USDA Designates 17 Georgia Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

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 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional. 

Impacted Area: Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia

Triggering Disaster: Drought 

Beginning Date – Incident Period: December 15, 2023 

Application Deadline: November 25, 2024 

Primary Counties Eligible: Bartow, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Habersham, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, Rabun, Towns, Union, White, Whitfield 

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Georgia: Banks, Catoosa, Cobb, Forsyth, Fulton, Hall, Paulding, Polk, Stephens, Walker

Alabama: Cherokee, DeKalb

North Carolina: Cherokee, Clay, Macon

South Carolina: Oconee

Tennessee: Bradley, Hamilton, Polk 

Triggering Disaster 2: Drought 

Beginning Date – Incident Period: November 2, 2023 

Application Deadline: November 25, 2024 

Primary Counties Eligible: South Carolina: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Greenville, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union, York 

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Georgia: Columbia, Elbert, Franklin, Habersham, Hart, Lincoln, Rabun, Stephens

North Carolina: Cleveland, Gaston, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Mecklenburg, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania

South Carolina: Edgefield, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Richland, Saluda 

Triggering Disaster 3: Drought 

Beginning Date – Incident Period: November 15, 2023 

Application Deadline: November 25, 2024 

Primary Counties Eligible: Tennessee: Anderson, Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Claiborne, Clay, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Fentress, Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Grainger, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Loudon, McMinn, McNairy, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Maury, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Morgan, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Rutherford, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Shelby, Smith, Tipton, Union, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, Weakley, White, Williamson, Wilson 

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Tennessee: Cocke, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Lake, Macon, Montgomery, Obion, Robertson, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale

Alabama: Jacksonville, Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison

Arkansas: Crittenden, Mississippi

Georgia: Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Murray, Walker, Whitfield

Kentucky: Bell, Calloway, Clinton, Cumberland, Graves, Hickman, McCreary, Monroe, Wayne, Whitley

Mississippi: Alcorn, Benton, De Soto, Marshall, Tippah, Tishomingo

Missouri: Pemiscot

North Carolina: Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Swain

Virginia: Lee 

Triggering Disaster 4: Drought 

Beginning Date – Incident Period: November 1, 2023 

Application Deadline: November 25, 2024 

Primary Counties Eligible: North Carolina: Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Macon, Swain 

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Georgia: Fannin, Rabun, Towns, Union

North Carolina: Burke, Catawba, Graham, Haywood, Iredell, Jackson, Mecklenburg, Rutherford

South Carolina: Cherokee, Oconee, York

Tennessee: Blount, Monroe, Polk, Sevier 

Triggering Disaster 5: Drought 

Beginning Date – Incident Period: December 1, 2023 

Application Deadline: November 25, 2024 

Primary Counties Eligible: Alabama: Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Morgan, Pickens, St. Clair, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Winston 

Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:

Alabama: Autauga, Baldwin, Clarke, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Perry, Randolph, Tallapoosa, Wilcox

Georgia: Carroll, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Haralson, Polk, Walker

Mississippi: Clarke, George, Greene, Itawamba, Jackson, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Monroe, Noxubee, Tishomingo, Wayne

Tennessee: Franklin, Giles, Hardin, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Wayne 

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.