Feds Declare Drought Disaster For Oklahoma

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 76 of Oklahoma's 77 counties as primary natural disaster areas due to ongoing drought conditions.

Wednesday's declaration makes farmers in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans of 2.15 percent. In Oklahoma -- only Ottawa County is not a primary disaster area -- but farmers in the northeast county are also eligible because the county is contiguous to those in the primary disaster declaration.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack designated a total of 597 counties in 14 states as primary natural disaster areas in the declaration.

Read USDA news release.

In 2012, USDA designated 2,245 counties in 39 states as disaster areas due to drought, or 71 percent of the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.