Agricultural producers across Oklahoma and four neighboring states are now eligible for federal assistance following a Secretarial natural disaster designation by the United States Department of Agriculture. This designation triggers the availability of emergency credit through the Farm Service Agency for producers grappling with the impacts of severe and extreme drought.
Emergency Loan Provisions
The USDA Farm Service Agency utilizes these designations to extend emergency loans to farmers and ranchers recovering from natural disasters. These funds are designed to cover a variety of recovery needs, including:
- The replacement of essential equipment or livestock.
- The reorganization of farming operations to improve sustainability.
- The refinancing of specific existing debts.
FSA determines loan eligibility and amounts based on the physical or production losses sustained by the operation, the security available for the loan, and the applicant’s projected repayment ability.
Drought Intensity Thresholds
The designations were fast-tracked based on the U.S. Drought Monitor, which tracked counties meeting specific intensity criteria during the growing season. Eligibility was triggered by counties experiencing:
- D2 (Severe Drought) for at least eight consecutive weeks.
- D3 (Extreme Drought) or D4 (Exceptional Drought) at any point during the season.
Impacted Areas and Deadlines
The disaster declarations cover two primary triggers, each with specific geographic reaches and application deadlines.
Triggering Disaster #1 (Deadline: December 21, 2026) This declaration impacts Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.
- Primary Oklahoma Counties: Adair, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Craig, Custer, Delaware, Dewey, Garvin, Grady, Greer, Harmon, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Lincoln, McClain, McCurtain, Mayes, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Roger Mills, Seminole, Stephens, Tillman, Wagoner, and Washita.
- Contiguous Oklahoma Counties: Atoka, Brayan, Coal, Creek, Ellis, Garfield, Haskell, Johnston, Latimer, Le Flore, Logan, Love, McIntosh, Major, Marshall, Murray, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Payne, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, and Woodward.
- Out-of-State Contiguous Counties: Includes counties in Arkansas (Benton, Crawford, Little River, Polk, Sevier, Washington), Kansas (Cherokee, Labette), Missouri (McDonald, Newton), and Texas (Bowie, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Hardeman, Hemphill, Lamar, Montague, Red River, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger).
Triggering Disaster #2 (Deadline: December 15, 2026) This declaration impacts Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas.
- Primary Oklahoma Counties: Beaver, Bryan, Garfield, Harper, Logan, Love, McIntosh, Major, Murray, Noble, Okfuskee, Pawnee, Payne, Rogers, and Texas.
- Contiguous Oklahoma Counties: Alfalfa, Atoka, Blaine, Canadian, Carter, Choctaw, Cimarron, Craig, Creek, Dewey, Ellis, Garvin, Grant, Haskell, Hughes, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Marshall, Mayes, Muskogee, Nowata, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Osage, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington, Woods, and Woodward.
- Out-of-State Contiguous Counties: Includes counties in Kansas (Clark, Comanche, Meade, Morton, Seward, Stevens) and Texas (Cooke, Fannin, Grayson, Hansford, Lamar, Lipscomb, Montague, Ochiltree, Sherman).
Producers in these regions are encouraged to contact their local FSA office to begin the application process ahead of the December deadlines.
