USDA Designates Three Montana Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas; Jefferson County a Contiguous County Also Eligible

This Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.

Impacted Area: Montana

Triggering Disaster: Drought

Application Deadline: April 11, 2022

Primary Counties Eligible: Deer Lodge, Liberty and Ravalli.

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Beaverhead, Granite, Jefferson, Pondera, Silver Bow, Chouteau, Hill, Missoula, Powell, Toole.

On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Farm Loan Discovery Tool can help you determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.