Drought

Calves and yearlings sold early late last summer were lighter than usual as drought dried up pastures, and feed was expensive. The number of cattle sold at a Dalhart auction in late summer 2022 was about 35% more than normal. KAMR-TV NBC 4 Amarillo (Texas), Jan 30, 2023

Calves and yearlings sold early late last summer were lighter than usual as drought dried up pastures, and feed was expensive. The number of cattle sold at a Dalhart auction in late summer 2022 was about 35% more than normal. KAMR-TV NBC 4 Amarillo (Texas), Jan 30, 2023

The agricultural community in western New York was still feeling the effects of last summer’s drought, which left the ground dry. Sugar maple trees may not have received as much moisture as they could have used, so there was concern that they may not produce as much sap. Maple season is opening earlier than the usual mid-February start. Rochester First (N.Y.), Jan 31, 2023

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly in New Mexico as being an endangered species. The orange and dark-brown butterfly is found only in high-elevation meadows in the Lincoln National Forest in southern New Mexico. In 2001, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to protect the butterfly due to habitat loss from livestock grazing, drought and the suppression of historical low-intensity fires. The Associated Press (New York), Jan 30, 2023

The Guadalupe River in the southeastern Texas was flowing more slowly than usual at around 43 cubic feet per second and even running dry short of Canyon Lake in Comal County. Flows usually average between 100 to 00 cfs. Jacob’s Well in Wimberly has nearly stopped flowing at 0.07 cfs on Jan. 27. San Antonio Express News (Texas), Jan 27, 2023

State officials discussed the future of the Colorado River Basin at the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference and acknowledge that the river was in a state of emergency that will soon be a crisis for the 40 million people who depend on it, whether for agriculture or municipalities. The problem is so great that a solution requires all parties in the basin to conserve. Colorado River water authorities have a Feb. 1 deadline for submitting their agreement to the Interior Department on a way to trim water use to avoid having water cuts imposed on them. E&E News (Arlington, Va.), Dec 19, 2022 Lakes Mead and Powell on the Colorado River have fallen so low amid years of drought that major water cuts will be needed in 2023 to lower the danger of supplies becoming too low for power production and continued water deliveries. The needed cuts may amount to 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in 2023, a top water official said during a Senate hearing. The Bureau of Reclamation is conferring with the seven Colorado River Basin states that rely on the river to come up with a plan for reducing water use in the next 60 days. Los Angeles Times (Calif.), June 14, 2022

Cloud seeding is a measure that Utah researchers and the state government were exploring to increase snowpack and smowmelt runoff to fill reservoirs and rivers. Utah Public Radio (Logan, Utah), Jan 26, 2023

A building moratorium was in effect for the town of Stockton in Tooele County because water supplies are low, and Stockton needs $2.4 million from the Utah Legislature for a new well. Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), Jan 26, 2023

Cattle producers in the Golden Triangle region of Montana dealt with intensely dry weather for a second year in 2022 and found it difficult to get feed for cattle. As a result, the herd size in that part of the state was much smaller than in 2021. AgUpdate (Tekamah, Neb.), Jan 27, 2023

Drought restrictions ended in Victoria after record rainfall on Jan. 24 and a very wet start to 2023. Stage one voluntary conservation measures had been in effect since Dec. 15. Victoria Advocate (Texas), Jan. 24, 2023 Victoria entered stage III of its drought contingency plan in August as the level of the city’s primary reservoir fell to 42 feet above mean sea level, or about 50% of total capacity, as low rainfall upstream caused the level of the Guadalupe River to fall, limiting the city’s ability to draw water from the river. Recent rainfall boosted the level of the Guadalupe River, allowing the City of Victoria to move from stage III drought restrictions to stage II. Residents were asked to continue conserving water. Victoria Advocate (Texas), Dec 6, 2022

The California Department of Water Resources started a partnership between state agencies, local governments, scientists and community members with the creation of a new task force, called the Drought Resilience Interagency and Partners Collaborative. As directed by the 2021 Senate Bill 552, state agencies are required to take a proactive stance on drought preparedness. KPIX-TV CBS 5 San Francisco (Calif.), Jan 23, 2023

