SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The federal government says it won't deliver any water to California farmers because of a severe drought. The decision will force many farmers to plant fewer crops in a region that supplies a quarter of the nation's food.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said a severe drought plaguing the western United States has left its system of reservoirs depleted. Environmental laws also require the system to have supply to maintain water quality throughout the fragile San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.

The bureau said January and February have been the driest ever recorded for the northern Sierra Nevada mountains.