Walker declares drought and seeks disaster relief

Saying Utah's farmers and ranchers need help desperately, on Tuesday Gov. Olene Walker issued an official declaration of drought disaster and is seeking federal aid to relieve the situation.

"Utah remains one of the hardest-hit states by this prolonged drought, and I am asking for immediate assistance from our federal government," Walker said, according to a press statement released by her office.

The declaration comes after six straight years of below-average rainfall, according to the statement. The impact on Utah's agricultural economy this year is estimated at $133 million — 30 percent of the value of the normal harvest.

"Utah's farmers and ranches are experiencing some of the driest conditions on record, and help is desperately needed," the governor added.

The declaration covers all of Utah's 29 counties, but "extreme drought" conditions are present in 21 of them, qualifying them for primary drought disaster designation. Those are Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Washington and Wayne counties.

If the 21 counties are named primary disaster areas, farmers in the other eight also would become eligible for federal assistance because they live in counties that are adjacent to ones named federal disaster areas.

In letter sent Friday to Ann M. Veneman, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Walker asks for relief for hundreds of farmers and ranchers who face substantial crop loss because of drought, compounded by "record cricket and grasshopper infestation."

According to Cary G. Peterson, the Utah commissioner of agriculture and food, irrigation reservoirs statewide are at well below normal levels. Some are nearly empty.

The extreme conditions also qualified the state for special livestock feed assistance from the USDA, the statement said.