Liberty, Chouteau and Hill counties in region USDA declares drought disaster

Press release

U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared drought disasters for Montana counties including Liberty County and including as contiguous counties Chouteau and Hill counties.

This secretarial natural disaster designation allows USDA Farm Service Agency 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. 

The deadline to apply for assistance is May 6, 2024.

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. 

The primary eligible counties are Liberty, Mineral, Sanders, Teton and Toole.

Contiguous counties which also are eligible are:

In Montana: Cascade, Chouteau, Flathead, Glacier, Hill, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Missoula and Pondera

In Idaho: Bonner, Clearwater and Shoshone 

On https://farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help poroducers determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, people can contact their local  USDA Service Center.

Last week, USDA declared Blaine, Chouteau and Hill counties disaster areas due to drought.

That made those counties and the contiguous counties of Cascade, Fergus, Judith Basin, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera and Teton eligible for assistance, with an application deadline of May 11, 2024.