Drought Persists in U.S. Plains; Slight Improvement in Midwest

January 3, 2013Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleCommentsSnowfall in parts of the U.S. Plains last week had little impact on historic drought gripping the region, but parts of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin showed slight improvement, weather experts said.

A weekly report issued Thursday by a consortium of federal and state climatology experts said that as of Jan. 1, 42.05 percent of the contiguous United States was in severe to exceptional drought, down from 42.45 percent the previous week.

Parts of the central Plains received snow in the last week, providing some much-needed protection for the region’s dormant winter wheat crop before temperatures plunged at the end of December.

However, the snow was insufficient and did not offer much drought relief, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report.

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Drought Holds Steady in Midwest, Clouding Winter Crop Outlook

October 12, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

The nation’s worst drought in decades showed no signs of improvement last week in parts of the Midwest and Plains where the corn harvest is about two-thirds complete, clouding the prospects for the winter wheat crop, according to a drought report released Oct. 11.

The U.S. Drought Monitor’s weekly update, showing that nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states remained mired in some form of drought, was released the same day the federal government lowered for the fourth month in a row its projection for the size of this year’s corn crop.

The USDA now estimates that farmers will harvest 10.71 billion bushels of corn, down from last month’s estimate of 10.73 billion bushels. The average yield is about 122 bushels per acre, off from July’s projection of 122.8 bushels.

The dry conditions remained unchanged in Iowa, the nation’s biggest corn producer, with three-fourths of the state still in the extreme or exceptional drought

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Drought Crushes Local Beef Industry In Hawaii

October 5, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle1 Comments

National interest in locally grown food and grass-fed beef are catching on in Hawaii, offering ranchers an opportunity to sell cattle in the islands and send fewer of them to states like California and Kansas.

But crushing drought is making it difficult for Hawaii’s ranchers to keep enough cattle here to capitalize on the demand.

Rancher and veterinarian Dr. Tim Richards has been trying for six years to raise more cattle on his family’s century-old ranch.

He holds back some calves he previously would have sent to Oregon, Texas or elsewhere for final feeding, or “finishing.” But eight years of below-normal rainfall have left little grass for the cattle to eat.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: West NewsTopics: agriculture, drought, HawaiiHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

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Drought Area Expands in Northern U.S., Eases in South

September 21, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleCommentsThe worst drought to hit the United States in a half century expanded in the upper Midwest and northern Plains states in the past week due to warmer- and drier-than-normal weather, but loosened its grip on some central and southern areas of the country.

Nearly 65 percent of the contiguous United States were under at least

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Texas Governor Again Renews Drought Disaster Declaration

April 23, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Gov. Rick Perry has renewed a proclamation declaring Texas a disaster due to the drought.

Perry renewed the disaster status on April 20, extending a similar proclamation from last July.

The governor initially declared the drought a disaster in December 2010, and a severe lack of rainfall still plagues much of the state.

The proclamation allows municipalities to apply for state assistance in dealing with the drought’s impacts, including fighting and recovering from wildfires. It also officially notes the added strain on state water resources.

Texas endured the worst-single year drought in its history through last summer, and a relatively wet winter has been followed by little rainfall statewide in recent weeks.

The drought also helped fuel the costliest wildfire season in terms of property damage in state history last year.

 

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: Texas / South Central NewsTopics: Coastal, declaration, Disaster (Flood, drought, EQ, etc.), Perry, Texas, W-FireHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

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