USDA Designates Thirteen Montana Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas for Drought

USDA Designates Thirteen Montana Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas for Drought
Four contiguous Counties in Idaho are eligible for assistance

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.

Impacted Area: Montana
Triggering Disaster: Drought
Application Deadline: March 9, 2026
Primary Counties Eligible: Beaverhead, Carter, Cascade, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Lake, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Silver Bow and Wibaux
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
• Idaho: Clark, Fremont, Idaho and Lemhi
• Montana: Chouteau, Flathead, Garfield, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, McCone, Madison, Meagher, Missoula, Powder River, Powell, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders and Teton
• North Dakota: Bowman, Golden Valley, McKenzie, Slope and Williams
• South Dakota: Butte and Harding
• Wyoming: Crook

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.

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