The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has established the Emergency Disaster Relief Loan Program through the Utah Conservation Commission. The program was designed to assist agricultural producers by providing funds to address extraordinary circumstances related to declared disasters that resulted in production losses.
Applications for the program were opened for specific disaster declarations including freezing temperatures, drought conditions, and recent wildfires.
The program offers unsecured 7-year fully amortized loans with a maximum of $100,000 per entity. Interest rates are set at 0% for the first two years, increasing to 2.75% thereafter. Borrowers have options regarding payment frequency, including monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
Loan funds may only be used to cover losses related to official declared disasters that are not already covered by insurance, indemnity, or other compensation. The program does not allow funds to be used for value-added projects. All disbursements must be completed within six months of loan closing or before a specified date unless extended by the Utah Conservation Commission.
Specific deadlines were established for recent declarations:
For freezing temperatures declared on May 15, 2026, affecting Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Iron, Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Utah, and Weber counties, the application deadline was November 15, 2026.
Drought conditions declared on May 21, 20 $ ext{26}$, affecting all counties, had an application deadline of November 21, 2026.
Wildfires declared on June 25, 2026, affecting all counties, carried an application deadline of December 25, 2026.
The application process requires initial approval through local Conservation Districts. Applicants must submit a complete and signed application along with supporting documents such as quotes, invoices, and documentation of losses to their local Resource Coordinator.
Following district approval, applications are forwarded to the UDAF Loan Department for review. Required secondary documentation includes two years of personal and business tax returns, financial statements including balance sheets and income statements, and entity documents for business applicants. The program processes applications on a first complete, first processed basis.
