USDA Announces $340.6 Million in Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced $340.6 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance funding on April 22 to support farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters nationwide.

The funding, delivered through the USDA Disaster Assistance Fund, is intended to provide immediate relief for communities recovering from severe storms, wildfires and hurricanes. It follows a January executive order from President Trump that expedited disaster assistance for rural areas.

“My heart goes out to the families across our great country who have lost loved ones, homes, businesses and livelihoods,” Rollins said. “As one of his first executive actions, President Trump made it a top priority for his administration to deliver fast and fair relief to communities impacted by disasters. USDA is fulfilling the President’s promise today and ensuring we are doing everything we can to support state and local efforts to rebuild these communities to be even stronger than before.”

Rollins made the announcement in North Dakota, where the USDA is providing more than $5 million to help rebuild electric infrastructure damaged by recent storms and wildfires.

Additional aid includes $25 million for communities in North Carolina and $18 million for Tennessee, both states affected by hurricanes since 2022, including hurricanes Fiona, Ian, Idalia and Helene.

Breakdown of USDA disaster funding includes:

• $5.8 million for economic development for farm producers and rural enterprises.
• $15.6 million to support rural infrastructure repairs.
• $20 million for safe drinking water, sanitary waste disposal and electric infrastructure restoration.
• $2 million for technical assistance to towns applying for aid.

The announcement also included adjustments to the USDA Disaster Assistance Fund aimed at streamlining aid distribution. Updates include deploying aid more quickly, improving fund management, addressing a backlog of assistance requests and waiving eligibility criteria such as income requirements and population limits.

The USDA Disaster Assistance Fund will support the repair of homes, businesses, infrastructure and essential services in disaster-affected communities.

For more information on USDA disaster assistance programs, visit the Rural Development Disaster Assistance webpage.