The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated seven Maine counties as natural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought, unlocking relief for farmers, businesses and nonprofits throughout most of the state.
The primary counties designated as natural disaster areas by the USDA last week are Cumberland, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo.
The federal agency cites the U.S. Drought Monitor’s designations of these areas as being either in severe or extreme drought for eight or more consecutive weeks during the growing season.
Many of the aforementioned counties have been at least partially under severe conditions since mid-August, according to the Drought Monitor, and the drought has expanded and worsened since then: A stretch of the coastline from Cumberland to Hancock County has been under an extreme designation since mid-September.
“Contiguous counties,” or counties bordering those designated as disaster areas, are also eligible for relief: Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford, Penobscot, Somerset, Washington and York counties. Some of those areas were also at least partially under severe drought since mid-September, according to the Drought Monitor.
Aroostook and Piscataquis counties are currently left off the eligibility list. While all of Maine has been under at least moderate drought since Sept. 15, a chunk of northern Maine, including much of Aroostook County and northern Piscataquis County, was not given a severe designation until early October. That designation was expanded deeper into Piscataquis County just last week.
The USDA also declared Maine’s drought a natural disaster last year, unlocking similar forms of relief.
Relief programs
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency announced the availability of emergency loans in the 14 eligible counties last week, along with an array of other disaster assistance programs.
The emergency loans can be used for a variety of needs, such as replacing equipment and livestock or refinancing debts. The FSA says it will review applications based on the extent of losses suffered, security available and repayment ability.
The USDA and FSA also offer a variety of other assistance programs, including ones specifically for livestock producers, orchards and nurseries.
“Impacted producers should timely report all crop, livestock and farm infrastructure damages and losses to their local FSA county office as soon as possible,” Tommy Higgins, state executive director for FSA in Maine, said in a news release. “As you evaluate your operation, take time to gather important documents you may need to get assistance, including farm records, herd inventory, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.”
Eligibility and deadlines to apply vary by program. More information on the types of assistance available can be found at fsa.usda.gov.
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced on Monday that loans are now available to businesses and nonprofits that suffered operational expenses caused by the drought in the eligible counties since Sept. 15. The SBA also made similar loans available to counties impacted by the drought last year.
Small businesses, agricultural cooperatives and aquaculture enterprises may apply for the loans. Private nonprofits and faith-based organizations may also apply.
Eligible entities may qualify for up to $2 million in loans at interest rates as low as 4%, or just over 3.6% for private nonprofit organizations, with no interest or required payments for the first 12 months of the up to 30-year terms.
More information and applications can be found at sba.gov/disaster.
Maine’s drought
Maine’s drought, stemming from a dry summer and fall of 2025 that also triggered a natural disaster declaration, subsided in early 2026 due to a rainy spring.
But another dry summer saw the drought crop up again and worsen through the first half of this fall. A lack of rain and full recovery of Maine’s groundwater from past droughts are to blame, experts say.
More than 55% of the state is under at least severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest map released Thursday.
The entirety of Maine has been under at least moderate drought conditions as of Sept. 15, but the drought was considered worse along the coast.
That week, the Drought Monitor gave an extreme designation to a slice of the coast from Cumberland County to Hancock County, and a severe designation outlining it, stretching inland to the greater Augusta and Bangor regions and south into York County.
A large swath of northern Maine was upgraded to the severe drought the first full week of October, and another chunk of central Maine was added last week.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Drew Johnson can be reached at djohnson@pressherald.com.