The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that 15 counties in Montana have been designated a primary natural disaster area after being given “extreme drought” status by the U.S. Drought Monitor last week.

The designation includes Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Sanders and Glacier counties.

According to the National Weather Service, Kalispell’s precipitation total since Jan. 1 is only two-thirds of normal. Since June 3, measurable precipitation has fallen on only three days. June was the hottest month in history in the Flathead Valley.

Farmers and ranchers in the 15 counties can receive financial assistance from the federal Farm Service Agency as a result of crop losses. Ranchers who own or lease grazing land in those counties now are eligible for grants from the state’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program.

Ranchers can receive payments for three months of feed. In 2012 and 2013, the program provided almost $60 million in disaster relief to more than 4,100 livestock producers in the state.

Crop producers can also receive loans from the federal government as a result of the declaration, provided they have sustained a crop loss of at least 30 percent.

“Producers should check with their local FSA agent,” said Jayson O’Neill, a spokesman for the Montana Department of Agriculture. “Depending on insurance and a few other factors that can have an impact, for a crops producer, if they apply, it’s a loan program where they basically get a zero-interest loan.”

Those affected have eight months from the declaration to apply for federal emergency money by visiting disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

Another option for ranchers is the state’s hay hotline, an online tool for producers in need of hay or grazing land for their stock. It can be accessed at agr.mt.gov/agr/Producer/HayHotline.

Nine other Montana counties — mainly east of the Continental Divide — and eight Idaho counties have received “contiguous disaster” designations. Because those counties share a border with a primary disaster zone, they are also eligible for emergency assistance.

The primary disaster zone includes Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Missoula, Mineral, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders and Silver Bow counties.

The contiguous disaster zone in Montana includes Broadwater, Cascade, Choteau, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Meagher, Teton and Toole counties.

Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.