<p>Federal officials are declaring many counties of 11 western and central states to be primary natural disaster areas, due to a long-term drought which has devastated water reserves. This official designation means that farmers in these areas qualify for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA's Farm Service Agency, according to USA Today and Fox 40.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The announcement affects counties in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Kansas, Texas, Utah, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Oklahoma, and California. Farmers in designated disaster areas have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for assistance.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in a statement that he does sympathize with farmers and ranchers who are currently dealing with a lack of rain and snow, and he assured them that the USDA is going to stand by them.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/drought011614body.jpg" alt="images 011414" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Extreme drought conditions are being felt all across the West Coast. The federal U.S. Drought Monitor website reported that the worst states for drought are California, Oregon and Nevada. More than 62% of California is now classified as being in an "extreme" drought. The entire state of California, and in fact much of the West Coast experienced one of the driest years on record in 2013.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The only precipitation in California in the past month occurred several days ago, when a rapidly decaying cold front brought light rainfall, and some snow in the Sierras. However, this minimal moisture did little to ease the emergency situation.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The season’s first snowpack survey in the Sierra Nevada mountain range found that levels are averaging 10-30% of normal. Reservoir levels in California have also been dropping since summer 2013, and some water districts are already facing tough choices involving severe water restrictions.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Experts say that the cause of this disastrous lack of rainfall is a high pressure blocking ridge over the northeaster Pacific Ocean, which has persisted since December 2012. Despite dissipating a couple times, it has re-built itself in the same place and continues to block precipitation, during what has historically been California's rainy season.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">If drought conditions continue, this would severely impact agricultural production in these regions. Low-interest loans may help cover some of the losses farmers would face, but it is not clear that this would solve the looming problem of crop losses, which would undoubtedly have a large impact on the food supply.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Will water scarcity continue to plague the West Coast? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow, as we continue to cover this story as it develops.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/" target="_new"> US Drought Monitor </a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/01/16/drought-west-disaster-declarations/4522651/" target="_new"> USA Today </a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://fox40.com/2014/01/16/27-california-counties-qualify-for-drought-related-assistance/" target="_new"> Fox 40 News </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
