The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Iowa’s request for a disaster declaration due to the drought. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the entire state will be eligible. Grassley says 68 counties have been declared a disaster area, and he says contiguous counties qualify too, so all 99 counties will be eligible. Grassley says the declaration qualifies eligible farmers for low-interest loans. He says the county has to have 30-percent damage and individuals would have to show a certain amount of loss. Grassley says farmers can apply for assistance at their county F-S-A office. He says disaster relief is never going to make anybody whole, but he says “hopefully it helps farmers over the hump” so they can continue to farm. The primary counties declared disaster areas are: Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Dickinson, Dubuque, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Grundy, Guthrie, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Marion, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, O’Brien, Page, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Sac, Shelby, Story, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Winnebago, Winneshiek and Worth.
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