U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared an additional 35 Iowa counties as primary natural disaster areas due to the drought.

These additional counties include: Adair, Adams, Audubon, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dallas, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Hancock, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Louisa, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O’Brien, Osceola, Page, Pocahontas, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby, Washington, Webster and Wright.

Benefits are also available for the contiguous counties of Boone, Bremer, Butler, Chickasaw, Des Moines, Dickinson, Emmet, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Howard, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, Mitchell, Muscatine, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Polk, Ringgold, Sioux, Taylor, Union, Warren, Winnebago, Woodbury, and Worth.

This designation makes farmers within these counties eligible for additional assistance from local FSA (Farm Service Agency) offices, including FSA emergency loans, when provided eligibility requirements are met.  Contact your local FSA office for additional information.