USDA Designates 13 Montana Counties As Natural Disaster Areas

This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency 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: 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: 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