Information updated as of May 27, 2026
Read on to learn about:
- Current drought conditions in the Southeast U.S.
- Financial assistance options for farmers affected by drought
- Mitigation strategies for smaller-scale producers
Current Southeast Drought Conditions
It isn’t new news that many Southeast U.S. states have experienced a dry spring. Farmers can’t plant crops, and dry-irrigated crops are struggling to thrive. Large fires have been reported in six states, spurring emergency evacuations, burn bans, and warnings about operating equipment on dry fields where sparks pose a fire risk.
While NC’s burn ban has been lifted in all 100 counties as of May 8, 2026, most of NC is still experiencing severe-to-extreme drought (Source: US Drought Monitor). Burn permits are required; more information about current burning regulations is available on the NC Department of Agriculture website. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared 89 NC counties as primary or contiguous natural disaster areas due to a recent drought, and farmers in all 89 counties are now eligible for Emergency Farm Loan assistance through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Determine if your county has a drought disaster declaration using this US Secretary of Agriculture 2026 drought declaration list.
Farmers experiencing a drought should know that even with rain events on the forecast, single storms are not enough to “recharge” moisture levels to the extent needed for many agricultural crops or forage to thrive. Unlike the “flash drought” conditions of late spring in 2024, our current drought conditions are a result of many months of below-average rainfall — a slow drying with too few rain events that would allow soils to rehydrate and flowing water to reach average levels. According to NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System’s April 16 Drought Status Update, “Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have experienced record dry conditions for September 2025-March 2026,” but there has been insufficient rainfall since July 2025. For the most recent months (January-March), southeastern states have had 4-8 inches less of rain than usual.
U.S. Drought Monitor forecasts do not show improvements in the month or season ahead, either. Predictions indicate that drought will persist through next month, easing in limited regions later this summer.
Resources for Farmers Affected by Drought
For farmers bearing the burden of drought, there may be few options to respond in the moment, often depending on the scale of production. Some farms may be able to install water-conserving features, while others may depend on crop insurance or financial assistance programs to mitigate crop or forage losses.
If you’re a farmer in the Southeast experiencing drought, read on to find financial assistance opportunities and drought mitigation options.
Farm Financial Assistance
Like other disaster programs, drought assistance programs open for application when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declares certain qualifying drought events as agricultural disasters. This happens on a county-by-county basis based on drought data available from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Using this Monitor, farmers can identify their county or island’s current drought status and can help with drought monitoring by reporting their current drought conditions. Farmers’ eligibility for financial assistance is determined by their specific circumstances, and assistance is not guaranteed. There are different deadlines for each program, as well as different reporting or form requirements. Because USDA Disaster Assistance is individualized to each farmer, please know that the information below is meant to be an introduction. To further assess if you are eligible for drought disaster assistance, you will need to contact your local Farm Service Agency and work closely with your county agent. If you are experiencing trouble or suspect you are getting misinformation, you can contact RAFI’s Farmer Hotline: 866.586.6746
At this time, farmers with qualifying drought conditions in their county are eligible to apply for emergency farm loans with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). These loans are for the purpose of purchasing emergency equipment/supplies, making management changes to remedy the situation, or covering personal expenses, farm payments, or other debts when there is no farm income as a result of drought conditions. Learn more here.
If you have Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance (NAP) coverage and have prevented planting, lower yields, or destroyed crops, remember to contact your local FSA office about your loss and/or “prevented planting” and file a notice of loss (CCC-576) with FSA within 15 days of the loss being apparent. For hand-harvested crops, the loss should be filed within 72 hours.
What is “prevented planting?” If you prepared to sow crop seed, transplants, or forage seed but conditions were too dry to plant and you will have an unexpected loss of income as a result, you may be eligible for assistance through NAP or other future disaster assistance programs. Your eligibility for prevented planting will depend on USDA-set planting deadline dates for each specific crop. If you think you qualify for prevented planting, contact FSA and be prepared to show evidence that you were preparing or prepared to plant, such as pictures of prepared fields, receipts of seed and fertilizer purchases, or contractor work orders/invoices.
If you have not yet applied for NAP coverage (CCC-471) for crop year 2026, but you think or know you have a Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification Form (CCC-860) on file at FSA, you can contact FSA to find out if you have catastrophic coverage available on any eligible crops. Coverage would support both crop losses and prevented planting. Reporting deadlines and prevented planting documentation requirements are the same as for NAP (see above).
The Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool questionnaire can help identify USDA disaster assistance programs that you may be eligible for. Livestock producers that are located in counties that are in D2-D4 drought status may be eligible for compensation under the Livestock Forage Disaster Program and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised-Fish Program (ELAP). Farmers who need to restore land after a drought may be eligible for the Emergency Conservation Program.
For all programs, it is imperative to notify your local FSA of your loss immediately after the apparent loss. Deadlines to apply for payment will occur months later.
Record Keeping Advice for Drought Disasters
RAFI recommends that farmers keep detailed records of prevented planting, crop, tree, or forage losses (by sq ft or acre), and emergency expenses. Having detailed records during or at least shortly after the disaster will improve farmers’ chances of receiving the assistance they are eligible for when it becomes available.
