Scant rainfall has left ranchers in western Kings County with little natural grass to feed their cattle.

Kings County is likely only a few weeks away from declaring a disaster for 233,493 acres of grassland used for range cattle, sheep pasture and non-irrigated crops, according to Joe Neves, county supervisor.

"I guess you can consider this the first (agriculture disaster) of this year," said Ruben Arroyo, deputy Kings County agricultural commissioner.

Preliminary reports from the Kings County Department of Agriculture this week show an economic loss of $1.2 million.

The losses are measured according to the rental value of the land for grazing purposes.

Kings County agricultural officials estimate a 75 percent reduction in the amount of grass available. The actual loss won't be known until a University of California measurement on April 24, Arroyo said.

Other San Joaquin Valley counties are reporting losses in the 30 percent to 80 percent range, Arroyo said.

Kings County is eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster relief when losses in one crop area exceed 30 percent and the California governor declared the county a disaster area.

A USDA disaster designation frees up low-interest federal loans and could make ranchers eligible for direct payment assistance, according to Arroyo.

Cattle ranchers aren't the only ones who would benefit. Shepherds and dry farmers - those who plant seed crops that aren't irrigated - may also be eligible.

Losses at Orchard Ranch are in both the cattle ranching and dry farming categories, according to ranch foreman Derek Orchard. The ranch is located in the extreme southwestern corner of Kings County.

Orchard called the rainfall total on his ranch the lowest in "90 plus years."

"We've been the same color - brown - since last May. We didn't even see any green (grass) this year," he said.

The county board of supervisors is likely to intervene and declare a local disaster in a couple of weeks, according to Neves.

Meanwhile, drought conditions are forecast through June.

Hanford and Kings County are classified as moderate drought areas, with the likelihood that the situation will intensify, according to the National Weather Service.

(March 31, 2007)