Drought
Drought conditions are holding tight in the Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and Upper Midwest, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.
AgDay’s Clinton Griffiths reports that evaporation has increased the salinity in stock dams in South Dakota, some to lethal levels for livestock.
Rains continue to fall across portions of the Midwest this week, a sign one ag meteorologist says could mean Midwestern drought conditions have peaked. However, the news isn’t as promising for the northern Corn Belt.
Brazil’s worst water crisis in almost a century will impact river navigation and make transportation of goods more expensive in the world’s largest exporter of commodities ranging from soybeans to coffee and sugar.
The dire drought situation is one USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey thinks could last through at least the remainder of 2021. Forecasts also point to a drier weather pattern returning for Texas and the Plains.
As drought conditions in the West are continuing to expand, hotter temperatures aren’t helping things. Heat that started building over the weekend is not good news for areas already dealing with that drought.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 10% of the contiguous U.S. is now under an “exceptional drought,” which is the highest the rate has been since 2011.
As weather continues to be a factor for farmers and producers, growers across Western U.S. see the impacts of drought first-hand. Now, access to electricity could also be challenged as hydroelectric power dries up.
T.J. Atkin, a cattle rancher in Arizona and Utah, says the drought is worse than he’s ever seen, as area ranchers cull or relocate cows from reservoirs running dry.
Some parts of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska saw precipitation this past week, but dry weather prevails in many areas.