Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

"It's heart-wrenching" Farmers and ranchers deal with effects of severe drought

Sloughs are going dry throughout the county, and pastures are bare of grass.  

No measurable rain has fallen since July 3 in New Rockford, and the N.D. Agricultural Weather Network reports that just 0.13 inches of rain has been recorded north of Carrington since July 1.

Water holes that used to provide refreshment for livestock have nearly dried up. With mud all along the edges of the water holes, the cows will bury themselves before they get to water, said Chandy Howard, Eddy County NDSU Extension Agent.

The same riverbanks that flooded in 2019 and again in 2020 now don't have not enough water flowing in them to water a cow herd. "To me that's unbelievable in that short of time," said Jeff Schafer, local producer and president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.

At his farm west of New Rockford, Schafer has recorded just three-tenths of one inch (0.30) of rain the entire month of July. Two miles to the west of him, his neighbor got a bit more, about half an inch. Another to the east hasn't gotten a drop.

"We are way behind normal," he said.

With pastures bare, livestock producers are using all the forage available to them to keep animals fed. The Schafers decided to bale their oats because they were short on roughage for their herd.

"Time is of the essence. The average N.D. ranch is at 10-20% of its normal hay crop," Schafer said. "It's heart-wrenching."

With nutrient quality going backwards every day they go without rain, producers recently looked to USDA to access another source of forage, CRP acres.

"We can't change it but we can be disappointed," Schafer said of USDA's recent decision not to allow N.D. producers to hay their CRP acres until after Aug. 1. Producers need every acre to fulfill the feed needs for these cows, he noted.

As producers begin to harvest, Schafer said he anticipates that yields on small grains such as oats, barley and wheat are going to be just as spotty as the precipitation has been.

"If you're not a livestock producer, you're going to harvest what you can," he surmised.

As for the row crops, Schafer is hopeful. "I think there's some potential there, but the rain has to come quick," he said. "The row crops are in dire straits." Much of the corn managed to pollinate through the heat, but some did not.

Area producers want to graze or hay their wheat, and Howard encourages them to test for nitrates before turning animals out onto a field. Nitrate poisoning is a serious and often fatal condition that occurs after livestock ingest feedstuffs that contain high levels of nitrate.

Howard's desk at NDSU Extension was peppered with water bottles on Monday, from recent samples taken in various places throughout the county. She's also testing for total dissolved solids (TDS), which are higher than normal this year. TDS represents the total concentration of dissolved substances in water. TDS is made up of inorganic salts, as well as a small amount of organic matter.

Eddy County Emergency Manager Lisa Thompson told county commissioners at Tuesday's special budget meeting that she was working on a Drought Declaration. The commission is expected to adopt the declaration and declare a state of emergency at the Tuesday, Aug. 3 regular meeting.

According to the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, agricultural drought impacts across the northern High Plains remained widespread and severe. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, topsoil moisture on July 18 was rated 86% very short to short in North Dakota.

At least one-half of the rangeland and pastures in the Dakotas are rated very poor to poor.

On July 18, North Dakota was the national leader in oats, with 50% rated very poor to poor. Forty percent of the soybean crop and 32% of the corn was also rated very poor to poor.

Nationally, the U.S. spring wheat crop was rated just 11% good to excellent, and 63% very poor to poor on July 18, the lowest overall condition at this time of year since July 18, 1988, when the crop was categorized as 7% good to excellent and 73% very poor to poor.

Initial estimates released by USDA on July 12 indicated that the 2021 U.S. spring wheat production will be down 41% from last year, while yield will be down 37%. If realized, the 2021 U.S. spring wheat yield of 30.7 bushels per acre would be the lowest since 2002.

With dry conditions come pests, and grasshoppers are among those to monitor. The hot and dry weather we've been experiencing is expected to quickly push insect development into mainly adult grasshoppers, and increase their movements into greener crops as the cereal crops mature and are harvested.

Adult grasshoppers cause more crop damage because they feed more, are more mobile (adults have wings) and attack many crops where they defoliate leaves and chew on seed pods. Adult grasshopper feeding activity usually peaks in August.

Grasshopper densities have been slowly building over the past years, according to data from the NDSU Extension IPM Crop Survey Program. The percentage of fields infested with grasshoppers increased from 28% in 2017 to 57% in 2020 and 65% in 2021.

The total number of grasshoppers collected with sweep nets was also higher the last two years.

"Producers should scout their property and if grasshopper levels are economically damaging, they should take action. The adults have already laid eggs that will hatch next spring, so if control of immature grasshoppers is not taken in the spring, adults could be at even higher levels next year," Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. "Control measures are best coordinated between producers with neighboring fields, pastures and rangeland for maximum effect."

The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) can help provide technical assistance by surveying and coordinating control between neighbors. Interested producers may reach the North Dakota USDA-APHIS office by contacting North Dakota State Plant Health Director Amy Mesman at 605-224-1713.

Counties do have the option to take control measures if they deem it necessary and funding is available. County commissioners may designate a county pest coordinator to administer available county funds to assist in controlling grasshopper populations.

Ranchers and farmers who lease land from the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands are encouraged to apply for cost-share funding targeted to specific drought-related needs.

"Our staff is closely monitoring drought conditions across the state," said Jodi Smith, commissioner of University and School Lands. "We are committed to providing all available resources to ranchers and farmers who lease our lands. We realize they are doing their very best to maintain ag operations during these extreme conditions.

"Under normal conditions, lessees may be reluctant to develop livestock water sources on trust lands, knowing the leases may go to someone else in the next auction," Smith said. "But water developments put in place now will benefit lessees, and the land, during this drought period and well into the future.

"Because of the urgent need, our Surface Land Division recently increased the Livestock Water Development Program cost share to 100%. This is one way we are reaching out to North Dakotans and doing what we can to mitigate the serious impact of the drought," Smith added.

NDDTL also has extended the application deadlines for the Weed and Pest Control Program. Moving the date back one month to the last business day in October will provide the agricultural community more time to respond to emerging needs.

"Noxious weeds allowed to flourish this year will be an even bigger problem next year," Smith said, "and, as other states are experiencing, the dry conditions have created an environment where grasshopper infestations are a growing concern. The bottom line in both situations is that weeds and pests reduce what the land can produce."

For more information about the Livestock Water Development Program and an online application form, go to land.nd.gov/livestockwaterdevelopment. To learn more about the Weed and Pest Control Program and to obtain online and printable applications, go to land.nd.gov/weedandpest.

With all the adverse conditions facing producers, Howard said it's important to know that help is available. NDSU has a new online resource for producers experiencing farm stress, https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/ag-topics/farm-management/managing-stress.

"We are resourceful, and we will get through it," Schafer concluded.