Nineteen Alabama counties have been designated primary natural disaster areas because of prolonged drought, opening financial assistance to affected farmers across much of the state.

Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate said in a news release that U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins approved the designation following months of dry conditions that hurt crop yields and reduced forage.

“The drought severely affected several Alabama’s counties, impacting row-crop yields and forage availability. Many cattle producers were unable to harvest sufficient hay for the winter months which resulted in the need to provide supplemental alternative feed sources earlier in the fall. They were also delayed in planting winter grazing due to lack of moisture in the soil,” Pate said in the release. “These drought-related challenges have been tough on our farmers. We strongly encourage producers to contact their local USDA offices to learn more about available assistance, resources and support programs.”

Primary disaster counties include Barbour, Bibb, Butler, Chambers, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Monroe, Pickens, Pike, Shelby and Tuscaloosa.

The U.S. Drought Monitor at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ reported those counties faced severe to exceptional conditions during the growing season. The designation applies when counties experience D2 severe drought for at least eight consecutive weeks or reach D3 extreme or D4 exceptional drought levels.

Additional Alabama counties and parts of neighboring states qualify as contiguous disaster areas under section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Some counties already met federal criteria earlier in the crop year under 7 CFR 759.5(a).

Contiguous Alabama counties include Baldwin as well as Bullock, Chilton, Clarke, Colbert, Coosa, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, Perry, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Walker and Wilcox. Colbert and Franklin are contiguous to declared counties in Mississippi. Lauderdale is contiguous to declared counties in Tennessee and Mississippi.

A Secretarial disaster declaration allows eligible producers in primary and contiguous counties to apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loans. Farmers have eight months from the declaration date of Aug. 29 to apply. Applications are reviewed individually based on production losses, available collateral and repayment ability.

Producers seeking details on programs or eligibility can visit www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs. Local USDA Service Centers can be found at www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator.