Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006
Contact: Spence Jackson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Calls for Vigilance in Tracking Continued Drought throughout State
JEFFERSON CITY–The drought of 2005 cost Missouri more than $252 million in lost agricultural production, and early indications are that the drought is continuing into 2006 Gov. Matt Blunt said today.
“Last year’s drought had a significant impact on our agricultural community, especially in the areas of corn, soybeans and hay,” Blunt said. “We need to prepare ourselves now for what looks like a continuation of this drought.”
Citing a report conducted at the University of Missouri by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), Blunt noted that virtually every region of the state suffered lost production of corn or soybeans, or both.
The FAPRI report was released Friday at a meeting of the Missouri Drought Assessment Committee, which reports to the governor. The committee’s report to Blunt noted that 81 counties are abnormally dry, with 12 of those, all located in southwest Missouri, considered by the committee to be in a “conservation phase” drought.
A conservation phase, or Phase 3, drought is characterized by decreasing streamflows, reservoir levels and seasonal ground water levels. It is the third of four levels of drought conditions identified in the Missouri Drought Plan and is second in severity only to a drought emergency.
Among the indicators used in judging the severity of the drought in southwest Missouri were the water levels at Table Rock and Stockton reservoirs. Table Rock is 12 feet below the normal seasonal average and Stockton is more than 8 feet below normal pool depth. Precipitation in southwest Missouri is currently 15-18 inches below normal.
Forecasts heard by the committee indicated that average conditions were likely to continue through the next 30 days, but the drought is expected to carry through the May planting season.
An additional impact of the dry conditions is an increase in wild fires. The Missouri Department of Conservation reported more than 15 wild fires in recent weeks, primarily in southwestern and western Missouri.
For more information, including the current drought map, the Missouri Drought Plan and information on the Drought Assessment Committee, see the drought webpage at http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/droughtupdate.htm.
###