Photo / UNL Extension Office
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News Channel Nebraska
The USDA has designated 55 Nebraska counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought.
Secretary Tom Vilsack notified Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen that the counties had received the disaster designation, making farmers in those areas eligible for federal assistance.
In addition to the 55 primary counties, farmers in 47 contiguous counties are also eligible for relief. Of those bordering counties, 24 are in neighboring states, including Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the initial declaration, which was officially March 31, to apply for emergency loans.
Virtually all of Nebraska remains in some level of drought as of the end of March.
A total of 11 Nebraska counties are experiencing exceptional drought, the highest level listed by the U.S. Drought Monitor. An additional 47 are in extreme drought. With the exception of a small portion of Richardson County, the rest of the state is either listed as being in severe drought, moderate drought or abnormally dry.
Among the counties receiving emergency declaration:
Primary counties:
Antelope
Arthur
Banner
Blaine
Boone
Boyd
Brown
Burt
Butler
Cedar
Chase
Cherry
Cheyenne
Colfax
Cuming
Dakota
Deuel
Dixon
Dodge
Douglas
Dundy
Frontier
Furnas
Garden
Greeley
Hall
Hamilton
Hayes
Hitchcock
Holt
Hooker
Howard
Keith
Keya Paha
Kimball
Lincoln
Loup
Madison
Merrick
Morrill
Nance
Perkins
Pierce
Platte
Polk
Red Willow
Rock
Saunders
Scotts Bluff
Stanton
Thomas
Thurston
Washington
Wayne
Wheeler
