First 72 hours: what to do the moment you see drought damage
USDA programs, ranked by relevance
You can usually stack these — NAP for the crop loss, ECP for the well or pipeline repair, EQIP for the drip system that prevents it next year. Apply to all you qualify for.
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Cash payments for yield or value loss on crops that are not covered by federal crop insurance — which is most specialty crops: vegetables, cut flowers, herbs, mushrooms, and most fruit in the Southeast.
Who qualifies
- Grower of an eligible non-insurable crop
- Enrolled in NAP BEFORE the crop's sales-closing date (usually 30 days before planting)
- Adjusted gross income under $900,000 (3-yr average) unless 75%+ is farm-derived
- Loss of more than 50% of expected production, or prevented planting on 35%+ of intended acres
Application checklist
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Cost-share up to 75% (90% for limited-resource farmers) to rehabilitate farmland damaged by drought — including replacing lost fences, deepening wells, and installing emergency water pipelines for livestock and irrigation.
Who qualifies
- Farmland damaged by a natural disaster in a county with an approved ECP sign-up
- Damage severe enough that continued use of the land is impaired
- Repairs are not economically or physically possible without federal assistance
Application checklist
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Monthly payments to grazing operations when your county reaches D2 (severe) drought on the US Drought Monitor for 8+ consecutive weeks, or D3 at any point. Covers cattle, sheep, goats, and other grazing livestock.
Who qualifies
- Owned or leased grazing land in a qualifying county
- Livestock owned or leased for the specific grazing period
- Suffered forage loss on qualifying pastureland
Application checklist
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Cost-share (50–90%) for drought-resilience practices: drip irrigation conversion, irrigation water management, cover crops, mulching, high tunnels, well construction, and pond/pipeline systems. Southeast state offices typically have a dedicated Seasonal High Tunnel and Irrigation Efficiency initiative.
Who qualifies
- Own or operate eligible agricultural land
- Have a conservation plan or willing to develop one with NRCS
- Adjusted gross income under $900,000 (3-yr average)
Application checklist
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Reimbursement for above-normal costs of hauling water and feed to livestock, and hauling livestock to alternate water sources, during a qualifying drought.
Who qualifies
- Livestock, honeybee, or farm-raised fish producer
- County has a qualifying D2+ drought designation on the US Drought Monitor
- Costs are above your normal operating baseline
Application checklist
Cooperative Extension contacts by state
Extension agents are your fastest, free path to a soil moisture reading, an irrigation audit, or a NAP-eligibility opinion. Every land-grant university runs a county-level office — find yours below.
NC State Extension
Clemson Cooperative Extension
UGA Cooperative Extension
Virginia Cooperative Extension
UT Extension
UF/IFAS Extension
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
More help worth knowing about
Consolidated USDA drought portal — file assistance, disaster designations by county, and program comparison in one place.
Federal crop-insurance drought guidance if you carry a Whole-Farm Revenue Protection or Micro Farm policy.
State-funded 75% cost-share for drought-resilience practices in North Carolina. Similar programs exist in most Southeast states through Soil & Water Conservation Districts.
Turn this into your drought playbook
BAU tracks your farm's US Drought Monitor status, precipitation deficit, and irrigation demand automatically — and logs every input for the paperwork trail these programs need.