Drought conditions are putting pressure on farmers across the state

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — With drought conditions affecting the entire state, local farmers are really feeling the heat.

American radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey once said, “Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.”

It is a sentiment that farm owners across the state are feeling the weight of in the face of prolonged drought conditions.

Every county in West Virginia is currently experiencing either abnormally dry conditions, moderate drought, or severe drought.

Keith Richmond, County Executive Director for Raleigh County’s Farm Service Agency, said the situation could always be worse.

“Right now, if we were to get the rain and that type of thing that we needed, it would come back, it would bounce back. We start into D-2 which is just east of us in Virginia right now then we’re gonna be looking at some long-term effects on different grass species and that type of thing,” said Richmond.

D-2 is considered severe drought conditions, which as of Tuesday, July 9, 2024, are only affecting the northeastern part of the state.

Richmond said it is also only livestock-based farms that could see a decent bounce back at this point.

Crop-based farms will have a much more difficult time if they are not set up with an irrigation system to bring the much-needed water to plants.

“You know, your livestock, you can control the number of head you’ve got. If you see that you’re running out of grass or something, you can go ahead and move some to market or move some of them to another pasture,” explained Richmond. “With your crop-type farms, you can’t do that. It’s where it’s at is where it’s at.”

If the farm is not irrigated and is not getting any rainfall, farmers may already have crops showing signs of being affected by drought.

That is not to say that livestock farms have it easier. Richmond said they need the water just as badly.

“Well, the livestock, they’re gotta have water, just like us. They’ve gotta have it. So, we’ve gotta keep clean, fresh water in these ponds. With nothing flowing in it, it starts to get stagnant and you’re gonna start seeing some problems with that,” said Richmond.

A temporary fix is water troughs and making sure they stay clean and fresh.

With no steady, slow rain predicted in the next week, Richmond said the state is at risk of having more counties follow northeastern West Virginia into severe drought status.

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