USDA Designates Several Nebraska Counties as Natural Disaster Areas Due to Drought

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 to refinance 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.
 

TRIGGERING DISASTER DESIGNATION NO. 1

Impacted Area: Nebraska

Triggering Disaster: Drought (Fast Track)

Application Deadline: 01/27/2026

Primary Counties Eligible: 
•    State: Nebraska: Counties include Antelope, Boone, Holt, Knox, Madison, Pierce and Wheeler

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
•    State: Nebraska: Counties include Boyd, Cedar, Garfield, Greeley, Keya Paha, Loup, Nance, Platte, Rock, Stanton, Valley and Wayne
•    State: South Dakota: Counties include Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Yankton

TRIGGERING DISASTER DESIGNATION NO. 2

Impacted Area: Nebraska

Triggering Disaster: Drought (Fast Track)

Application Deadline: 02/02/2026

Primary Counties Eligible: 
•    State: Nebraska: Counties include Cheyenne, Custer, Garden, Garfield, Greeley, Loup, Morrill, Sherman, and Valley

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
•    State: Nebraska: Counties include Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Dawson, Deuel, Grant, Holt, Howard, Keith, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Nance, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan and Wheeler
•   State: Colorado: Counties include Logan and Sedgwick

More Resources
On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance 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.