USDA designates 107 counties in seven states as natural disaster areas

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April 15, 2026

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Secretarial Disaster Declaration (S6160)

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.

Triggering Disaster: Secretarial Disaster Declaration (S6160)

Impacted Areas: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas Triggering Disaster: Drought that began November 1, 2025

Application Deadline: December 7, 2026

Primary Counties Eligible:

Arkansas: Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicot, Clark, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Fulton, Garland, Grant, Greene, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Logan, Lonoke, Marion, Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, St. Francis, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, Stone, Union, Van Buren, Washington, White, Woodruff, and Yell.

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Arkansas: Crawford, Franklin, Lafayette, Logan, Madison, Miller, Nevada, and Sebastian.

Louisiana: Claiborne, East Carroll, Morehouse, Union, Webster, and West Carroll.

Mississippi: Bolivar, Coahoma, DeSoto, Issaquena, Tunica, and Washington.

Missouri: Barry, Butler, Dunklin, Howell, McDonald, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Ripley, Stone, and Taney.

Oklahoma: Adair, Delaware, Le Flore, and McCurtain.

Tennessee: Dyer, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Tipton.

Texas: Bowie.

More Resources

On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help you determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.