Farmers that were devastated by the August derecho in the Raccoon Valley Radio-listening area are eligible for financial assistance from the Farm Service Agency.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue approved Governor Kim Reynolds’ request Thursday for a Secretarial disaster declaration for 18 counties which include Dallas and Guthrie, and 24 additional counties were designated contiguous natural disaster counties including Adair and Greene. This declaration makes farm operators in these counties eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the FSA, including FSA emergency loans. Farmers have about eight months from now to apply for the loans.