For some students, the ability to pay for college depends year to year on the farm economy – and the Farm Disaster Relief program was established to help.

The program, a partnership initiated by Sen. Tom Harkin and the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, is geared to help students stay in school, said Earl Dowling, director of financial aid.

Iowa State matched $101,000 received from the federal government for the second year in a row, resulting in $202,000 to be given out to students in need, Dowling said.

Eligibility is not limited to students from farms.

Students who can show their family’s income has been affected by the farm economy are also available for the grants, Dowling said.

Bob Muenchrath, farm program specialist for the Farm Service Agency, said many of Iowa’s counties have been declared disaster areas.

In Iowa, 80 counties have either a primary designation, meaning it is a county having the actual loss, or a contiguous county, meaning it is a county that touches a primary county, Muenchrath said.

“[The loss is] because of the cool, wet spring, and the delayed planting that it caused,” he said.

Bob Wisner, professor of agricultural economics, said several areas around the state were hit hard by the cool spring.

“There was a large area in south central and southeastern Iowa where plantings were severely delayed last spring,” Wisner said. “There were some pockets in parts of northern Iowa, also, where plantings were delayed.”

Due to the late planting of crops, farmers in these counties will stand to lose money, he said.

“It’s not overall a very encouraging picture for farmers,” Wisner said.

“It will vary depending on yields, and there is a lot of local variability.”

The Special Condition Forms for the grant are available in the Office of Student Financial Aid in Beardshear Hall. Students must have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form before returning the document.

“On this form, document how your family has been affected by either the flood or the farm economy,” Dowling said. “We’ll review the form and, to the extent that we can help, we will spend the $202,000.”

This is the second year of the program, he said, and all the money was distributed last year.

Dowling said the grant is available for students whose families were affected by the flooding along the Mississippi or whose families are involved in businesses that hinge on the farm economy.

“Students need to know that although the word farm is in the title, it’s not just for students that live on a farm,” he said.