As drought conditions worsen over much of the KVOE listening area, ag producers continue to look for any precipitation to mitigate those conditions.
The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows exceptional drought covering extreme northwest Lyon and northeast Morris counties as well as nearly all of southwestern Wabaunsee County. Extreme drought now covers most of northern Lyon County with Emporia right on the edge as well as nearly all of Morris, Wabaunsee and northern Chase County.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Ariel Cohen says a pattern is developing where there will be periodic episodes of shower and thunderstorm activity, but confidence level of where the heavier episodes of rainfall set up are very limited.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency announced the additional authorization of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practice CP25 acres for emergency grazing only, for the remainder of the fiscal year 2018 through Sept. 30. The authorization covers the same 44 counties previously authorized for emergency haying and grazing on other CRP practices including Lyon, Chase, Coffey, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties. (See map below).
The additional authorization will help ease the feed shortage for livestock producers. There will be no CRP annual rental payment reduction for 2018 emergency haying and grazing authorizations. For more information and to request approval for emergency haying or grazing use of CRP acres, producers should contact their local county Farm Service Agency office. Information is available also at farmers.gov.
Below image courtesy U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency
