audio, stills, text and or video: Go to http://www.zReportage.com to see more - 'Is the drought over?' The answer, repeatedly, is 'No.' 2013 is New Mexico's third consecutive year of drought, with the state suffering some of the warmest and driest conditions since record-keeping began. Farmers in southern New Mexico are being hit the hardest. With little irrigation water expected to come from the Rio Grande and Pecos River this growing season, New Mexicans are trying to fight the desertification of their state by drilling new wells into the aquifer and asking everybody to restrict their water usage. From the town of Maxwell in the state's northeast, where municipal water supplies are running low, to the farming valleys of the south, where farmers are struggling and tension with Texas is flaring over scarce Rio Grande water, drought's impact is being felt across the state.
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Aug. 22, 2012 - Loving, New Mexico, U.S. - CRAIG OGDEN, owner of Lookout Farms holds alfafa seeds affected by the severe drought in the Southeastern part of the state.
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Aug. 22, 2012 - Loving, New Mexico, U.S. - PEDRO MARTINEZ, a farm hand at Lookout Farms removes weeds next to a dried irrigation canal affected by the severe drought in the Southeastern part of the state. Ranchers and farmers in the southeastern part of the state, where dry conditions have been most severe, say it could take several years to climb out of the hole that two years of drought have pushed them into.
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Feb. 21, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - The village of Maxwell draws groundwater from the Canadian River watershed, which has not had a wet year since 1999. Current flow on the Canadian was barely enough to measure, just 7 percent of normal for this time of year.
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May 23, 2013 - Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, U.S. - Cattle near the headquarters of the Double V Ranch near Fort Sumner where Livestock Board officials reportedly found an estimated 1,000 malnourished cattle. Green grass needed to feed cattle is virtually absent throughout much of New Mexico, forcing ranchers to drastically cut the size of their herds, officials and ranchers say.
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Aug. 22, 2012 - Loving, New Mexico U.S. - CRAIG OGDEN, owner of Lookout Farms inspects a field of cotton. Ogden did not plant the field behind him due to the severe drought in the Southeastern part of the state.
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Feb. 21, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - A faucet inside the Maxwell United Methodist Church flows with little pressure. The current drought has hit the New Mexican town of Maxwell pretty hard. Advisories have been posted to remind residents to conserve water so some residents are forced to do laundry in neighboring towns because of the lack of water pressure throughout the town.
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July 8, 2011 - Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S. - JIM LYTLE, owner of Solar Farms holds a green chile from his fields. Lytle and many Souther New Mexico farmers are expecting a below average harvest this year due to the drought affecting the state.
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Feb. 21, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - ''If we don't get some moisture, we'll still be in trouble,'' says Maxwell Mayor KAY PINKSTON as she sat in Maxwell's tiny village hall. ''People would just have to move if there's no water,'' Pinkston said, who is struggling with a village supply system depleted by drought. ''We'd be a ghost town.''
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Sept. 2, 2011 - Corona, New Mexico, U.S. - The rain gauge on the fence is bone dry as you enter the Porter Ranch.
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Aug. 22, 2012 - Loving, New Mexico, U.S. - Weeds cover an area at Brantley Lake State Park show the low water level due to the severe drought in the Southeastern part of the state. The first six months of 2012 were the 10th-driest in New Mexico history, and the same stretch in 2011 was the driest in the state's history.
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Aug. 22, 2012 - Loving, New Mexico, U.S. - CRAIG OGDEN, owner of Lookout Farms stands in a field of alfafa affected by the severe drought in the Southeastern part of the state. Ogden, relies on the water-strapped Carlsbad Irrigation District to wet his fields and only planted 20 acres of cotton this year, down from the usual 100.
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Feb. 20, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - Bulls feed on hay in a farmer's field. Ranchers have little or no range grass, and feed costs are soaring as drought drives up demand and pushes down supply.
© Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Sept. 2, 2011 - Corona, New Mexico, U.S. - Corona rancher LEON PORTER talks with USDA's Risk Management Agency representatives about the drought that has hit the area.
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Aug. 22, 2012 - Loving, New Mexico, U.S. - ''Hershey'', a dog belonging to Craig Ogden, owner of Lookout Farms wades in a holding pond on the Black River . The flow of the river has been impacted by the severe drought in the Southeastern part of the state.
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Feb. 20, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - The current drought has hit the New Mexican town of Maxwell pretty hard.
© Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
May 23, 2013 - Albuquerque, New Mexico U.S. - The dam at Conchas Lake shows the drop in the lake level because of the drought. The lake is at its lowest level since 1940.
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Feb. 21, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - Farms around Maxwell where winter wheat would be growing in a normal year sit dry, parched by drought.
© Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
June 21, 2013 - Magdalena, New Mexico, U.S. - The bathrooms are closed at The Magdalena Cafe. The town of Magdalena has had a water shortage for a few weeks due to the town's well problems.
© Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal/ZUMAPRESS.com
Feb. 21, 2013 - Maxwell, New Mexico, U.S. - DAVID WINGO uses his truck equipped with a 250 gallon water tank to fetch water from the town of Springer and then uses the water to irrigate the bushes in the local church.
© Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
June 22, 2012 - San Antonio, New Mexico, U.S. -The Rio Grande flow just east of San Antonio has seized leaving fish to die and dry up due to the heat. Approximately 81 percent of the state is suffering from severe drought.
© Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
