Drought is occurring in many agricultural regions this year, such as parts of the Northwest, the Northern High Plains and the Midwest, including my locale in western Iowa.

 

For the first time in several years, other parts of the country that have experienced protracted drought recently – like the West, the South and the eastern half of the United States – have experienced normal or above-normal precipitation before and during this growing season.

However, a deficiency of precipitation in about a third of the U.S. “bread basket” is the worst in several years, as indicated by the Drought Monitor, published weekly by the University of Nebraska- Lincoln at www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu

Five miles north or south of where I live, there has been twice as much rainfall over the past two months. My neighbors wonder why promising clouds seem to part as they approach us. It’s finally raining today, but my farm received only 2.1 inches of rain during the previous eight weeks. The drought is spotty.

Nonetheless, the corn and soybeans on my farm and those of my neighbors look like they will produce near-average yields. How are farmers really feeling? Two Midwest agricultural publications and two farm radio stations contacted me to ask if farmers are worried. Large portions of Nebraska and Iowa were designated in the most recent Drought Monitor report as experiencing moderate to severe drought.

To learn more, I contacted the director of the Nebraska Rural Response Hotline (800-464-0258), Michelle Soll, and the director of the Iowa Concern Hotline (800-447-1985), Margaret Van Ginkel; I inquired about drought-related calls and emails from farmers to their hotlines.

Both hotline administrators said few farmers have contacted them with concerns about drought. Both also said an uptick in calls from highly financially leveraged and underwater farm borrowers that began last fall continues.

I checked with farmers in Montana, the Dakotas and Washington, where the worst drought determinations (extreme and catastrophic) encompass portions of the three easternmost states; the residents are more outwardly concerned. There have been workshops to assist farm people and communities that rely significantly on agriculture for their economic base. Cattle producers with poor pastures are selling their calves and cull cows early.

What ameliorates farmers’ worries? In some cases, the current drought isn’t the most severe they have experienced. For others more severely affected, the financial protections for agricultural producers that are available through the local Farm Service Agencies of the USDA have partially reduced the economic risks.

Crop insurance helps to protect farmers who signed up earlier this spring. Other forms of assistance, such as USDA disaster loans, are available to farmers who need assistance. Livestock producers also have some economic protections. Some drought-stricken regions have already been declared disaster areas, which has opened up conservation land for grazing and indemnity options. Supplemental feed programs are available in extreme situations.

Farmers tell me that beginning in 2015, the USDA economic risk reductions that are in place for producers who take advantage of them have somewhat reduced their financial worries, so they can hang on to their operations.

Crop seeds nowadays have survival characteristics, including drought tolerance, that have been bred into them.

Most corn varieties have capacities to send roots down deeply to find wet subsoil and upright leaves to funnel any dew that collects overnight toward the stalk so it can be absorbed.

Corn plants can also direct the available moisture to nurture the best kernels on an ear, which reduces the overall number of kernels but makes the remaining ones larger. Drought-adaptive characteristics such as less need for water have also been bred into wheat, soybeans and other crops.

These same seeds can usually survive protracted cold spells following planting until the ground warms up and the plants can withstand high winds better than earlier varieties.

Crop seed adaptations aren’t enough to defray severe drought, however. Agricultural producers still fret as conditions deteriorate for sustainable production, even with inbred protections in their crops and government-sponsored programs that reduce financial risks. The next weeks will indicate much.

Worrying and searching for adaptations have been bred into agricultural producers in the same way that survival characteristics have been bred into seeds. Selection over many generations that produced adaptable crop seeds also favored farmers who have characteristics which contributed to survival during harsh times. Their characteristics are part of our inherited genetic makeup.

Today’s agricultural producers are the  remnants of multiple generations of selection. This intensive selection has resulted in those most fit to deal with drought or other threats to their livelihoods as agricultural producers. Yet, they become apprehensive, anxious and, in severe cases, depressed over what they perceive as failure.

We can be glad for government protections of agricultural income. We can also be glad there are some (but not enough) trained agricultural counselors available, who might become needed if the drought worsens. Drought could also improve some markets.

I’ll say more in the following weeks. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Dr. Mike Rosmann is a psychologist and farmer in western Iowa. Readers may contact him at mike@agbehavioralhealth.com