The Iowa farms hit hardest by this summer’s drought could see emergency loans if U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman declares them eligible for federal disaster aid.

Last week Gov. Tom Vilsack requested 68 Iowa counties be declared eligible for aid.

Iowa farmers are waiting for a decision from the federal government deciding which counties will receive aid, said Machelle Shaffer, communications director of the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

“The feds have to do their job, which is to assess each county and see if it really is a drought-stricken county,” she said.

Farmers in some areas could go out of business without emergency loans, said Lance Gibson, assistant professor of agronomy.

“Disaster is declared to help alleviate some of that financial stress caused by the drought,” he said.

Vilsack originally requested aid to go to 20 counties in August, she said.

“Anytime that it’s bad enough for the governor to ask for aid … there has to be a significant reason,” Shaffer said.

The drought made for a poor hay crop this year, causing hay to be very expensive and in short supply, Gibson said. At the same time, farmers need more hay to feed their livestock because pastures were also affected by the drought, he said.

Although Iowa’s corn yield is down from last year, it is still a decent yield, Gibson said.

Nationally, corn production is predicted to be 10 percent higher than it was last year, according to the USDA crop production report. If the predictions are realized, national corn production and yield would be second only to the record highs of 1994.

However, soybean production is down 3 percent nationally.

The Iowa office of the USDA Farm Service Agency will make the decision about which counties can be considered drought-stricken, Schaffer said.