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U.S. NEWS Friday 11 OctOber 2019

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'Flash drought' brings dust and dread to Southern farmers

By JEFF MARTIN reported in its most recent
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (AP) crop report . Pasture and
— A furnace-like "flash range conditions are even
drought" is intensifying as it worse in Virginia, where
blasts away the little mois- 71% of the land is in poor or
ture left across a vast swath very poor shape.
of the South, wilting garden At Pettit Creek Farms in
plants and raising alarm Cartersville, Georgia,
among farmers, according where people come to see
to a weekly report updated the kangaroos, camels and
Thursday. other wildlife, owner Scott
Nearly 56 million residents Allen points out the "baked
are now living in drought mud" and cracked earth in
conditions in parts of 16 the bed of a small stream
Southern states, according near his zebras. The natural
to the U.S. Drought Monitor spring water is nearly dried
report. That drought is clas- up, so he's using municipal
sified as extreme in areas in water.
Texas, Alabama, Georgia, "It's been probably bet-
Kentucky, South Carolina ter than 60 days since we
and Florida. From the arid had any precipitation that
plains of Texas to farms amounted to anything," Al-
in Maryland, concern is len said. "The dust is just re-
spreading that cattle, cot- lentless."
ton and corn are suffering Thursday's drought re-
after a summer of record port shows nearly half the
highs and very little rain. population is experiencing
One of the bullseyes mark- drought in Texas, where the
ing the nation's driest areas USDA crop report shows
points to Georgia's Bartow nearly a quarter of the cot-
County — farm country ton in poor or very poor
northwest of Atlanta — condition. The situation is
where extreme drought also dire in North Carolina, In this Monday, Oct. 7, 2019 photo, cracked earth is left behind after an ongoing drought dried up
has left pastures bare and where 40% of the cotton a stream at Pettit Creek Farms in Bartow County, Ga.
kicked up buckets of dust. and 30% of the corn is in Associated Press
"If we don't get enough rain poor or very poor shape. In
and the pastures don't re- Georgia, nearly 20% of the onset. The "flash drought" issue — they can be toxic ers are concerned that
cover, we'll be dipping into peanuts are in poor or very phrase resonated, making to livestock. The drought Octobers can be the dri-
winter feeding hay before poor condition. headlines in The Omaha has also given rise to army- est months in the South.
time, or have to liquidate Forecasters blame the World-Herald and beyond. worms and other pests that There's some hope, though,
some cattle," said Dean heat, along with the lack Back then, Svoboda and can damage crops. in long-range forecasts
Bagwell, who has 350 cows of rain: Georgia, Alabama, other scientists had few Climate change in the that point toward above-
now on land his family has Mississippi and Florida all tools to track flash droughts, coming years will likely only normal precipitation in the
farmed for nearly a cen- saw their driest Septem- but since then, satellite im- intensify droughts and in- Southeast later this month,
tury. Between the weather ber on record. Texas and agery has provided much crease their frequency, according to the Climate
and relatively low cattle Louisiana suffered through better data to monitor a scientists warned in the Prediction Center .
prices, he says "it just all their hottest September on rapidly-spreading drought, National Climate Assess- At the Tri-County Gin in
plays into the frustration of record, according to the he said. ment released by the White Cartersville, one of the
trying to make a living farm- report. The Drought Monitor has House last year. And heat state's last remaining cot-
ing." The combination of dry not adequately captured waves are expected to hit ton gins, dust from the
The drought has ravaged weather and intense heat the severity of the drought's the South harder than other Georgia red clay coated a
the pastures where cattle can create what's now impacts on agriculture, regions. pickup truck, where the gin
and other livestock feed. called a "flash drought." Pam Knox, an agricultural The cities of Memphis, Ten- owner David Smith peered
Most of these fields are in The term came about dur- climatologist at the Uni- nessee, and Raleigh, North over the steering wheel
either poor or very poor ing a 2001 drought in the versity of Georgia, said at Carolina, are particularly at and pondered the dry con-
condition in Georgia, Ala- Great Plains, when Mark a Thursday briefing. Along risk of more intense and fre- ditions.
bama, Kentucky, Tennes- Svoboda, director of the with the challenges of quent heat waves, along "It's not a complete, overall
see, the Carolinas and National Drought Mitiga- feeding cattle and farm- with New Orleans and Bir- disaster, but there are plac-
West Virginia, the U.S. De- tion Center, was looking for ing peanuts, algal blooms mingham, Alabama. es that are hurting bad,"
partment of Agriculture a way to describe its rapid in water are becoming an Bagwell and other farm- Smith said.q