NDMC Drought Headlines

U.S. drought area continues to shrink; some wheat still at risk

May 16, 2013

Drought is abating slightly in parts of the central U.S., but expanded in Oklahoma.

Late corn crop likely to push up costs for Bunge, ADM and other grain buyers

May 15, 2013

Last year’s drought and the cool, wet spring are putting the pinch on grain buyers. Just 28 percent of the corn crop had been planted as of May 13 and will likely mean a later harvest, drawing corn inventories down during the third quarter to very low levels. In the meantime, more acreage has been devoted to corn than ever before, leading to predictions of a record crop.

South American corn bolsters drought-ravaged U.S. stocks

May 15, 2013

Poor corn production in the Midwest in 2012 is the reason a record 2 million tons of corn is being shipped from Brazil and Argentina to the East Coast. Between September 2012 and February 2013, about 1.5 million tons of corn was purchased mainly from Brazil. Between March and August 2013, another 500,000 to 600,000 tons of corn is scheduled to arrive from Argentina for the most part. It’s cheaper to purchase the corn from South America than to ship the grain by rail from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Winter wheat production strong in NY, hay scarcer

May 15, 2013

Hay stocks nationwide on May 1 were 150,000 tons, less than half of the 327,000 tons on hand one year ago. Hay stocks were at historic lows in New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin as drought limited hay production in 2012 and reduced available forage, leading farmers to feed more hay than usual throughout the year.

Another wave of fire restrictions to hit NM

May 15, 2013

Burn bans will take effect in large swaths of New Mexico in the next few days as various entities implement their own fire restrictions, but a statewide burn ban was enacted on May 8.

Agencies prepare for intense Oregon wildfire season

May 14, 2013

Oregon has experienced 104 wildfires that burned 307 acres of land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry since the start of 2013 as low precipitation and warm temperatures have increased the fire danger.
Some farmers in eastern Oregon began irrigating early or chose not to plant for lack of water.

Fierce fire season predicted for West

May 13, 2013

The 2013 fire season is expected to be “dangerous,” “difficult,” and “challenging” for the drought-stricken western U.S., according to officials with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Although fire activity has been below normal so far this year, due to the cool, wet spring in the Southeast, there is potential for significant fire activity in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Oregon, and parts of Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Washington.

Corps Bracing For Low Runoff

May 14, 2013

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is keeping water releases from Gavins Point dam on the South Dakota-Nebraska border at a minimum because the region remains in drought. The Corps expected runoff will be about 20 million acre-feet, which is 79 percent of normal.

Report anticipates smallest Nebraska wheat crop since 1944

May 13, 2013

The National Agricultural Statistics Service expects Nebraska’s wheat harvest to be 42.9 million bushels or 20 percent smaller than the 2012 wheat crop as drought continues to hamper plant growth. The crop is rated as 16 percent very poor, 33 percent poor, 39 percent fair, and 12 percent good with none of the crop in the excellent category. Given the state of the wheat in Nebraska and western Kansas, wheat prices may spike this year. This is Nebraska’s smallest crop of wheat since 1944.

Drought halts city flowers

May 13, 2013

Officials for Wichita Falls canceled the winter order of flowers that would normally be planted in October throughout the community. Staff for the city have also tried to sell flowers from the summer order, but could not find any buyers. The flowers were planted since they could not be sold.
Lakes Arrowhead and Kickapoo had a combined storage of 38.5 percent of capacity on May 6.

Farm runoff generates record nitrate levels

May 12, 2013

Des Moines Water Works began using its $4 million nitrate removal equipment to bring nitrate levels in the water from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers into compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of 10 milligrams per liter. During drought in 2012, plants did not take up all of the fertilizer in the soil, leaving it to be washed out with this spring’s rains. It costs roughly $7,000 daily to treat the water and remove nitrates to a safe level.

Drought triggers shortage of fodder for cattle

May 12, 2013

The monsoon failed, causing crop losses and a shortage of paddy straw for livestock.

Red Cross Sends Emergency Water Team to Marshall Islands

May 12, 2013

An emergency response team from New Zealand went to the Marshall Islands where drought has cut into water supplies, which have become contaminated with salt and other pollutants.

Lack of trades makes for ‘very dry conditions’

May 11, 2013

Parts of Maui received as little as two to four percent of the normal rainfall for April, due to the absence of trade winds.

High hay prices, low donations threaten the Nokota horse

May 11, 2013

Hay supplies for the breeding herds for the Nokota Horse Conservancy are running low because hay prices are high, since years of drought have affected hay supplies and prices, and monetary donations have fallen off. The Nokota horses are descendants of the Plains Indian horses, including ponies from Sitting Bull’s group when it surrendered in 1881. The Nokota Horse Conservancy may have to dissolve its herds if it cannot get more hay, which would result in the loss of the unique breeding stock.

Long drought shrinks lake water levels

May 11, 2013

Lakes in Volusia County are very low due to below normal precipitation in six of the last seven years. Trout Lake in Deltona is nearly dry; Lake Helen is so low that it is comprised of three small lakes rather than one large lake; and Lake Winnemissett east of DeLand is lower than it has ever been, setting new lows in February and March. A climate specialist with the National Weather Service noted that during eight of the past 14 dry seasons, which run from December through April, precipitation was less than 25 percent of average.

More Ore. irrigators could face restrictions

May 11, 2013

Low snowfall and early melt are leading to water stress in the southern parts of Oregon. Water restrictions are in the offing for the Klamath Basin and the South Umpqua River in southwestern Oregon. Two Oregon senators requested emergency grazing on federal land in southeastern Oregon. Two irrigation districts in eastern Oregon are working together to reduce water losses.

Report: US winter wheat production forecast down

May 10, 2013

The National Agricultural Statistics Service anticipates that the U.S. winter wheat crop will yield 1.49 billion bushels, 10 percent less than the 2012 harvest, since 32.7 million acres—6 percent fewer than in 2012—were planted with wheat. The average yield is expected to be 45.4 bushels per acre, 1.8 bushels per acre less than last year.

Drought's grip on state's cattle holds

May 08, 2013

The livestock auction in Salina continues to move cattle from Colorado, western Kansas and Nebraska as drought conditions persist. Sales on May 7 were 15 percent higher than the same time last year when drought was also a big driver in cattle sales. Two years of drought in Kansas caused crop losses of $1.8 billion in 2011 and more than $3 billion in 2012.
The owner of auctions in Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado stated that sales numbers are not high presently as producers try to hold onto their cattle, but he expects to see more cattle coming to auction at the end of May if rain does not fall soon to green up pastures.

Drought's toll on groundwater is steepest on record

May 09, 2013

Groundwater declines were greater than 15 feet in some parts of southeastern Nebraska.