Only one solution to drought

Hoping for the best but fearing the worst, Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns has appealed for a disaster designation for 21 drought-stricken counties in western Nebraska.

His action hits close to home because six of the parched dry counties are right here ... in the southwest corner of the state. The area counties -- all of which are in the midst of severe drought -- are Dundy, Chase, Hayes, Hitchcock, Red Willow and Frontier.

The dry spell, reminiscent of the 1930s, was already upon us early in the 2000s, but became critical in 2002 when this area fell far short of the average rainfall amount. In that extremely dry year, McCook was 9.67 inches below the normal yearly precipitation total.

The next year, 2003, was a little better, but McCook was still 2.46 inches below average. But what caught Johanns' attention -- and prompted his early action -- was the poor start for precipitation in 2004.

So far this year, McCook has received only 3.29 inches of moisture. That's more than two inches below the normal precipitation total of 5.75 inches for this point in the year.

Hence, the governor's call for a disaster designation. Even if granted, that won't be a cure-all. Far from it. What the disaster designation does is give farmers the right to: (1) Set aside payments for direct loans from the Farm Service Agency; (2) Gain access to the Small Business Administration disaster loan program; (3) Determine eligibility for Farm Service disaster programs; and (4) Provide documentation to defer income (for tax purposes) on forced livestock sales.

In other words, the drought disaster program doesn't reimburse farmers for their losses ... it merely buys them more time to deal with the consequences.

Meantime, the extension agent for Red Willow County, Kent Been, says crop farmers and livestock producers are trying different things to deal with the drought. Some dryland corn farmers are switching to crops which require less moisture, such as milo and millet.

As pastures dry up, stockmen are also doing things differently. For one thing, many are weaning calves earlier -- at three to four months instead of five to six months -- to decrease the nutritional needs of the cow herd. And, secondly, the livestock producers are using more supplementation -- which means they are feeding more hay to replace the lack of prime pastureland.

Yes, many things are being tried ... both politically and practically. But, in the final analysis, there's only one effective solution: steady, soaking and continuing rainfall.