Back in June Gov. Hickenlooper reported to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack of the dire state many counties are in as a result of this year’s drought and requested freeze assistance.   Today Vilsack responded to Hickenlooper and said that 8 of the state’s counties qualify for federal disaster relief.  Those counties include Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Ouray, Pitkin, and San Miguel Counties.  The federal assistance that has been approved includes Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.  Farmers in these counties now have 8 months from the date of the declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance.