Thousands of farmers who rely on the Klamath Project’s primary canal will be out of water for the season. They got the devastating news this week from the Bureau of Reclamation, the agency that oversees water resource management.
It says that the water supply is insufficient to operate the primary A canal because of the worsening drought. The Klamath Water Users Association called it the worst day in the history of the project.
This week’s drought monitor shows the heart of farm country is getting even drier.
Drought is spreading through the Midwest and it is hitting some rural areas particularly hard.
According to USDA’s Dennis Todey, “Those are centered on the Great Lakes, from most of Michigan over into parts of northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and northern Iowa. And then, you get into the plains, especially the Northern Plains, most of North Dakota, eastern Montana, and northern South Dakota are in some quite bad situations. That’s the area of the worst concern. That eastern [Corn Belt] area is a problem right now as we have some dry soils at planting, but it is not a major issue just yet.”
He says that dry conditions in the eastern Corn Belt began months ago, but the drought in the Dakotas started last summer.
Related:
Drought conditions in the west may be worse than the 2001 drought
Mother Nature is causing challenges for producers from California to South Carolina