USDA: Several north Alabama counties named ‘primary natural disaster areas’ after recent drought

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Several north Alabama counties have been named as primary natural disaster areas because of a recent drought, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate announced Tuesday that USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins named 20 counties as primary natural disaster areas and named another 18 as contiguous counties.

“The drought affected over half of the counties in Alabama,” Pate stated. “We encourage farmers to reach out to their local USDA offices for details about available funding.”

The Tennessee Valley counties named as primary areas for natural disaster include:

• Lauderdale
• Limestone
• Madison
• Lawrence
• Franklin
• Morgan

The other Alabama counties listed as primary areas include Autauga, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Perry, Sumter, Washington, Wilcox and Winston.

The 18 contiguous counties include Baldwin, Bibb, Butler, Colbert, Coosa, Crenshaw, Cullman, Elmore, Jackson, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Pickens, Shelby, Tuscaloosa and Walker for a total of 38 counties in Alabama.

The Tennessee counties included in the contiguous areas area are Hardin, Wayne, Lawrence, Giles, Lincoln and Franklin.

You can view the map from the USDA below:

A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and counties contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loan assistance, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration (3-25-25) to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator.
USDA

Farmers interested in learning about program options or wanting to verify eligibility can visit the Farm Service Agency on the USDA website here. You can also find your local USDA Service Center on the USDA website here.