USDA Designates Several Nebraska Counties as Disasters Due to Drought

This stakeholder notification represents four separate secretarial natural disaster designations. Such designations allow 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 the refinance of 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 eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional. The triggering disaster for all these counties is listed as drought.

Secretarial Disaster Designation No. 5195: Primary county eligible in Nebraska: Cedar. Contiguous counties also eligible in Nebraska: Dixon, Knox, Pierce and Wayne. Application deadline is Jan. 13, 2023.

Secretarial Disaster Designation No. 5199: Primary counties eligible in Nebraska: Perkins and Chase. Contiguous counties also eligible in Nebraska: Deuel, Dundy, Hayes, Keith, and Lincoln. Application deadline is Jan. 23, 2023.

Secretarial Disaster Designation No. 5204: Primary counties eligible in Iowa: Monona and Woodbury, Iowa. Contiguous counties also eligible in Nebraska: Burt, Dakota and Thurston. Application deadline is Jan. 31, 2023.

Secretarial Disaster Designation No. 5207: Primary counties eligible in Nebraska: Burt, Cherry, Cheyenne, Colfax, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Garden, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hooker, Kearney, Kimball, Logan, Morrill, Phelps, Stanton, Thomas, Thurston, Wayne, and York. Contiguous counties also eligible in Nebraska: Adams, Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Butler, Cedar, Clay, Custer, Dawson, Deuel, Dodge, Fillmore, Franklin, Furnas, Gosper, Grant, Howard, Keith, Keya Paha, Lincoln, McPherson, Madison, Merrick, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Saline, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Sheridan, Washington, and Webster. Application deadline is Jan. 31, 2023.