Bennett said that Utah farmers and ranchers have had to deal with drought, frost, insect infestation, flash floods, low snowpack and "the most active wildfire season in recent history."

"Some of our ranchers have lost their summer and winter range and have no option except to liquidate their herds," Bennett wrote in a letter to the secretary. "In all likelihood, 2007 will prove to be a very destructive year for Utah agriculture."

Huntsman requested the disaster declaration in a letter to the secretary Friday. If it is granted, farmers and ranchers could be eligible for low-income loans and compensation for lost feed crops and livestock. But funds for those programs lapsed at the end of February and Congress would have to renew funding before any money could be made available. Bennett is on the Senate subcommittee that allocates those funds.

In a letter to Huntsman last week, Utah Agriculture Commissioner Leonard Blackham said the majority of Utah farmers have lost at least 30 percent of their crops due to drought. The estimated financial loss is $141 million to date.

- Robert Gehrke