Big Sky Times

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte wrote an urgent letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, imploring the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to declare severe-impact counties as primary natural disaster areas, granting key aid to affected agricultural producers amid escalating drought conditions.

"Relief is needed as swiftly as possible, particularly for our agricultural producers, who are seeing impacts to forage and stock water availability due to drought conditions," Gianforte wrote in his letter.

In the letter, Gianforte sought disaster-area designation for the counties, as it would pave the way for crucial federal assistance in the form of emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The natural disaster designation would empower the USDA or FSA to provide emergency credit to producers who are struggling to recover from the effects of the drought, according to a release from the FSA. Such emergency loans could be instrumental in helping farmers and ranchers meet various recovery needs, such as replacing essential items like equipment and livestock, reorganizing farming operations, or refinancing certain debts incurred during the crisis.

Gianforte's office specifically identified Flathead, Lincoln, Glacier, Toole, Sanders, Lake, Pondera, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, and Sheridan counties as regions that have experienced severe drought conditions, with a significant portion of the northern part of the state classified as "abnormally dry," the letter read. Unfortunately, outlook projections show little improvement in these hard-hit counties in the near future.

This data serves as a crucial basis for triggering disaster declarations and determining loan eligibility by the USDA. The impact of the drought has been felt by a substantial number of Montana residents, with approximately 231,000 people living in the affected ares, Drought Monitor reported.

Gianforte's letter seeks to expedite the process of securing federal assistance, as government loans could help them rebuild and sustain their agricultural operations, he wrote.