Topeka ? Gov. Mark Parkinson is requesting agricultural disaster declarations for three counties in southern Kansas.

Parkinson’s request Friday to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack cites heavy rain, floods, winds and a freeze in Cherokee, Cowley and Sumner from late March and the end of May.

Parkinson said the designation would let farmers apply for emergency federal loans to help them recover from crop damage caused by the bad weather.