Scotts Bluff County in the Nebraska Panhandle has joined the list of the state's "livestock friendly" counties.

Counties that receive the designation receive road signs showing the program logo to display along highways, and can use it to market themselves to the agriculture industry.

The other 15 counties with the designation are Adams, Box Butte, Dawes, Deuel, Gage, Garden, Grant, Hitchcock, Jefferson, Keith, Lincoln, Morrill, Sheridan, Wayne and Webster.

The program is coordinated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

To apply for the designation, county boards must hold public hearings and pass application resolutions. Applications are then submitted to department for review.