For now Tweedy has to feed his cattle hay until these hills turn a lush green. "This dry grass is like cardboard," said Tweedy.
During the past four months Tweedy has fattened his cows up with hay by shelling out about $250 a day. And that's cost him nearly $30,000. "It's pretty tough, some years are just break even," he said.
The dry season has been a tough one for ranchers across the Valley. "Most people don't realize that cattle and calves are one of our top ten crops in the county and they are wholly dependent on the moisture that falls in the foothills," said Fresno County Farm Bureau's Ryan Jacobsen.
Last year's dry weather hurt farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. "Kern County, Kings County, Fresno County and Merced and upwards were all included in that drought declaration because of what happened in the foothills," said Jacobsen.
Now ranchers and farmers are banking on a heavy snowpack in the Sierra Nevada to turn a profit in the coming year.
