The drought of 1988 hit hardest in the upper Midwest _ perhaps nowhere harder than in North Dakota. More disaster relief aid went there than to any other state. The third story in a four-part series, ``Cashing In on the Drought,'' examines how the $3.9 billion disaster aid program helped farmers most in need.
Associated Press' tracking of the 1988 drought relief package shows it did help those most in need. In North Dakota, the nation's most agriculturally dependent state, more that 49,000 producers shared $410.2 million. The state lost two-thirds of its 1988 spring wheat. The disaster payments reduced statewide losses by $1.2 billion. Other drought-ravaged states were Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Disaster aid and crop insurance put 6,300 into Iowa's economy, staving off bankruptcies and other financial problems. A university survey reported drought aid added $15,000 to the average farmer's net cash income of $$500 million. These states still need a good year to get back on their feet, and it was not 1989.