It has been nice to see rain, maybe not the snow so much, but definitely the rain the last few days.  The rain has been welcomed by our farmers as Iowa has been experiencing dry conditions for almost 3 years running now.  Gov. Kim Reynolds announced earlier this week that 43 Iowa counties have disaster declarations due to this drought.  24 are considered ‘primary’ while 19 are ‘contiguous.’  Marshall County was listed as ‘contiguous’ while our neighbor Tama County was listed as ‘primary.’ According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, roughly one-third of Marshall is in a severe drought. The rest of the county is in a moderate drought. The governor’s designation makes farmers in both Marshall and Tama eligible for Farm Service Agency emergency loan assistance. Farmers have eight months to apply for the loan.

Zach Tomesch, News Director KFJB