USDA Designates 11 North Dakota 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 #1

Impacted Area: North Dakota

Triggering Disaster: Drought

Application Deadline: May 3, 2027

Primary Counties Eligible:

• North Dakota: Billings, Bowman, and Slope

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

• Montana: Fallon

• North Dakota: Adams, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, McKenzie, and Stark

• South Dakota: Harding

Triggering Disaster #2

Impacted Area: North Dakota

Triggering Disaster: Drought

Application Deadline: May 17, 2027

Primary Counties Eligible:

• North Dakota: Barnes, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson, Ransom, and Richland

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

• North Dakota: Benson, Cass, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, LaMoure, Ramsey, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, Traill, and Walsh

• Minnesota: Clay, Marshall, Polk, Traverse, and Wilkin

• South Dakota: Marshall and Roberts

Triggering Disaster #3

Impacted Area: North Dakota

Triggering Disaster: Drought

Application Deadline: May 24, 2027

Primary Counties Eligible:

• North Dakota: LaMoure and Sargent

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

• North Dakota: Barnes, Dickey, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, and Stutsman

• South Dakota: Brown, Marshall, and Roberts

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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