DES MOINES (AP) – Sen. Charles Grassley noted Wednesday that 25 Iowa counties hit by storms, hail and flooding in early August have been designated disaster areas eligible for agricultural assistance.

The Iowa Republican said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday issued a secretarial declaration for 25 counties, making farmers eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

Eight counties have been declared primary natural disaster areas: Calhoun, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Ida, Sac, Webster and Woodbury.

The others are contiguous disaster areas: Black Hawk, Boone, Buena Vista, Butler, Carroll, Cherokee, Crawford, Franklin, Greene, Humboldt, Marshall, Monona, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Story, Tama and Wright.

Vilsack earlier declared 57 Iowa counties disaster areas because of storms between May 15 and July 31.