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.
•    Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties are within the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 263-4376.
•    Boone, Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo and Wayne counties are within the Guyan Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 528-5718.
•    Braxton, Clay, Nicholas and Webster counties are within the Elk Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 765-2535.
•    Brooke, Hancock, Marshall and Ohio counties are within the Northern Panhandle Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 238-1231.
•    Calhoun, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt and Wood counties are within the Little Kanawha Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 422-9088.
•    Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison and Lewis counties are within the West Fork Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 627-2160.
•    Fayette, McDowell, Mercer, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming counties are in the Southern Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 253-0261.
•    Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Pendleton counties are within the Potomac Valley Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 822-5174.
•    Greenbrier, Monroe and Pocahontas counties are within the Greenbrier Valley Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 645-6173.
•    Jackson, Mason and Putnam counties are in the Western Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 675-3054.
•    Kanawha County is within the Capitol Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 759-0736.
•    Marion, Monongalia and Preston counties are in the Monongahela Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 296-0081.
•    Pleasants, Tyler and Wetzel counties are within the Upper Ohio Conservation District, which can be reached at: (304) 758-2512.

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.