UNDATED (WSAU)  Farmers in all but 6 Wisconsin counties will be eligible for low-interest emergency loans, as the result of two new disaster declarations from the U-S-D-A. 31 counties were named as “primary natural disaster areas,” after a warm spring caused crops to start growing prematurely – only to die when a wave of frost and freezing temperatures hit afterward.

Kewaunee County was also declared a disaster area because of drought conditions from May through early August. Brown, Calumet, and Sheboygan were designated for both reasons. And all the counties which surround the primary areas are eligible for the same disaster relief, which means that only six are not covered. Those six are Crawford, Door, Grant, Lafayette, Racine, and Richland counties.

The U-S-D-A’s Farm Service Agency will handle the disaster loans. Eligible farmers have eight months to apply for loans that will help cover part of their actual losses.