USDA Designates California as Primary Natural Disaster Areas for Drought

USDA Designates California as Primary Natural Disaster Areas 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: California

Triggering Disaster:  Drought that occurred during/on 10/01/2025.

Application Deadline: 11/25/2025

Primary Counties Eligible: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Alpine, Fresno, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Tulare, Tuolumne

Additional State: Arizona

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: La Paz, Mohave, Yuma

Additional State: Nevada

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Clark, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, Nye 

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.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.