USDA Designates 20 Georgia Counties as Natural Disaster Areas

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: Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Triggering Disaster: Drought (Fast-Track)

Application Deadline: December 23, 2026

Primary Counties Eligible:

• Georgia: Butts, Chattooga, Clayton, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Fayette, Fulton, Gordon, Habersham, Henry, Jasper, Newton, Pickens, Pike, Putnam, Rabun, Rockdale, and Spalding

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

• Georgia: Baldwin, Banks, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Greene, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Heard, Jones, Lamar, Lumpkin, Meriweather, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Stephens, Towns, Troup, Upson, Walker, Walton, White, and Whitfield

• Alabama: Cherokee, DeKalb, and Jackson

• North Carolina: Clay and Macon

• South Carolina: Oconee

• Tennessee: Hamilton and Marion

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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