Gov. Mark Warner is seeking disaster designations for 18 more drought-stricken Virginia counties, including Culpeper, Essex, Fauquier and Louisa.

The request brings to 58 the total number of localities in Virginia asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make farmers eligible for low-interest loans.

Warner submitted requests for Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George and Westmoreland counties last month. Orange has already been designated a primary disaster area.

Noting that some requests were made as early as Aug. 6, Warner urged the USDA yesterday to speed up its review of applications.

“Continued delays only add to the frustration felt by the many Virginia farmers who are suffering because of the prolonged and extreme drought,” Warner said in a news release. “I hope the federal government will act very soon.”

Federal disaster declarations make farmers eligible for low-interest loans and any supplement relief that Congress may provide. Agricultural losses in Virginia have already reached an estimated $120 million and could go as high as $200 million by the end of the fall, Warner said.

The drought has also impacted residential areas. Officials in Fredericksburg, the towns of Orange, Gordonsville and Colonial Beach, and Spotsylvania and Stafford counties have imposed mandatory restrictions on public water use. Warner has also imposed restrictions banning most outdoor watering for well users and public-water customers across most of the state.