Missouri is hoping to help farmers and ranchers battling severe drought get water a bit more easily.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order Monday for an emergency cost-share program that will help livestock and crop producers affected by the drought pay for deeper wells.

As Harvest has previously reported, Missouri and most of the Midwest are experiencing the worst drought in years. The deteriorating condition of crops and livestock has led to wide swaths of the nation being declared agricultural disaster areas.

According to St. Louis radio station KMOX, Nixon announced the emergency program on Tuesday at the Springfield Livestock Market, noting that, “livestock producers have been especially hard-hit by the extreme weather conditions...”

A cost-share program for drilling wells already existed in Missouri, but under the emergency program farmers will only be responsible for 10 percent of the cost rather than the usual 25 percent. The emergency program is also directly tied to the drought:

 “In order to qualify for the program, a proposed water project must bring immediate material benefit to crops or livestock, and not adversely affect a public water supply,” KMOX reported.

Applications for the emergency well-drilling program must be submitted by Aug. 6 in order to qualify. The two week time limit and the formation of an additional approval committee are to insure those who truly need the wells will be approved in a timely manner.