USDA Designates 33 Virginia Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas Due to Drought

Counties in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia also eligible for assistance

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: Virginia

Triggering Disaster: Drought

Application Deadline: June 3, 2025

Primary Counties Eligible:

Virginia:

Albemarle Floyd Pittsylvania

Alleghany Franklin Pulaski

Augusta Giles Roanoke

Bath Grayson Russell

Bedford Greene Scott

Bland Lee Smyth

Botetourt Madison Tazewell

Buchanan Montgomery Washington

Carroll Nelson Wise

Craig Page Wythe

Dickerson Patrick

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Virginia:

Amherst Henry Warren Lynchburg

Appomattox Highland Bristol Norton

Buckingham Louisa Charlottesville Radford

Campbell Orange Covington Roanoke

Culpeper Rappahannock Danville Salem

Fluvanna Rockbridge Galax Staunton

Halifax Shenandoah Harrisonburg Waynesboro

Kentucky: Bell, Harlan, Letcher and Pike Counties

North Carolina: Alleghany, Ashe, Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes and Surry

Tennessee: Claiborne, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, and Sullivan

West Virginia: Greenbrier, Hardy, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Pendleton, Pocahontas and Summers

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.