The drought watch that was originally issued on Aug. 31 for 36 counties in eastern Pennsylvania was lifted for the remaining five counties--Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Luzerne and Potter. Other counties were removed from the watch in October and December. New Jersey ended its statewide drought watch at the end of 2022. LehighValleyLive.com (Harrisburg, Pa.), Jan 20, 2023 Five Pennsylvania counties remained in a drought watch in January 2023. A task force will meet on Jan. 20 to review whether the watch was still needed for Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Luzerne and Potter counties, where residents were asked to curb their water use by 5% to 10%. The drought watch was originally issued on Aug. 31 for 36 counties. LehighValleyLive.com (Harrisburg, Pa.), Jan 19, 2023 The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced a drought watch at the end of August for 36 counties and asked residents to curb their water use by 5% to 10%. The watch was lifted for 16 counties in the northern and eastern parts of the state in mid-October. On Dec. 8, DEP removed another 15 counties from the watch. Five counties still remained in a drought watch. Centre Daily times (State College, Pa.), Dec 8, 2022 The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection updated the drought watch, which has been lifted for 16 counties and remains in place for 20 counties. The drought watch continued for Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Dauphin, Juniata, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, and Union counties. The drought watch was lifted for Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lehigh, McKean, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. WHTM-TV 27 (Harrisburg, Pa.), Oct 17, 2022 A drought watch was declared for 36 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley, Poconos, Berks and some of the southeastern part of the state. The state Department of Environmental Protection requests that people in the affected counties curb water use by 5% to 10%, or 3-6 gallons daily. WFMZ-TV Channel 69 (Allentown, Pa.), Aug 31, 2022

Gov. Josh Green issued a sixth emergency proclamation to provide additional relief to Maui County in its ongoing axis deer crisis by extending the emergency period through March 18. The public has more time to apply for assistance from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, and the County of Maui can continue its efforts to reduce and control the axis deer population, which has exploded to 60,000 or more. The deer have devastated pastoral forage land and vegetation already scarce due to ongoing drought conditions and are also impacting residents. The Maui News (Wailuku, Hawaii), Jan 18, 2023 Gov. David Ige issued a fifth proclamation on the Maui County axis deer crisis and extended the disaster emergency relief period through Jan. 17, 2023. The deer population has risen to about 60,000 or more and has devastated pasture forage and vegetation, which were already sparse, due to drought. Maui Now (Kahului, Hawaii), Nov 19, 2022

In December, residents in West Maui were asked to conserve water due to insufficient levels of source water for the Mahinahina facility, which was closed until there was more water to treat. Water tankers were available to deliver water in West Maui. Forage conditions in central Maui have not yet fully recovered, but have improved after the December storm. The Maui News (Wailuku, Hawaii), Jan 17, 2023

Some of the wheat in Pratt County has not been able to push through the soil, due to the wind and lack of moisture. The farmer also noted that in parts of the county and southwest Kansas, that there was no wheat standing. KWCH 12 (Wichita, Kan.), Jan 12, 2023

Crook County officials have declared a drought, due to record low streamflows and reservoir storage levels, despite near normal snowpack in the Ochocos. Prineville Reservoir was at just 11% capacity, while Ochoco Reservoir was at 10%. A farmer had to haul water to his livestock because the spring was not flowing. Central Oregon Daily (Bend), Jan 12, 2023

The corn yield in 2022 was slightly worse than in 2021, but better than expected, given the drought, according to an Iowa State University farm management specialist. The projected corn yield in Iowa was 202 bushels per acre for 2022, 1 percent below the yield in 2021. Some parts of Iowa, like the northwest and particularly the southeast, endured harsh droughts that lowered yields. Soybeans did a little worse than corn with yields down 6%, compared to 2021. The projected soybean yield for Iowa is 59 bushels per acre, and about 50-55 for Southeast Iowa. Southeast Iowa Union (Fairfield, Iowa), Jan 13, 2023 Drought and heat have been rough on Iowa's corn and soybeans. In the past couple of weeks, soybeans in northwest Iowa have turned lighter and were starting to burn up. The soybeans have wilted, but they weren't just aborting pods. Some were starting to shut down and die in places. The ears on the corn were smaller than usual. The lack of moisture and nitrogen has the corn firing on the lower part of the plant. While rain could still help with soybean yield in the northwest part of the state, rain on the corn may help prevent any additional yield loss. In southern Iowa, drought has likely reduced yields for soybeans, and corn test weights were lower also. AgUpdate (Tekamah, Neb.), Aug. 25, 2022

Drought during the 2022 summer for New Jersey cut into hay production and the soybean crop for Monmouth County farmers. A hay and straw grower got just one cutting, although he normally gets two or three. A soybean grower near Cream Ridge did not even try to harvest his crop, it was so poor. The Two River Times (Red Bank, N.J.), Jan 12, 2022

The Tucson City Council voted unanimously in favor of increasing the Tucson Water CAP surcharge by 30 cents, due to the need to maintain and upgrade aging infrastructure and the drought declaration on the Colorado River. KGUN 9 Online (Tucson, Ariz.), Jan 11, 2022

The drought in Kansas was bad and getting worse, according to farmers who were selling cattle. One farmer is trying to keep his fields moist by low tilling and planting cover crops. He noted that he double-cropped soybeans, but the plants grew four to six inches tall and died for lack of moisture. The wheat in Hodgeman County was not looking very good, according to the county extension agent. A Northwest Research Extension Center Multi-County agronomist stated that they were getting to the point where farmers were not harvesting crops because there was nothing to harvest. If rain does not fall soon, spring crops will be affected. KSN.com (Wichita, Kan.), Jan 10, 2022