- Reporting prevented planting or crop/forage/tree losses: Contact your local FSA Office within 15 days of the loss being apparent, except for hand-harvested crops, which should be filed within 72 hours. Simply call the office and state that you have a loss or delayed planting. Ask what you need to file and complete any forms immediately. Request a Receipt for Service and/or follow up with an email to document the notice to FSA.
- Keeping records of prevented planting or crop/forage losses: For prevented planting, have records or receipts of seed, soil amendments, and field preparation completed. For losses, keep records of planting dates, area planted (sq ft or acre), and receipts for seeds and amendments.
- Keep records of planting and harvests: Filing Crop Reports (FSA-578) annually at FSA, keeping production records, revenue statements, and filing Schedule F can be beneficial for demonstrating farm revenue in prior years. Learn more about FSA crop reporting and record-keeping best practices here.
Mitigating drought mid-season
Farmers know that adequate moisture is critical for every stage of production: preparing soil, applying fertilizer, good germination, transplant survival, and maintaining plant vigor until harvest. Thus, preventing soil moisture evaporation can be a critical strategy for farmers planting or cultivating crops during a drought. Without the time or moisture for cover crop application, mulching and water-conserving irrigation become your next best strategies. The added and laborious task of mulching for moisture retention can feel extremely difficult when everything else in the planting season is demanding your attention all at once. But if mulch application at your scale of production is manageable and it’s paired with reliable, efficient irrigation, your efforts will prevent further moisture loss in your soils and you can maintain a viable crop.
Remember that droughts leave both your crops and soil extremely vulnerable, not just affecting this year’s crop or forage but next year’s crop or forage too. Keep in mind that even if the drought-mitigating and soil-health-improving actions described below (plus others) do not improve conditions in the current growing season, they can drastically improve conditions in the following seasons or years. According to USDA, “soil health practices increase organic matter, and each pound of organic matter can hold up to 20 pounds of water. Every 1% increase in organic matter results in as much as 25,000 gallons of soil water per acre. Each 1% increase in organic matter can also provide up to 30 pounds of more available nitrogen per acre.”
If you are in Puerto Rico or North Carolina and need support planning for future water conservation strategies and drought resilience, please contact RAFI by using this form.
Plastic Mulch
Black landscape fabric or plastic is popular, as it can qualify as “mulch” and does a great job on moisture retention and weed suppression. For annual crops, it is best laid before planting so that you can transplant directly into pre-cut (or you-cut) holes. But if you are trying to quickly mitigate soil moisture loss during a drought, landscape fabric laid along the sides of beds or in your pathways may help.
The drawbacks: It is not a material that feeds soil microorganisms and does not build new organic matter when laid over bare soil. The development of organic matter improves soil structure, leading to better water retention and crop health. Landscape fabric and plastic also don’t last long. Plastic easily rips while the fabric lasts longer, but the fabric will eventually have weeds — especially nutsedge — busting through. If you are small-scale and manage weeds by hand, your hand-weeding efforts may deteriorate the woven fabric after about one year. For organic farmers, plastic cannot be left on beds at the end of the season; it has to be pulled up. The newest option on the market is a felt-like black fabric. It is decomposable, and at least one type of this felt-like fabric complies with organic standards.
“Living Mulch”
Living mulch is one of two things: it can be grass walkways that are regularly mowed in a strip-tilled crop area, or living mulch can be a low-growing cover crop (like white clover, creeping thyme, chamomile, or a mix) in walkways. While there are a growing number of successful trials of “living mulch” on small farms/market gardens, drought conditions are not a good time to begin living mulch due to poor germination rates.
Decomposing Mulch (dead vegetative material)
Mulch is most effective when it is a decomposable material because it serves multiple purposes. Both straw and wood chip mulch will not only keep your crops’ roots hydrated but will also keep your soil microbial activity alive and retain good soil structure for future crop planting. Check out specific vegetative mulch material suggestions for beds and pathways below:
- Mulch Choices for Crop Beds: In a pinch, straw is an excellent mulch for your crop beds. Just be sure to understand if it was chemically treated before you apply it — especially if you are certified organic or “organic” practicing. Why not use hay as mulch? While straw breaks down faster and provides less soil nutrients than hay, you won’t have weed seeds to contend with like you would with hay. If you can manage the weed seeds, hay can be another good mulch option. If you have the time to quickly weed your beds before laying straw, you will have the most success. Lay it down thick over any drip irrigation lines already in place.
- Mulch Choices for Walkways: When it comes to walkways, wood chips, shavings, or sawdust are a fantastic moisture barrier, and when it gets wet from irrigating the crops next to it, will activate some fantastic fungal growth. If you grow on a slope and experience heavy rainfall, just beware that wood chips can easily be swept away, end up in your crop beds, etc., if they have not compacted enough. Sawdust poses less risk of washing away because it mats down. But fungal growth underneath the surface of wood chips will help them compact and stay in place too. If you have the time, weed your walkways before covering them with wood chips, especially if you have tough perennial grasses like Bermuda grass or johnsongrass. Weeding now will save you time later, reducing hand-pulling weeds that eventually poke through. Best practice would be laying cardboard down over the weeded walkway and then covering the cardboard with wood chips. Worms will love you for doing this! In tropical locations where wood chips might be in smaller supply, stalks and wide leaves from tropical trees, sawdust, or cardboard can be a great moisture (and weed) barrier. It will just get slippery and cardboard breaks down fast, needing to be replaced sooner.
