On Monday, March 25, 2024, the USDA designated 11 Colorado counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought. Additional areas of Colorado and adjacent states are named as contiguous disaster counties.
A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loan assistance, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have 8 months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency
loans.
Read more about the assistance available on the USDA page and the Disaster Assistance Programs brochure.
Disaster designation areas for Colorado and contiguous states
Primary Colorado Counties (11)
- Alamosa
- Archuleta
- Conejos
- Costilla
- Hinsdale
- Huerfano
- La Plata
- Mineral
- Montezuma
- Rio Grande
- Saguache
Contiguous Colorado Counties (9)
- Chaffee
- Custer
- Dolores
- Fremont
- Gunnison
- Las Animas
- Ouray
- Pueblo
- San Juan
Contiguous Counties in Adjacent States
- Arizona (1): Apache
- New Mexico (4): Colfax, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Taos
- Utah (1): San Juan