(Darlington County)-- Governor David M. Beasley toured three drought-ravaged South Carolina farms today saying, "This is as bad as I've seen it in my lifetime."
 The Governor, along with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and U.S. Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, visited farms in Richland, Sumter and Darlington counties. U.S. Rep. John Spratt participated in part of the tour.
 The Governor pledged to move quickly to request federal assistance.  The Governor plans to meet Tuesday with federal and state officials to assess what the state needs to do about the drought.
 "We have two major concerns.  First is agriculture, where some crops are in very bad shape.  The second is forest fires, because our weather conditions are similar to where Florida was just a few weeks ago," Governor Beasley said.  "It seems very likely that I will ask for a Presidential Disaster Declaration for South Carolina farmers.
 "Crops suffering the most damage appear to be corn, cotton, and soybeans," the Governor said.
 The Governor met last week with top Department of Natural Resources and state Agriculture Department officials.