• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Drought-stricken farmers and ranchers in the Dakotas are getting more help from the federal Agriculture Department.
• Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a two-month extension for emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program land. He also has designated 21 South Dakota counties as primary natural disaster areas, which also affects six contiguous counties in North Dakota.
• Producers in those counties might qualify for low-interest emergency loans.
• The CRP grazing extension means ranchers can graze their cattle on CRP land that normally is idled through November rather than through September. The extension does not apply to emergency haying of CRP land.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Forecasters say a cool-down is in store after a day of re

cord-breaking heat in the Dakotas.
• National Weather Service reports show more than a dozen cities in South Dakota and North Dakota set high-temperature records on Wednesday. The South Dakota capital of Pierre hit 110 degrees. Many other cities in the state including Rapid City and Sioux Falls surpassed 100 degrees.
• The Argus Leader newspaper reports that Sioux Falls has implemented once-per-week watering restrictions for the first time since 2003 because drought has reduced the flow in the Big Sioux River.
• Many cities in North Dakota also had triple-digit temperatures Wednesday. Grand Forks County issued a burn ban because of high fire danger. The western part of the state also is very dry.
• Forecasts call for slightly cooler temperatures Thursday.

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