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FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - After a dry winter that left the Central Valley's sheep and cattle with parched rangeland to graze, projections for summer water supplies are running as low as this year's rainfall.
The forecasts spell trouble for California ranchers, who say they expect to lose millions of dollars in revenue this year after spending more to feed animals who may not grow to normal size and therefore won't fetch premium prices at market.
Mike Blasingame, a fifth-generation rancher in the Fresno County foothills, said the unusually dry spring has left less natural grass for the calves he raises to eat.
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