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News Release: West Virginians eligible to receive cost-share funding to help with drought recovery - 9/24/25 |
posted by: Davin White |
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginians experiencing hardship due to drought conditions are eligible to receive cost-share funding to help with farm-related drought recovery through their local conservation districts. Districts may choose to offer cost-share assistance to help farmers pay for temporary fence, livestock water supply (including portable troughs), revegetation of feeding areas, cover crop establishment and irrigation water supply. Cost-share reimbursements help farmers recover a portion of the cost they paid out of pocket. To meet eligibility criteria, a portion of one county within a district must have been designated a "D1" or higher classification, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. If any county has a D1 classification or higher, then any county within that conservation district is eligible for cost-share funding through the West Virginia Conservation Agency’s Agricultural Enhancement Exigency Program. (A list of conservation districts and contact information is below.) As of Sept. 18, every conservation district in the state included one or more counties in the “D1” or higher classification. Most of the state is in either the “D1” (moderate drought) or “D2” (severe drought) classification. Hancock, Webster, Upshur and Randolph counties are seeing all or large portions of their counties in the “D3,” or “extreme drought” classification. West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt has allocated to the exigency program remaining funds that were first secured through the Legislature for drought recovery in 2024. Each county affected is within a specific conservation district. Residents should contact the specific conservation district where they are experiencing drought. Ask to speak with the conservation district’s administrative specialist or a conservation specialist, and ask which exigency practices are included in your district. • Barbour, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker and Upshur counties are in the Tygarts Valley Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 457-3026. The mission of the West Virginia Conservation Agency is to provide for and promote the protection and conservation of West Virginia’s soil, land, water and related resources for the health, safety and general welfare of the state’s citizens. Attachments: None |
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