Drought
California growers are speaking up about what the drought and water shortages mean for agriculture, California and the U.S. As crops are demolished and trees die, growers say farm workers are also out of work.
USDA is authorizing emergency procedures to help agricultural producers, who are impacted by extreme drought conditions, receive payments quicker.
As farmers in the West experience record-breaking heat, the continued extreme drought conditions are also taking a toll on growers, crops and livestock, with pasture and range conditions worsening.
An unprecedented heat wave and drought in the Pacific Northwest is damaging white wheat coveted by Asian buyers and forcing fruit farm workers to harvest in the night to salvage crops and avoid deadly heat.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says unfavorable weather means everything from barley to spring and durum wheat are getting scorched this year. Crop condition ratings continue to tumble as dryness and heat persist.
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.