MONTGOMERY, Ala. ( WSFA ) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 25 counties in Alabama as primary natural disaster areas after farms across the state suffered losses from excessive rainfall in May and June.

Rick Pate, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, said the rain during this year’s planting season impacted more than half of Alabama’s counties, leading to planting delays or preventing it altogether.

“We recognize the hardship our farmers have faced with the late spring flooding and now the current drought,” Commissioner Pate said. “We encourage them to reach out to their local USDA officers to explore available funding.

The counties included in the disaster designation are:

Blount

Calhoun

Chambers

Cherokee

Cleburne

Colbert

Coos

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