LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Eight more Nebraska counties have been added to a national list of those eligible for a streamlined drought relief process.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it streamlined the process as crops in many states burn up in the widest drought in nearly 25 years.
Nearly 1,370 counties nationwide now will automatically qualify for disaster assistance if they're in a severe drought for at least eight weeks or were in extreme drought this growing season.
The eight new Nebraska counties on the list are Boone, Custer, Greeley, Howard, Merrick, Nance, Sherman and Valley. Already on the list were Banner, Chase, Dawson, Dundy, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Kimball, Lincoln, Perkins, Phelps and Red Willow.
