(Putneypics/Flickr Creative Commons)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The U.S. Department of Agriculture says farmers in 88 of Indiana's 92 counties are eligible for low-interest emergency loans because of heavy rains and flooding that have occurred since May 1.

The agency declared 53 counties as primary disaster areas Wednesday because of damages and losses that farmers have incurred, and farmers in 35 other Indiana counties contiguous to the 53 also are eligible for the loans. Farmers in counties in Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan that are contiguous to the disaster areas also are eligible.

The USDA says farmers in eligible counties have eight months to apply for loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency to help cover part of their actual losses.