Officials on Monday disbursed $1.8 million in federal money for North Dakota ranchers who lost forage to drought.

The money was provided to the state through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Livestock Assistance Grant Program. It was for ranchers in 27 counties that were in the "extreme" or "exceptional" drought categories last summer.

The counties are Adams, Benson, Billings, Bowman, Burleigh, Dickey, Dunn, Emmons, Golden Valley, Grand Forks, Grant, Hettinger, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh, Mercer, Morton, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Ramsey, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Towner, Traill and Walsh.

A total of 2,254 producers from 25 of the 27 eligible counties were getting a portion of the money, Gov. John Hoeven said in a statement. Per-animal payments ranged up to $9.79 depending on the severity of the drought in a rancher's county.

"We recognize that the money does not go far enough in helping ranchers recover from the extremely tough conditions which they experienced this past summer," he said. "This drought is severe enough to warrant comprehensive federal drought legislation."

- Associated Press