Growing drought expected to worsen into the fall months

Since July of last year, Columbia and surrounding areas have seen less than thirty inches of rain. It’s this lack of rain that not only has led to an evolving drought, but an activation of the drought response team.

July 18, Governor Parson issued an executive order that activated the drought assessment committee. In a meeting open to the public today, the committee came together to working to mitigate the drought with innovative strategies.

47 counties were initially included in the executive order, but since then 5 more counties have been added to areas that have severe or extreme droughts. This is seen in the newest drought monitor that was issued early Thursday morning.

Experts at the meeting say the drought is expected to worsen or continue by the time October rolls around.

While the drought is nothing like the magnitude of 2012 as a whole, select areas are seeing worse conditions. With the drought expected to grow, this will likely mean that phase three of the drought response plan will go into effect. Until then, officials are stressing the importance of submitting drought information, which is critical in understanding how a drought is impacting a local area. You can submit that information here.

As the current drought continues to expand and worsen, there are some resources available for farmers and ranchers, they include:

– Livestock Forage Disaster Program

– Livestock Indemnity Program

– Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

– Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program

– Emergency Conservation Program

– Emergency Haying and Grazing

To see if you qualify or for more information you can contact your local Farm Service Agency.

Stay with ABC 17 News as we continue to monitor the growing drought problems and follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.