Disaster Declaration for Most of Nevada Due to Drought

The U.S. Agriculture Department has declared most of Nevada a natural disaster area due to lingering drought. And state water officials say more trouble is brewing for ranchers and farmers in western Nevada where cutbacks have been ordered in irrigation supplies.

The USDA announced the designation of primary disaster areas in Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Esmeralda, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing and Washoe counties.

Farmers and ranchers there will be eligible for low-interest emergency loans. So will those in the neighboring counties of Elko, Eureka, Lincoln, Storey and White Pine. In February the state water engineer ordered a 50 percent reduction in the amount of groundwater that can be pumped for crops in the Smith and Mason valleys.