JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The state’s agriculture department is asking Missourians to conserve water as drought conditions continue to worsen.
Nearly all of Missouri is currently in a drought. Over the weekend, some parts of the state saw severe thunderstorms and while the Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture Chris Chinn says the rain is much needed, the hail and the high winds are making it even worse for farmers.
“This is a very critical time in the growing season for our corn and soybean producers,” Chinn said Monday. “If they don’t receive rain this week, they are probably not going to have a crop to harvest this fall.”
After a drought affected much of the state last year, Missouri saw the driest April and May since 1988. The U.S. Drought Monitor this week showing a quarter of the state is in an extreme drought while parts of central Missouri are in an exceptional drought.
“We were really hopeful that we were going to get some snowfall this year that was going to replenish our water supplies, but it became very obvious this spring, we did not see our spring rains that we normally have,” Chinn said.
Chinn said this drought is causing farmers to make tough decisions like sending their cattle to market early because of the lack of feed.
“We had one sale barn last week that sold cattle for 27 hours straight,” Chinn said. “So, record numbers of animals are being sold at our livestock auctions at this time, and they are leaving the state of Missouri.”
With little to no grass left in some areas for livestock, Chinn said some farmers are being forced to pay more than double the price for a bale of hay.
“Do I decrease my cattle herd, or do I try and pay $150 for a bale of hay when I normally would be paying $50 or $60,” Chinn said. “Farmers are talking to their bankers right now and asking if they are going to extend their line of credit and allow them to purchase hay at $150 or are they going to be encouraging that farmer to decrease their herd.”
This impact on farmers will soon affect Missourians’ pocketbook too.
“Right now, you’re going to see more beef on the market which should help on prices short term, but long term, it’s going to make our beef process probably be increased for long periods of time because to rebuild those herds back, it’s a two-to-three-year process.”
Recently, some areas of the state have seen flash flooding, high winds and hail, but Chinn said those conditions are not what farmers want because the dry soil makes it difficult for a plant’s root system to grow deep into the ground.
“It doesn’t take a whole lot of wind right now to knock that corn crop over,” Chinn said. “When that crop falls over, it pretty much is the end of that plant’s lifecycle which means less yield for that farmer. We do not want the hail, and we do not want those high winds because that’s just adding pain to the injury that our farmers already have.”
Chinn said it will take months and lots of rain and snowfall to rebuild the water system and to nourish the soil after many months of dry conditions.
“We courage you to conserve your water usage right now,” Chinn said. “I know a lot of people have flowers in their yards and garden but anything you can do to limit the amount of water that you’re using, if you live in an urban area is going to help us make it through this drought.”
Last month, the governor announced emergency plans for Missouri farmers to access water and hay as drought concerns persist statewide. The state is allowing farmers to collect water and harvest hay from state parks.
Farmers can now access emergency water or hay through the following ways:
Boat ramps at 25 Missouri state parks will be open for farmers to collect water with almost 700 acres available for haying at 17 state parks.
Boat ramps at 36 Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) areas are also now open for water collection.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is offering special over-width hauling permits at no charge to help farmers and ranchers move hay.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said as of Monday, 12 of the 17 sites available for haying on state park land has been spoken for, which is about 487 acres.
The state’s agriculture department is asking farmers to be careful about buying hay from out of state and scams.
“We would caution you that if you’re buying hay from the southeast portion of the United States to check our website,” Chinn said. “Some states have fire ants in their hay and that’s not something we want those little ants to hitchhike into Missouri. A lot of farmers have turned to social media which has been a bit of a challenge because they have been taken advantage of in some instances where they think it’s good quality hay, some farmers have made a down payment or paid up front and never received the hay.”
If drought conditions don’t improve Chinn said farmers will start harvesting crops next month instead of waiting until the end of September, early October.
The Department of Agriculture does offer a mental health resource for the farming community. The AgriStress hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Producers can call or text 833-897-2474 to speak to a healthcare professional.
DNR is asking Missouri residents to submit information about the local drought conditions online. Buntin said this can help the committee create more accurate maps, allowing members to work better with state and federal partners.
The executive order is set to expire on Dec. 1, unless otherwise extended.
DNR also has a variety of resources online and continues to add information on drought mitigation and assistance opportunities.
The Drought Assessment Committee, which was activated by the executive order the governor signed in May to declare a drought alert, plans to meet again Tuesday and then again July 25 to discuss the state of the drought and next steps.