"We are trying to get funding to help people out," Sharretts said.
Loan purposes include operating and real estate costs, restoring/replacing essential property, production costs for disaster year, essential family living expenses, and reorganization and refinancing certain debts, she said.
The designation also affects other programs, such as the Supplemental Revenue Assistance (SURE) crop disaster assistance, Sharretts said.
"I've heard guys say this is the worst crop year they've had in 30 years," Sharretts said.
A few farmers have said their wells went dry, she said.
Dry weather means less forage for cattle, according to Greg Strait, a Fulton County cooperative extension educator who works with 4-H dairy and livestock clubs.
An acre of Fulton County land could yield 12 to 15 tons of corn for animals in an average year, Strait said. This year, the yield is typically 8 to 10 tons an acre, particularly in the harder-hit southern part of the county, he said.
Many of Fulton County's 42 farms are buying hay from out of state, Strait said.
"I'm not going to say it's getting to be 'make it or break it,' but it's not going to help them," he said.
Some farmers are turning to sorghum-sudan grass, which is drought-tolerant but provides less energy for livestock, Strait said.
Strait said he hasn't heard of dried wells in Fulton County, although some farmers say they can no longer use ponds that usually fill concrete troughs for them.
Franklin County doesn't have an agronomist in its cooperative extension office. In nearby York County, Pa., John Rowehl said farmers are losing money by not being able to sell extra grain they tried to grow.
"Obviously there is a lost value because of that," he said.
Some farm operators are planning to grow oats in the fall to gain forage, Rowehl said.
