Apply by May 22 - USDA Loans for Drought-Affected Farms

By Blake Jackson

A new Secretarial natural disaster designation enables the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide crucial emergency credit to producers working to recover from significant natural disaster impacts. Through FSA’s emergency loan program, eligible farmers can access financial support to help restore their operations.

These loans may be used to replace essential farm items such as equipment or livestock, restructure farming operations affected by the disaster, or refinance certain existing debts. Each loan application is evaluated by FSA based on the producer’s documented losses, available collateral, and overall ability to repay the loan.

The designation follows drought conditions identified by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The affected counties experienced either severe drought (D2) lasting eight or more consecutive weeks, or extreme to exceptional drought levels (D3 or D4) during the growing season, meeting the criteria for federal assistance.

The impacted area includes parts of Kentucky, with drought listed as the qualifying disaster event. Producers in the designated counties have until May 22, 2026, to submit applications for emergency loans.

Primary eligible counties include Calloway, Fulton, Graves, and Hickman. Contiguous counties that also qualify for assistance are Carlisle, McCracken, Marshall, and Trigg in Kentucky.

For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center.

Photo Credit: usda-farm-service-agency