ALBANY (AP) – Four more counties in upstate New York have been designated as natural disaster areas by the federal government due to the drought.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Jefferson, Lewis, Herkimer, and St. Lawrence counties in northern New York were added due to crop losses. The disaster declaration allows farmers to apply for emergency loans and other assistance.

By August, the federal government had declared 15 New York counties as primary natural disaster areas and an additional nine counties as contiguous disaster counties.

The governor says 51 of the state’s 62 counties have been severely impacted by the dry conditions that have persisted since the summer.