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U.S. NEWS Monday 20 august 2018

Drought takes toll on Missouri farmers’ crops, cattle

By JIM SALTER As for Missouri’s corn crop, calves are typically sold in
Associated Press nearly half of it was listed November or December.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Parts of as poor or very poor, ac- “Unless we get an awfully
Missouri are so dry that corn cording to the most recent good fall, we’re going to
crops are suffering and hay USDA progress report. Only be pretty nervous going
for cattle is in short supply, about a quarter was listed into the winter,” Arnaud
with water becoming in- as good or excellent. said. “We need several
creasingly scarce, experts The drought has also hurt rounds of soaking rain and
say. pastures, with about three- cooler temperatures.”
Missouri has had below-av- quarters in poor or very Some farmers unable to
erage rainfall since winter. poor conditions, according sell drought-damaged
The U.S. Drought Monitor to the USDA report. Many corn were using it for cattle
map shows that nearly all pastures haven’t been feed, Cole said.
of Missouri is experiencing able to support grazing The weather forecast of-
drought, with several coun- cattle, prompting farmers fers some hope. Fuchs
ties in the northwestern part to feed cattle with hay that said most of Missouri is ex-
of the state facing “excep- might normally be saved pected to get at least an
tional” conditions — the for winter. It’s also hurt the inch (2.5 centimeters) of
most dire classification hay crop, which is down rain over the next week or
assigned by the monitor. about one-third from nor- so, and some especially
Conditions were nearly as mal. dry areas in northern and
bad elsewhere along the “It has been a very bad southern Missouri could see In this Aug. 10, 2018 photo provided by the University of Missouri
northern tier and in south- summer following a very 2 inches (5 centimeters) of Extension, a steer takes shelter under a bush near a dry pond on
a farm near Monett, Mo.
western Missouri. bad winter as far as the rain.q Associated Press
Much of the western U.S. is feed supply,” said Eldon
also experiencing drought. Cole, a University of Missouri
But Missouri is the only Mid- Extension livestock special-
western state with such ist out of Mt. Vernon. “The
severe conditions. Parts of winter was so long last year
Kansas also are extremely they had to feed hay until
dry, but most of Illinois and April. That caused them to
Nebraska, and the northern run out of hay, and then we
half of Iowa, are drought- didn’t have a good grow-
free. ing season.”
“That isolated nature really Kent Arnaud, 57, said this
hurts some corn growers year’s drought may be
because they’re compet- the worst since 1980 at the
ing against other farmers in 1,500-acre (607-hectare)
the Midwest that have had cattle farm he operates
bumper crops,” said Mark with his father and son near
Fuchs, hydrologist for the Monett in southwestern Mis-
National Weather Service souri. Arnaud said he and
office near St. Louis. “That his relatives are scrambling
puts a lot of them on the to find enough feed for
brink of financial ruin.” the cattle over the winter.
The U.S. Department of Ag- They’ve even sold off some
riculture lists soil moisture calves early so they won’t
as “short” or “very short” have to feed them in the
in four-fifths of the state. cold-weather months. The