RainDrop · Drought Relief Finder
The drought already happened.
The paperwork is what's missing.
The Livestock Forage Disaster Program pays ranchers automatically when the U.S. Drought Monitor rates their county at D2 or worse — no loss adjuster, no damage assessment. The trigger is a public map. Most producers never check it.
The thresholds got easier in 2026. Under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, the entry point dropped from 8 consecutive weeks of severe drought to 4, retroactive to January 1. Counties that never qualified before qualify now.
What triggers a payment
Drought must fall inside the county's normal grazing period. The highest tier reached wins.
| Drought Monitor condition | Monthly payments |
|---|---|
| D2 severe — 4 consecutive weeks | 1 |
| D2 severe — 7 of 8 consecutive weeks | 2 |
| D3 extreme — any time | 3 |
| D3 extreme — at least 4 weeks | 4 |
| D4 exceptional — any time | 4 |
| D4 exceptional — at least 4 weeks | 5 |
Capped at $125,000 per person or entity per year. Producers with adjusted gross income over $900,000 are ineligible. Applications are due March 1 of the year after the loss.
Closing in the next 30 days
Other federal money with an August 2026 deadline. These are not drought programs — they close sooner than LFP does.
- Aug 3, 2026FSA County Committee nominations
Nomination forms due for the 2026 county committee election.
- Aug 7, 2026Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF)
Payments based on 2025 reported planted acres of eligible specialty crops. Pre-filled applications available.
- Aug 12, 2026Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), Stages 1 & 2
Over $16 billion for 2023–2024 crop losses. Stage 1 covers indemnified losses; Stage 2 covers shallow, uninsured and quality losses.
- Aug 31, 2026ARC / PLC base acre update
First chance since 2002 to add base acres — up to 30 million nationally. Landowners must review their Base Allocation Summary.
RainDrop is not affiliated with USDA. Nothing here is an eligibility determination — only your FSA county office can make one. Drought data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with USDA and NOAA.