Drought

Drought has been very hard on tobacco and hay in Danville and Pittsylvania County. Cattle have grazed down pastures, leaving farmers to supplement hay. One farmer noted that there wasn’t much hay and it wasn’t very good. Producers will need to buy hay from elsewhere or sell cattle. Heat and drought damaged the tobacco, adversely affecting quality and quantity. Buyers have warned that they will not buy or will offer lower prices for browned tobacco. Go Dan River.com (Danville, Va.), Sept. 24, 2019

Dry weather led numerous Virginia counties and communities to adopt burn bans. The counties were Bland, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Smyth, Tazewell and Wythe and the communities of Danville, Radford City and Rocky Mount. WDBJ7 Roanoke News (Va.), Sept. 25, 2019 Officials in Buchanan and Washington counties enacted burn bans. WBIR-TV Knoxville (Knoxville, Tenn.), Sept. 23, 2019

The dry, hot weather in the Kingsport area has stopped grass growth, leaving landscapers with little work. One landscaper lost five customers, but is finding more work raking leaves. WBIR-TV Knoxville (Tenn.), Sept. 23, 2019

The Alabama Forestry Commission upgraded the fire danger advisory to a statewide fire alert on Sept. 25. The fire alert means that permits for outdoor burning were restricted and issued on an individual basis at the discretion of the state forester. The state’s drought status and elevated fire danger prompted the move to a fire alert. Dothan Eagle & Dothan Progress (Ala.), Sept. 25, 2019

Dry conditions prompted officials to issue burn bans to protect communities in eastern Tennessee. Some of those towns were Greeneville, Maryville, Morristown and New Market. WBIR-TV Knoxville (Tenn.), Sept. 23, 2019

Dry weather led officials in Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties to restrict open burning. WDBJ7 Roanoke News (Va.), Sept. 25, 2019

The Guntersville Fire and Rescue were not issuing burn permits after the Alabama Forestry Commission put all counties in a fire danger advisory. The area was in moderate drought. WAAY-TV ABC 31 Huntsville (Ala.), Sept. 21, 2019

Soybeans and cotton continued to deteriorate in North Texas from the heat and drought. Bermuda grass was dormant. Farmers were about two weeks behind on planting winter wheat, due to low soil moisture. The Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 24, 2019 Heat and the lack of rain in North Texas were stressing cotton and soybeans. Pastures were declining. Some parts of the district were thriving. The Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 17, 2019

Heat and drought kept South Texas pasture and rangeland in poor condition, prompting producers to give supplemental feed to livestock and wildlife. Water tanks were drying out on ranches. North Texas e-News (Fannin, Texas), Sept. 11, 2019 and The Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 24, 2019 Pasture and rangeland in South Texas were in poor condition and continued to suffer due to drought and heat. Most livestock producers were giving supplemental feed and hauling water. The fire danger was high, especially in ungrazed areas. Numerous burn bans were in effect. North Texas e-News (Fannin, Texas), Sept. 5, 2019

Coastal Bend livestock auctions remained busy with producers selling livestock as they weaned calves early or thinned herds. Supplemental feeding continued. The Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 17, 2019 and Sept. 24, 2019 Some livestock producers in the Coastal Bend were giving their herds hay and protein, due to poor pasture conditions. Early weaned calves were sold at auction, and producers were striving to keep breeding stock where grazing was short. Stock ponds were running low, with producers worrying that livestock might get stuck around muddy ponds. North Texas e-News (Fannin, Texas), Sept. 11, 2019 Rangelands and pastures in Texas' Coastal Bend were suffering from a lack of rain. Many cattle producers were feeding hay because forages were limited. Some producers were weaning calves early. North Texas e-News (Fannin, Texas), Sept. 5, 2019

The recent dry weather in Middlesex County turned tree leaves brown and dried out grasses. News 12 New Jersey (Edison, N.J.), Sept. 20, 2019

Georgetown water customers were concerned about the taste and smell of their water, but the mayor assured them that the water was safe to drink. He blamed the summer heat and low flow of the Kentucky River for the water quality. LEX18 Lexington KY News (Ky.), Sept. 20, 2019

The corn maze in Robertson County was six to seven feet tall, whereas the corn usually grows eight to nine feet tall. Fewer pumpkins were produced, too, leading to a local shortage. WTVF-TV CBS 5 Nashville (Tenn.), Sept. 22, 2019

Peanuts in Macon County were very stressed and wilted from lack of moisture. The dry weather meant the farmer had to irrigate twice as much as usual. WMAZ-TV CBS 13 Macon (Ga.), Sept. 20, 2019

Peanuts in Santa Rosa County were hard to dig up because the soil was so dry. The farmer reported that it was difficult to get the blades into the ground to pull the peanuts up. Cotton in the region was also suffering from the hot, dry weather. Pensacola News Journal (Fla.), Sept. 23, 2019

Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia issued a ban on most outdoor burning, due to drought. Some communities in the state were also dealing with low water supplies. Macon Telegraph (Ga.), Sept. 20, 2019 West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice amended the outdoor burn ban to allow some fires at federal and state recreation areas after officials with the state’s Division of Forestry and Division of Natural Resources made the request. Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas), Sept. 24, 2019

Water in Frankfort was safe to drink, despite concerns about taste and odor. The Kentucky River was flowing slowly, due to drought, and was at 6.7 feet on Sept. 19 at the Frankfort lock. The Frankfort water provider initially posted about the aesthetics of the water on Facebook on Sept. 12. Kentucky American Water, supplying water to other cities in central Kentucky, also described an unpleasant taste and odor to the water on its Facebook page. The State-Journal (Frankfort, Ky.), Sept. 19, 2019

White, Cleveland and Faulkner counties were among the 22 counties in Arkansas with burn bans. A spate of grass fires in White County prompted a judge to issue the ban as strong winds, poor rainfall and low humidity increased the fire danger. thedailycitizen.com (Searcy, Ark.), Sept. 18, 2019

Heat and drought have increased the fire danger the length of the Natchez Trace Parkway, extending from southwest Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. While there were no fire restrictions on park lands, visitors were urged to be particularly careful with fire. Hohenwald-Lewis County Herald (Tenn.), Sept. 19, 2019

A burn ban was issued for Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, due to dry environmental conditions and concern about wildfires. WBIR-TV Knoxville (Tenn.), Sept. 20, 2019