U.S. Drought 2012 and a story of my Grammie

As everybody  in the U.S. knows we have had a very dry summer! It reminds me of one hot dry summer that I stayed with my Grammie. We had three large gardens going as always, since we preserved everything. I was about 13 and when I say hot, I mean hot! I would drive the tractor, with her on the back from garden to garden as we picked and watered. The road to the potatoes garden was very bumpy. On one of the hottest days of this summer, as always I drove her up the road but this time was a memorable event. As I drove she would say, "speed up its hot", then "slow down, you are jarring me to death", then "come on Clint we have to hurry", then "Please slow down I am about to bounce off". I couldn't please her, lol! So I stopped and asked her how she wanted me to drive, lol! To this day we laugh and talk of that day!

Well below is an article on the weather her this year. When you get  to the bottom the is a link to a map that monitors the damaged areas of this drought. West Virginia doesn't look that bad but to us it feels awful. I can't even imagine what the rest of you are going through! It looks like many areas need lots of prayer! So water water water those plants! Make a Few Rain Barrels to collect water.

"STATE REMAINS ABNORMALLY DRY, DESPITE RECENT RAIN"
Article from http://www.wvagriculture.org/index.html

  Most of West Virginia remained “abnormally dry,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map dated July 17, 2012. However, recent rains resulted in a small portion of southwest West Virginia being removed from drought status, an improvement over previous conditions that showed three-quarters of the state’s topsoil moisture ranked as “poor.”

   Despite marginal farm conditions, West Virginia has not had it nearly as bad as the majority of the country, which is suffering from an unprecedented heat wave and an historic drought.

   Nationally, nearly 90 percent of the nation’s corn and soybean crops are located in drought-stricken areas. The worsening drought conditions will likely drive up food prices in the near term, and meat prices by next year because corn and soybeans are predominant ingredients in animal feed.

   “I have requested farmers to keep detailed records of drought-related losses in the hope that Congress restores emergency funding to the Farm Bill that’s currently under consideration,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass.

   He called on Congress to move the bill to the White House and to consider the plight of the farmers who had high hopes for a record corn crop earlier this year.

   “Farming is the most important industry in this country,” said Commissioner Douglass. “First, it provides the food we all rely upon each day. Second, it is among our most-important exports, regardless of the condition of the world economy at any given time. And third, it represents the finest of American ideals: ingenuity, hard work and service to others. As a nation, we must do what it takes to get these family businesses through this potentially ruinous natural disaster.”

   The national drought map can be found at www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS) has detailed weekly reports on crop and weather conditions around the country. Visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/State_Crop_Progress_and_Condition/index.asp for more information.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.