The United States Department of Agriculture designated 32 counties in Alabama as primary disaster counties. Fifteen other counties in the state were deemed contiguous counties. Of the 50 states, Alabama has the fourth highest number of primary disaster counties behind Georgia, California and New York. Lee, Chilton and Macon counties are all considered “primary.” Autauga, Bullock, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Montgomery counties are all contiguous. The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries released a statement on Monday to inform farmers that USDA financial aid is available to them if their condition is bad enough for them to qualify. There are three different program options for farmers who qualify. Garry Henry, owner of HCC Farms in Hope Hull, said he is hopeful that he will be able to utilize government assistance. “We invested insurance,” Henry said. “So, we can use that when we reach a certain level.” Henry said the drought has left him with no grass to feed his livestock. He had to start feeding his cattle the hay he had stored up for winter. “We usually don’t start using that until Thanksgiving,” Henry said. “We had to get into it about 40 days early this year.” Henry said he has spoken with other farmers in the northeastern part of the state where the drought has had an even greater impact. “A lot of them have used all of their hay already,” Henry said. “Some have had to even liquefy herds because they just can’t feed them.” Henry said he doesn't think he will have to result to selling his livestock, but he will have to start buying feed because hay is in short supply. He said this will hurt his bottom line. According to Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan, farmers are also seeing their products sold at cheaper prices because they are competing with producers who have not suffered a drought. “Usually you can compensate for lower prices with a good crop,” McMillan said. “This year, they are facing lower crops and less product. It’s a double whammy.” McMillan said the state’s priority right now is traveling to farms statewide to find new hay resources. “We have reached out to many peanut farmers to get them to use the plants to make hay,” McMillan said. He said dealing with bad weather is part of a farmer’s job, but that the current situation is serious and concerning. “We want farmers to know that there is assistance, and also where to go to find an agency to get the details,” McMillan said. Source -  http://www.wsfa.com