatility caused by President Donald J. Trump’s erratic tariff taxes and reckless trade wars.

Farmers, growers, and small business owners across Northern Wisconsin are making difficult decisions right now about how to finance the months ahead and cover losses due to the prolonged drought conditions—and this is on top of the twin economic calamities the Trump Administration has created for Wisconsin’s farmers and producers. Every week without a drought designation is another week they make those decisions without the federal support for which many already qualify. I urge you to act on these requests swiftly and issue these drought designations without any further delay to ensure Wisconsin’s farmers and producers can get the support they need.

Last month, the USDA designated Burnett, Douglas, Pepin, Pierce, and Washburn counties as primary natural disaster areas (disaster designation number 2026N00002817), making emergency loans available to farmers in Northwestern Wisconsin. However, unfortunately, the Trump Administration did not include much of Northern Wisconsin, where the drought is now most severe. As of the U.S. Drought Monitor map dated Oct. 8, approximately 20 percent of our state is now in extreme drought or worse. Exceptional drought, the most severe category, now covers most of Iron and Ashland counties and half of Bayfield and Douglas counties.

Under 7 CFR 759.5(a), a county will be designated a disaster area when, during the growing season, any part of it reaches extreme drought (D3) or remains in severe drought (D2) for at least eight consecutive weeks. As of Oct. 8, nine Wisconsin counties meet that standard and have no drought designation from USDA at all: Ashland, Chippewa, Florence, Forest, Iron, Marinette, Oneida, Price, and Vilas. Five of these counties (Ashland, Iron, Oneida, Price, and Vilas) first reached extreme drought on the Aug. 18 Drought Monitor map, one week prior to the five counties that have already been designated. Months later, they are still waiting for the same designation. I ask that all nine of these counties be designated as primary natural disaster areas without further delay.

Seven more Wisconsin counties (Barron, Bayfield, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, and St. Croix) also meet the primary natural disaster drought designation standard in their own right but are covered today only because they are contiguous to a previously designated county. Bayfield, Rusk, and Sawyer counties have been in extreme drought since the Aug. 18 map; St. Croix County has now been in severe drought for nine consecutive weeks; and Barron, Dunn, and Polk counties have been in severe drought for eight consecutive weeks. I ask that these seven counties also be designated as primary natural disaster drought counties, which would also extend USDA support to farmers in the counties contiguous to them.

Finally, I am also asking for your assistance and attention to seven counties that have not yet reached the threshold, but where folks are feeling the same effects: Buffalo, Clark, Eau Claire, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, and Taylor. As of Oct. 8, each has been in severe drought for seven consecutive weeks. A farmer in one of these counties who is short on hay or paying to haul feed from further away is in the same position as many fellow Wisconsinites in designated counties. I ask that the USDA designate each of these counties as soon as it reaches eight consecutive weeks in severe drought, which is anticipated to occur this week, and, for any county that falls short, that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) carefully assess production losses under 7 CFR 759.5(b) and consider the discretionary authority granted to it under 7 CFR 759.5(d) and designate those counties as primary natural disaster areas to enable farmers in these counties to access emergency loans. I also ask that FSA use this discretionary authority to designate Door County, which has experienced severe drought conditions for six of the past seven weeks and remains in moderate drought this week.

Wisconsinites need and deserve expeditious action. Thank you for your swift and immediate attention to this important issue.

Cordially,

Tony Evers

Governor

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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