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 (Fast-Track)
Application Deadline: April 26, 2027
Primary Counties Eligible: Custer, Fallon, Garfield, Rosebud, and Treasure
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Montana: Big Horn, Carter, McCone, Musselshell, Petroleum, Phillips, Powder River, Prairie, Valley, Wibaux, and Yellowstone
North Dakota: Bowman, Golden Valley, and Slope
South Dakota: Harding
Source : usda.gov