USDA Designates Arizona as Primary and California Contiguous 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: Arizona
Triggering Disaster: Drought that occurred during/on 01/01/2025
Application Deadline: 11/25/2025
Primary Counties Eligible: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, Yuma
Additional State: California
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Imperial, Riverside, San Bernadino
Additional State: Colorado
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Montezuma
Additional State: Nevada
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Clark, Lincoln
Additional State: New Mexico
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Catron, Cibola, Grant, Hidalgo, McKinley, San Juan
Additional State: Utah
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Kane, San Juan, Washington

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.