USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

On Tuesday, April 22, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced $340.6 million in USDA disaster assistance to deliver relief to farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters that have caused devastation across the country. The funding is in response to President Trump’s January executive order.

Secretary Rollins made the announcement in North Dakota, where the USDA is delivering more than $5 million to help rebuild electric infrastructure following damage from severe storms and wildfires.

The USDA will also deliver $25 million in relief to North Carolina communities and $18 million to Tennessee communities impacted by hurricanes since 2022. This includes hurricanes Fiona, Ian, Idalia, Helene and more. As part of this funding, USDA will use:

  • $5.8 million to support economic development for enterprises and farm producers.
  • $15.6 million to help rural communities rebuild key infrastructure after disasters.
  • $20 million for safe drinking water, sanitary waste disposal and restoration of electric infrastructure.
  • $2 million for technical assistance to towns seeking aid.

As part of the announcement, the Trump Administration is making key improvements to the fund, cutting bureaucratic inefficiencies that will enable USDA to:

  • Deploy critical aid as quickly as possible;
  • Ensure funds are more responsibly and effectively managed;
  • Respond immediately to a backlog of requests from communities that have sought disaster assistance in recent years and
  • Waive limiting eligibility criteria such as income requirements, population limits and more.

The USDA Disaster Assistance Fund will provide relief directly to rural families, farmers and small business owners, helping them recover, restore and rebuild. The fund will be used to repair homes, businesses, infrastructure and critical services in communities hit hardest by disaster.

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

Read more about the USDA disaster relief here.