A Hampshire County church sign asking for prayers (Photo: Marsha Chwalik)
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — With temperatures reaching the triple digits in the Eastern Panhandle this week, folks are feeling the dry conditions, especially farmers, orchardists and other producers who depend on water.
The greater Eastern Panhandle, along with other parts of the state, have gotten less rain than usual for a few months of the growing season, according to West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt.
It is especially dry in the Eastern Panhandle:
Leonhardt talked about what that could mean to those producing crops as well as those making hay for livestock:
Leonhardt said one saving grace may be the precipitation that came at the beginning of the growing season, but the effects of the ongoing dry spell may not be known until the crops are in:
He encourages farmers and producers to look into crop insurance and signing up for programs through the USDA Farm Service Agency “so if a disaster is declared, there may be some help later on. Some farmers do purchase crop insurance.”
As for getting water to thirsty crops and animals,
For future mitigation efforts, Leonhardt says farmers and producers can improve their soil health to impact water retention. “The more organic matter in that soil,
Current Drought Map (drought.gov)
the more water is retained and the less severe these conditions in the future.”
Leonhardt says agriculturalists across the state are doing what they can, “Hopefully, most of our farmers are doing these sorts of things,” he says. “And we’re praying for rain.”
Sixty-percent of the state is experiencing drought conditions.
