WASHINGTON, DC (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Fifteen Virginia counties — including Albemarle, Augusta, Greene and Madison — have received primary natural disaster designations from the USDA due to the recent drought. This as we stand to go back into the extremely hot, dry weather pattern that began July from which we’ve gotten a break from in the past couple of weeks. This also means counties bordering these — such as Buckingham, Fluvanna, Orange, Louisa, Nelson, and Culpeper — are also eligible for FSA emergency loans.

FSA assesses each emergency loan application individually and will consider specific circumstances and needs. Farmers in eligible localities have eight months from the date of the disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/), these localities 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.
For more information on available assistance programs and the application process, please visit the Virginia FSA State Office website at www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/Virginia or call (804) 287-1500.
Additional information on USDA Disaster Assistance Programs is available at https://www.farmers.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/farmersgov-disaster-assistance-brochure-07-21-2022.pdf.