Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) has designated eight Florida counties as primary natural disaster areas due to the recent drought. These include Jefferson County as well as Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Leon, Madison, Walton and Washington counties. The designation is authorized by the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and acknowledges that these counties have had eight or more consecutive weeks of drought levels D2 (Severe), D3 (Extreme) or D4 (Exceptional) on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale. See the data at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
The natural disaster designation makes farm operators in those primary counties eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loan assistance, provided they meet certain requirements. Farmers in areas contiguous to the primary counties can also seek assistance. For this drought disaster, the contiguous counties include Bay, Calhoun, Hamilton, Lafayette, Liberty, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla.
Farmers in eligible counties have until the end of August 2026 to apply for emergency assistance.
“FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extend of production losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator,” explains Brooke S. Appleton, the deputy under secretary of the USDA.”
The nearest USDA service center is located in Madison, Fla., and can be reached at 850-973-2205 ext. 2.