AULT – Harry Strohauer couldn't plant all the corn he had planned to this year. He just didn't think he would have enough water because of the drought.

So Strohauer, who also farms potatoes, onions, wheat and hay, notified the federal government that he was planting less this year. That put him in a program that will pay him for every acre he's not able to plant.

Strohauer is just one of a number of Northern Colorado farmers who have filed insurance claims with J-9 Crop Insurance in Ault. The agency has seen a 25-percent increase in the number of "prevented planning" claims filed by farmers so far this year vs. the same period last year, agency co-owner Janine Freeman said.

Prevented planning means farmers can claim they would not have enough water to irrigate all of their crops if they planted them.

"I think about every neighbor I've got is doing prevented planning," Strohauer said.

The increase in claims come as snowpack levels have plummeted. A June 1 report showed snowpack at just 2 percent of average statewide, the lowest level since 2002.

A hailstorm in Weld County in early June did not help. Vegetable crops such as corn, onions, sugar beats and pinto beans got