USDA Designates 5 Montana Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Area

14 Additional Contiguous Montana Counties Included

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: Montana

Triggering Disaster: Drought (fast track) beginning May 15, 2026

Application Deadline: May 3, 2027

Primary Counties Eligible:

• Montana: Carter, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum and Powder River

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

• Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Custer, Fallon, Fergus, Gallatin, Golden Valley, Meagher, Phillips, Rosebud, Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Yellowstone
• South Dakota: Butte and Harding
• Wyoming: Campbell, Crook, Park and Sheridan