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Many Midwestern counties declared drought disaster areas by USDA

More than 160 Midwestern counties are now eligible for USDA disaster assistance following widespread and worsening drought.

In the month of July, USDA made several Secretarial Natural Disaster Declarations which allow the Farm Service Agency to offer emergency loans to producers for recovery needs like replacing equipment or livestock, business reorganization and refinancing certain debts.

The declarations were made based on US Drought Monitor data for counties in severe to exceptional drought for 8 or more weeks in a row. Neighboring counties are also eligible for assistance.

Midwest Counties Eligible for USDA Emergency Aid

• Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Rock, Dane, Green, Jefferson, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Douglas, Kenosha, Waukesha
• Illinois: Winnebago, Boone, Dekalb, Ogle, Stephenson, Lake, McHenry, Cook, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, LaSalle, Lee, Will
• Nebraska: Cedar, Dixon, Cherry, Keya Paha, Loup, Peirce, Rock, Wayne, Wheeler, Boyd, Knox, Dakota,
• Indiana: Lake
• Minnesota (38): Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Morrison, Normal, Otter Trail, Pennington, Pope, Red Lake, Roseau, St. Louis, Stevens, Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Carlton, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Kandiyohi, Kittson, Lake, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Polk, Stearns, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, Wilkin, Pipestone and Rock
• South Dakota (60 of 66) : Clay, Hanson, Davison, Hutchinson, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Sanborn, Turner, Union, Yankton, Beadle, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Minnehaha, Aurora, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clark, Douglas, Gregory, Hamlin, Hand, Lake, Lyman, Mellette, Moddy, Spink, Todd, Buffalo, Brule, Hand, Hyde, Faulk, Brown, Edmonds, Potter, Hughes, Pennington, Stanley, Sully, Custer, Day, Dewey, Faulk, Haakon, Jackson, Jones, Lawrence, McPherson, Marshall, Meade, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Tripp, Turner, Ziebach
• Iowa (27): Lyon, Boyd, Cedar, Holt, Knox, Antelope, Dixon, Garfield, Buena Vista, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Pocahontas, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Hancock, Humboldt, Ida, O, Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Sac, Webster, Plymouth, Sioux, Woodbury

Application deadlines fall between February and March of 2022 depending on the date the proclamation was made for each county.

Brownfield meteorologist Greg Soulje says for the first half of August there is still plenty of heat and dryness in the forecast for the northwestern portion of the corn belt, with the reminder expected to see normal rains before trending drier.

Latest US Drought Monitor Maps