A Look At The Drought...

I am in Mid-America (mid-Missouri to be specific). I only just moved here 1 year ago, from Texas. I was used to the dry heat in Texas, so when I moved to Missouri in June 2011, I was not used to the every-other-day rain showers. It reminded me of England. It literally rained at least 3 times a week from June until August. The land was green and the air was hot and humid.

This year was a complete change. It's rained maybe a whole 6 or 7 times all summer. It could be more, but frankly, it doesn't matter. The rain is so scarce that corn crops across our county look like hell. We have 2 gardens on our land, a big and small one. We have our own underground well, so our gardens depended on the water from those wells via the garden hoses to get water. The gardens have done pretty well...

Here is a picture of a small area where the garden hose has a tiny leak. While the sprinkler is on, it puts out an ever so tiny spray of water. But look what it did to that patch of ground, compared to the rest of our land...



Here is an edited version that really brings out the contrast between the drought and the green land.


Last year, the entire STATE looked like the green part... It's really devastating what the drought has done...

reply to post by OrphenFire


Droughts are cyclic in nature. We feel the impact more because we view things within our life spans. Give it a year or two.

Things will be green again.

reply to post by beezzer


Well I'm no climatologist, but yes I agree. Climate in general is cyclical. However when a drought comes during economic hardship, it makes for a potentially nasty mix...

Next year we will really feel the economic effects of this drought. Depending on who is POTUS and who's sitting in Congress, and what they do, next year could be a SHTF scenario.

Originally posted by OrphenFire
reply to post by beezzer

 

Well I'm no climatologist, but yes I agree. Climate in general is cyclical. However when a drought comes during economic hardship, it makes for a potentially nasty mix...

Next year we will really feel the economic effects of this drought. Depending on who is POTUS and who's sitting in Congress, and what they do, next year could be a SHTF scenario.

Forgive me if this goes too off topic, but it's funny you should mention the economy.

Because of the confluence of drought, ethanol usage, gas prices, we're not only seeing a single dimentional aspect to this.

Food prices rise because of the drought.
gas prices rise because of the drought.
Food prices rise because gas prices rise.

It appears that our esteemed leaders (I say that tongue in check) have a very short-sided view to agricultural impacts on society.

reply to post by beezzer


American farmers know that this deems bad for our very near future. I was in a local car shop getting my battery replaced recently, and there was a group of about 5 old farmers in there discussing the drought and the economic impacts it creates. They all agreed that "we're in very serious trouble". Theses guys have been farming for decades and they know what they're talking about.

reply to post by OrphenFire

there was a group of about 5 old farmers in there discussing the drought and the economic impacts it creates. They all agreed that "we're in very serious trouble". Theses guys have been farming for decades and they know what they're talking about.

Yes they do !

News of the U.S. drought is already hitting our canadian medias here, preparing us for what is to come.

Two examples :

Drought conditions in the U.S. are expected to boost Canadian food prices by as much as four per cent next year.

www.cbc.ca...

the estimate is based on projections of the impact of the severe U.S. drought, which has hit corn and soybean yields but it also pushing wheat and barley prices higher.

ca.finance.yahoo.com...


Not good for the farmers nor for anyone else that follows the chain right down to the consumer.

There is also another problem with the farming in our general area, there are hardly any young farmers. Most of the farmers are in their 50s and 60s. If people don't start getting back into farming were are in for an even more serious problem.

reply to post by Liv07


Yeah I forgot to mention that. When these old farmers die, who is going to pick up the slack??

reply to post by OrphenFire


the corporations

reply to post by SonoftheSun


Interesting. This is why it's going to be economically disastrous. We're going to have to import a lot of food. Also, our GDP will be grossly affected because we're going to be missing a huge chunk of revenue from exported food.

I'm in arid southern Colorado. We're always on the verge of drought. From my own experience if there's dead grass/roots holding on there's a good chance you'll recover if spring rains come. It's after a couple years of bad drought that you can get into real trouble. Dead grass roots become brittle over time and will disintegrate or blow away.

One year we had nothing but dirt/dust storms. The wind churned the soil into moon dust. When the rains did come the dust turned into a slurry coating. If you scraped off the wet slurry the ground was bone dry underneath. It took a while to recover from that one and snow not rain is what saved us.

I throw down drought tolerant grass seed over winter. At our altitude the sun is so hot even in winter the seeds sprout using moisture from the snow. Although it usually dries up by summer the extra roots help. I'm more about holding down the soil than having a green lawn.

If you can't grow grass over winter try to get an early start next spring. If you don't get any moisture I don't know what to tell you except try anything/everything to hold onto your topsoil. You've got to keep it from turning into moon dust!

Everything must look really bad to you all right now but it can get a whole lot worse. If next year's weather is more of the same you could be in "the dust bowl" by early summer.

reply to post by Morningglory


Unfortunately, many believe that the drought will continue into and beyond next year... And this is happening in farming states. Colorado is not a farming state, and drought is to be expected in arid climates. Our climates are not arid.

I hope that next year is NOT another drought, but unfortunately, I get the feeling it will be even worse. And like you said, the topsoil will have nothing to hold onto and will blow away like...

reply to post by OrphenFire


The meaning behind "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas is that our time here on Earth is but a little tiny insignificant spec in the big picture.

Hopefully, this drought will be the same.

Originally posted by Zarniwoop
reply to post by OrphenFire

 

The meaning behind "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas is that our time here on Earth is but a little tiny insignificant spec in the big picture.

Hopefully, this drought will be the same.

It's a good song. Even if the drought devastates our infrastructure and causes the American economy to collapse, the government to wither and die and bloody civil war break out between militant factions all over the country for a 100 years... it's still only dust in the wind.

reply to post by OrphenFire


I see you're a glass-half-full type of person

reply to post by Liv07

That is a fact and some will sell out to the big corporate farms (more GMO) but others will sell out to developers if near a city and take that land out of production or simply sit idle unless they can get someone to farm it for a percentage.

Originally posted by Zarniwoop
reply to post by OrphenFire

 

I see you're a glass-half-full type of person

To be honest, I'm more of a "that glass is twice as big as it should be" type of person.

reply to post by OrphenFire
I grew up in Gary, IN the whole state is pretty much one big cornfield so I know what's at stake. Living in Colorado I've seen what severe drought can do. Tbh I don't know if we'd all survive a lengthy drought in your neck of the woods.

Originally posted by Morningglory
reply to post by OrphenFire

 

I grew up in Gary, IN the whole state is pretty much one big cornfield so I know what's at stake. Living in Colorado I've seen what severe drought can do. Tbh I don't know if we'd all survive a lengthy drought in your neck of the woods.

'

One summer is bad, but recoverable. If we have a repeat next year, it will be catastrophic. Beyond that doesn't really matter... It only takes 2 years of consecutive drought to obliterate our infrastructure under present economic and social conditions.

I'm on the northern end of the drought where everything is green cause all of that moisture has come north and around the midwest. We were concerned because rainfall has been below normal the last couple of years, but not this year. Actually have had flooding here this year. Oddly enough...there are almost NO APPLES on the apple trees, and almost no blueberries.
I'm in northern mn.