19 Alabama counties declared federal disaster areas due to drought

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has declared 19 Alabama counties as primary natural disaster areas due to recent drought, allowing those affected to get help.

“The drought severely affected several Alabama’s counties, impacting row-crop yields and forage availability,” Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate said. “Many cattle producers were unable to harvest sufficient hay for the winter months which resulted in the need to provide supplemental alternative feed sources earlier in the fall. They were also delayed in planting winter grazing due to lack of moisture in the soil. These drought-related challenges have been tough on our farmers. We strongly encourage producers to contact their local USDA offices to learn more about available assistance, resources and support programs.”

The 19 primary Alabama counties included in the disaster designation are: Barbour, Bibb, Butler, Chambers, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Monroe, Pickens, Pike, Shelby and Tuscaloosa.

An additional area of Alabama and adjacent states are named as contiguous disaster counties. Other counties in Alabama may have already been designated as natural disaster counties if they had previously met the requirements for the current crop year.

The contiguous Alabama counties included are: Baldwin, Bullock, Chilton, Clarke, Colbert (contiguous to declared county in Mississippi), Coosa, Fayette, Franklin (contiguous to declared county in Mississippi), Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale (contiguous to declared county in Tennessee & Mississippi), Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, Perry, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Walker and Wilcox.

This disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loan assistance, provided eligibility requirements are met.

Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration (August 29, 2026) to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator.

Farmers interested in learning about program options or wanting to verify eligibility should visit: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs

Find your local USDA Service Center:
https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator