Four consecutive weeks of severe drought (D2) during the normal grazing period qualifies a county for one LFP payment month. Seven of eight consecutive weeks of D2 qualifies it for two. Any week of D3 or D4 qualifies it for more.
Longest current D2+ streaks
| Beckham County, OK | 51 weeks |
| Roger Mills County, OK | 45 weeks |
| Briscoe County, TX | 39 weeks |
| Hall County, TX | 39 weeks |
| Armstrong County, TX | 35 weeks |
| Donley County, TX | 35 weeks |
| Swisher County, TX | 35 weeks |
| Childress County, TX | 35 weeks |
Weeks in a row with some severe drought (D2) or worse anywhere in the county.
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor · as of Oct 27, 2026
Until 2025, the first LFP month needed eight straight weeks of D2. The 2025 law FSA calls the Working Families Tax Cuts Act lowered that to four weeks and added the two-month step for D2 in seven of eight weeks. The higher steps didn't change: D3 at any time is 3 months; D3 for 4 weeks or D4 at any time is 4; D4 for 4 weeks is 5.
The count runs on the weekly Drought Monitor map, and only weeks inside that pasture type's normal grazing period count. So a county can qualify for native pasture but not for a forage whose grazing season had already ended.
"Some part of the county" is enough for the county to be rated at that level in FSA's file. You don't need D2 across most of the county.
Cownty counts the current run of weeks with any D2 or worse for each county (shown below). That count helps you see where a county stands, but the official word is FSA's county file, which Cownty also reads.
Remember the other half: being on the list makes a county eligible, and FSA then looks at each operation's land, livestock and records.
Official sources
Rules checked against these pages on Oct 18, 2026. Live numbers update with each data load. Information only: the agency decides. Not affiliated with USDA.