Topeka ? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 25 Kansas counties as disaster areas because of an ongoing drought, making farmers in them and adjacent counties eligible for aid.

The designation Friday covers the Wichita metropolitan area and south-central Kansas. The USDA previously had named 21 other counties as disaster areas.

The latest designation followed a request from Gov. Sam Brownback earlier this month. The USDA cited damage to wheat and other crops as justifying the declaration.

The counties covered by the latest designation are Barber, Barton, Butler, Clark, Comanche, Cowley, Edwards, Ellis, Ford, Graham, Gray, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Kingman, Lincoln, Norton, Phillips, Reno, Rice, Russell, Sedgwick, Stafford, Sumner and Trego.