MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Governor Scott Walker declared a state-of-emergency Monday in 42 southern-and-central Wisconsin counties where crops are threatened by extreme drought conditions. Walker’s action allowed the DNR to expedite permit requests by farmers to use lake-and-stream water for irrigation. The Republican governor is urging farmers to report their crop conditions to their local Farm Service agents, with the idea of seeking a federal disaster declaration that would provide grants-and-loans to cover farmers’ crop losses. The affected counties include all of those in the southern half of the state, bounded on the northern edge by Brown, Outagamie, Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Clark, Jackson, and Trempealeau counties.