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(Salt Lake City-AP) -- As the drought continues, Utah farmers and ranchers are flooding government agencies with requests for help.
Bill York of the U-S Department of Agriculture says he's seeing more requests for emergency loans than anyone expected. He's not forecasting any downturn in the requests, either.
The fourth-straight year of drought has hurt sheep and cattle ranchers throughout Utah. Many have sold animals because they can't afford to feed them. Farmers also have seen reduced yields on many crops.
From October 2002 through early January, the Farm Service Agency funded 12 emergency loans to struggling farmers and ranchers.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
