USDA Designates New Mexico Counties as Natural Disaster Areas
April 20, 2026
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.
Triggering Disaster #1
Impacted Area: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah
Triggering Disaster: Drought (Fast-Track)
Application Deadline: 12/10/2026
Primary Counties Eligible:
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New Mexico: Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, and Valencia
Contiguous Counties Also Eligible:
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Arizona: Apache, Cochise, and Greenlee
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Colorado: Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, La Plata, and Montezuma
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New Mexico: Colfax, De Baca, Guadalupe, Mora, Roosevelt, Santa Fe, and Torrance
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Texas: Andrews, Cochran, Culberson, El Paso, Gaines, Hudspeth, Loving, Reeves, Winkler, and Yoakum
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Utah: San Juan
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.
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