The state’s Drought Monitoring Task Force lifted its advisory for most of Southwest Virginia, including Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wise counties, as well as the cities of Bristol and Norton.
It’s the first time since April 16 that any portion of the Commonwealth has been listed as having a “normal” drought status. The rest of the state is still suffering drought conditions.
The situation is improving because August has seen sustained precipitation in much of Virginia, but it hasn’t been enough to replenish ground water levels after almost a year of below-average rainfall.
The task force met this week to discuss the status of drought monitoring. “Agricultural producers report improvement in crop conditions throughout the Commonwealth as a result of recent rain; however, reports indicate that the corn crop in the Northern Valley region of the state is stunted and the tobacco crop in Southside is one month delayed in maturity,” the Department of Environmental Quality reported. “Stream, river, and pond levels remain low throughout much of the state.”
Amid the ongoing drought, Virginians who attempted to search for disaster recovery resources on Thursday were out of luck: visitors to the website of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services were greeted with an error message.
“The website was down for a while last night,” a spokesperson for the department told the Daily Signal on Friday morning. “It is back up and the webpage on drought resources is available.”
More than 160 counties and localities in Virginia are eligible for drought disaster relief from the federal government’s Farm Service Agency. The areas qualified because they have either endured at least eight consecutive weeks of drought or endured an extreme or exceptional drought this summer.
Earlier this year, the federal Small Business Administration made low-interest disaster loans available to farmers and organizations that “sustained economic losses caused by the drought beginning Sept. 16, 2025.” The window to apply for that assistance closes on Monday.
Farmers in 43 primary natural disaster area counties as well as 61 adjoining counties are also eligible for aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after a hard freeze in April damaged crops.
“It’s always good to have outside assistance if need be, and agriculture is the number one private industry in the state of Virginia, it plays a major part,” David Trimmer told WVEC this month. He is Virginia Beach’s director of agriculture.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced a different federal intervention, which will attempt to reduce the price of beef by lifting tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of beef. However, Gov. Abigail Spanberger warned that the proposal might harm Virginia’s beef industry.
“This policy will directly harm Virginia’s cattle producers by flooding the market with government-subsidized, imported beef to the detriment of our farmers. This handout to foreign competitors has already caused a negative reaction in cattle markets while providing no guarantee of retail price relief for consumers,” she wrote in a letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Beef is Virginia’s second-largest commodity.
“We believe the best path toward an abundant, affordable and reliable beef supply is to strengthen American agriculture,” the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation added. “That means removing barriers that make it more difficult for cattle producers to expand, addressing high costs for fuel, feed, equipment and financing, and creating an environment that encourages producers to retain heifers and rebuild the national herd.”
Farmers say they are struggling, not only with drought but also with the rising costs. Robert Vaughan, a soybean and corn farmer in the Pungo area, chose not to plant corn this season because he didn’t expect to be able to grow enough to turn a profit. He was also concerned about the dry conditions. “Look after your farmers, because if you’re not looking after your farmers, then who’s going to grow?” he asked on WVEC.
