USDA Designates 12 Nebraska Counties as Natural Disaster Areas Due to August 2025 Storms

Feb 24, 2026

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has designated numerous Nebraska counties as primary natural disaster areas due to August 2025 storms. This designation opens the door for eligible producers in those counties and surrounding ones to apply for emergency loans to help recover from production and physical losses.

Emergency loans can help producers replace essential equipment or livestock, reorganize operations, or refinance certain debts. Loan approval depends on the extent of losses, available security, and repayment ability.

According to USDA, these areas experienced severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding Aug. 8-10, 2025.

Application deadline for the following counties is June 22, 2026:

Primary counties: Burt, Douglas, Fillmore, Lancaster, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Saline, Saunders, Seward, Thayer, Washington, Webster

Contiguous counties also eligible: Adams, Butler, Cass, Clay, Cuming, Dodge, Franklin, Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Otoe, Pawnee, Polk, Richardson, Sarpy, Thurston, York

Iowa: Harrison, Monona, Pottawattamie
Kansas: Jewell, Republic, Smith, Washington
Missouri: Atchison, Holt

Source : unl.edu

Video: Managing Severe PRRS Outbreaks - Dr. Claire Mtezankuni

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Claire Mtezankuni, Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service, discusses the growing severity of PRRS outbreaks in sow farms. She explains how respiratory disease and sow mortality are changing outbreak response, why necropsies and bacterial cultures can guide treatment, and how vaccination, biosecurity, pain management, and clear team communication support recovery and elimination. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Emerging PRRS strains can produce severe reproductive and respiratory disease simultaneously, creating substantial health challenges across sow farms during acute outbreaks.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Claire Mtezankuni / claire-mtezankuni-2529b1b3 is a Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service in Illinois, where her work includes commercial farm veterinary leadership, herd health, disease elimination, and veterinary internship coordination. She holds a DVM from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master of Veterinary Science in Livestock Systems Health from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Learn more from Dr. Claire Mtezankuni on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.