STARKVILLE, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Close to half of Mississippi is in a moderate to severe drought.

Mike Brown, the state climatologist and Mississippi State University (MSU) professor of meteorology said much of the northern two-thirds of the state has been fluctuating between drought and being okay.

“The recent warm temperatures, lower humidity and lack of precipitation has pushed us into a drought,” Brown said. “The final severity will depend upon when and how much rain we receive in the next three to four weeks.”

Officials said this year’s drought was made worse by the drought of 2023.

“While precipitation returned to normal in most locations toward the end of the year and early into 2024, normal was not enough to offset deep soil moisture loss from 2023,” Brown said. “We need to have several months of 110 to 125% of normal rainfall in order to recharge our deep soil moisture.”

According to the MSU Extension Service, pastures and hay fields may have struggled the most in this summer’s dry weather, and their quality has dropped in recent weeks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated 27% of pastures are currently in very poor or poor condition. Of these pastures, 37% are in fair shape, 33% are good and just 3% are in excellent condition.

Hay is rated similarly as of August 25, 2024. The USDA has rated 24% of hay as very poor or poor, with 35% as fair, 37% as good and 4% as excellent.

Rocky Lemus, forage specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said hay production is 40% below normal since only two hay cuttings have been achieved under the drought conditions.

Officials said cotton has not been impacted as much by the weather because half the crop is irrigated, and cotton needs heat to properly mature.

Some growers have begun defoliating cotton, and harvest should begin by the second week of September, with the bulk to be picked in late September to very early October. Mississippi growers planted 520,000 acres of cotton this year, up about 30% from 2023.

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