USDA Designates Three Washington Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Area for Drought
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 eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.
Impacted Area: Washington
Triggering Disaster: Drought
Application Deadline: 3/16/2026
Primary Counties Eligible: Asotin, Garfield, Whitman
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
Washington: Adams, Columbia, Franklin, Lincoln, Spokane
Idaho: Benewah, Latah, Nez Perce
Oregon: Wallowa
You can see the full news release here.