Producers should contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency office for drought designation emergency assistance

Drought conditions affected many of Virginia’s agricultural producers in numerous localities and all parts of the state during the 2023 growing season. To provide assistance to affected producers, USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack began designating Virginia counties as primary natural disaster areas in October of 2023 and continued through December. Producers within identified areas have eight months from the date of designation to apply for certain USDA assistance. The 23 Virginia counties that received primary natural disaster designation include:

• Albemarle County
• Amherst County
• Augusta County
• Clarke County
• Culpeper County
• Essex County
• Fauquier County
• Frederick County
• Greene County
• King and Queen County
• King William County
• Loudoun County
• Madison County
• Nelson County
• Northampton County
• Orange County
• Page County
• Pittsylvania County
• Rappahannock County
• Rockbridge County
• Rockingham County
• Shenandoah County
• Warren County

Farmers in these primary counties are eligible to be considered for assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). In addition to the 23 primary counties, the 39 localities that are contiguous to the primary counties are also eligible for drought emergency assistance. A full listing of all primary and contiguous localities receiving a natural disaster designation are available at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/drought-disaster-designations-map.pdf.

This natural disaster assistance includes FSA emergency loans. Provided eligibility requirements are met, the FSA will assess each emergency loan application individually and will consider specific circumstances and needs. Farmers in eligible localities have eight months from the date of the disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. Producers should contact their county’s FSA Service Center for more information on this designation, services available, date of declaration and application deadline.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the disaster designated localities 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.

For more information on available assistance programs and the application process, please contact the FSA Service Center in your county of operation, Virginia FSA State Office website, or call 804-287-1500. For additional information on USDA assistance programs, please visit the USDA Disaster Assistance Programs website.