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Late spring freeze, drought bad news for Ohio farmers
United States
Monday 23 July 2007
Ohio farmers, faced with moderate or severe drought and a late spring freeze, will likely result in reduced yields on corn, small fruit, vegetables and hay.
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration reported on Thursday that three-fourths of the state is in a moderate drought. The Akron-Canton area is listed as abnormally dry, but not yet in a drought.
And high temperatures, which could worsen the effects of the drought, are again expected this week, said Mike Palecki of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.
The one-two punch of freeze and drought also has wiped out as much as 75 percent of fruit crops in many areas around Cincinnati, including northern Kentucky, said Tim Woods, an agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky.
The dry conditions also are destroying as much as half of Ohio's small fruit crops, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, Woods said. This is after most of the region's apples, peaches and pears were devastated by the spring's chilly weather.
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration reported on Thursday that three-fourths of the state is in a moderate drought. The Akron-Canton area is listed as abnormally dry, but not yet in a drought.
And high temperatures, which could worsen the effects of the drought, are again expected this week, said Mike Palecki of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.
The one-two punch of freeze and drought also has wiped out as much as 75 percent of fruit crops in many areas around Cincinnati, including northern Kentucky, said Tim Woods, an agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky.
The dry conditions also are destroying as much as half of Ohio's small fruit crops, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, Woods said. This is after most of the region's apples, peaches and pears were devastated by the spring's chilly weather.
