. >> reporter: matt's boss, ranch owner jesse revilla, says despite his best efforts, the remaining herd is losing weight, but feeding them is breaking him. how long can you keep that up? >> well, that means i got to go sell some more cows. i got to sell more cattle so i can buy more hay. >> reporter: so the herd keeps getting smaller and smaller? >> and i'm getting poorer and poorer. >> reporter: california reservoirs, once pictures of abundance, are more alarming than reassuring. last year, the hottest ever recorded in california, water levels fell so low that authorities cut off water to most farmers, meaning farmers had to use well water or lose everything. if you didn't have a well, what would have happened to your trees? >> well, they would be half dead by now. >> reporter: two miles from main street, mary andreas joined hundreds of farmers now drilling for water. mary grows 84 acres of almonds. her trees require year round water to stay alive. six months before her water allotment was cut off, mary mortgaged her home, plunked down almost $200,000 to drill a well. it saved her farm