Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) announced that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has designated four counties in Illinois 17th Congressional District (McDonough, Mercer, Fulton, and Tazewell) as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought. This follows the Illinois Farm Service Agency (FSA) authorizing emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for numerous Illinois counties in response to Sorensen’s request that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiate the processfor Illinois livestock farmers.