Missouri officials opening up state lakes to help drought-battered ranchers
BRANSON MO NEWS: JEFFERSON CITY • With a severe drought clobbering Missouri farm country, officials outlined plans Monday aimed at addressing water and feed shortages for livestock operations across the state.Among them is an initiative that will allow ranchers to pump water out of nearly 28 state-owned lakes to supplement drying farm ponds that were never fully replenished during the winter months.
Parson, who runs a cattle farm in Bolivar, is among those who have had to feed hay to his herd because his pastures haven’t been able to support normal summer grazing. He said he’s never had to do that in August in his life.“This is a long way from being over,” Parson said. “Some people are not going to make it.”The drought in Missouri has been brought on by below-average rainfall affecting about 98 percent of the state. Twenty-five Missouri counties have been declared disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, triggering emergency loan assistance.
Images courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chin said ranchers are culling their herds and importing hay from out of state to keep their operations afloat.The state has eased permitting regulations and waived fees on hay hauling to assist farmers trying to get feed to their herds. But, she said, the cost of hay has risen quickly as demand has grown, putting some farmers at a financial disadvantage.“When our farmers hurt, our communities hurt too,” Chin said.Sean Cornelius, a dairy farmer from Hamilton in the hard-hit northwest region of the state, said he’s seen just 3.2 inches of rain since May. He said opening up access to water in state parks and conservation areas will be a “super help.”“We’ll do the best with what we have,” Cornelius said.Most of …
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