Drought Conditions Alleviate in Pee Dee Counties
The Pee Dee region of South Carolina heaves a sigh of relief as the S.C. Drought Response Committee announces the downgrade of drought status in 13 counties. The drought status upliftment, officially declared on July 24, attributes to encouraging bouts of rain in recent times.
Respite for Row-Crop Producers
States like South Carolina that are heavily dependent on agriculture, especially corn production, have severely encountered the brute force of extreme weather conditions. Athena Strickland, committee member and technical services manager with Domtar Paper, notes an improvement in drought indicators due to significant rainfall of roughly 2-6 inches prevalent in the last two weeks across the Northeast Drought Management Area. Strickland remarks, “While the Little Pee Dee and the Black Rivers have shown some recent increase in flow, they both remain extremely low, indicating the remaining effects from the extended dry period.”
Wildlife and Streamflow Recuperation Indicate Drought Alleviation
Darryl Jones, forest protection chief with the Forestry Commission, reports a fortunate change in the weather pattern observed over the last couple of weeks revealing lower temperatures and frequent thunderstorms. Supported by a reduced wildlife occurrence and improved streamflow, the committee confidently decided on downgrading the drought status.
Express observations from the SC State Climatology Office
Hope Mizzell and Elliot Wickham, from the SC State Climatology Office, presented data showing that many locations received in the last two weeks more rain than the five previous weeks combined. Both stressed while the encouraging rain provided immediate relief, it would require several months of common rainfall patterns to completely recover. They also pointed out that despite much of the state enjoying above normal rainfall since the July 9 committee meeting, there are still dry spots within counties that continue missing out on rain.
Rain: Too Little, Too Late for Some Farming and Pasture Lands?
The committee heard the stories of struggle from farmers and agricultural representatives emphasizing that for some farms and pastures, the rain came too late and insufficiently. Sam Quinney, agricultural outreach director for the S.C. Department of Agriculture, explained that although recent rainfalls have been recorded in most areas across the state, ag producers still anticipate a long-term impact from reduced yields.
Row-crop producers, specifically corn producers, were severely affected due to drought and adverse heat effects. Notably, heat and drought conditions struck during a crucial pollination period of corn production. Cattle producers are now facing reduced production of warm-season and perennial forages, forcing them to seek alternative food sources and reduce herd sizes to manage overall feed costs. Other crops such as soybean, cotton, and peanuts are also expected to witness reduced production leading to below-average yields. However, recent rains have given hope to producers to still make a reasonable yield from these commodities.
The committee will reconvene on Aug. 13 to reassess the drought status, closely monitoring the conditions across the state.
