Gov. Kim Reynolds formally requested a secretarial disaster designation from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue for 57 Iowa counties affected by the Aug. 10 derecho. The designation, in addition to the president’s disaster designation, would allow Iowa producers access to USDA disaster programs, the governor’s office said in a statement. The derecho had severe winds in excess of 100 mph, causing widespread damage and power outages. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency determined the storm touched 57 counties; preliminary estimates are that 3.57 million acres of corn and 2.5 million acres of soybeans were severely damaged by the storm, with millions more acres affected to varying degrees, the statement said. If approved, producers in designated counties could immediately have access to low-interest Farm Service Agency emergency loans.