Some of the 25 goats at Hillside Farms in Mason County drink from the bottom of a watering trough on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. Mason County is one of six West Virginia counties considered as being in a state of extreme drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Two months of drought have left West VirginiaƵs topsoil and subsoil at their driest levels, and pasture in its worst condition, in 22 years of U.S. Department of Agriculture record-keeping, the U.S. Drought Monitor announced on Thursday.
Some of the 25 goats at Hillside Farms in Mason County drink from the bottom of a watering trough on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. Mason County is one of six West Virginia counties considered as being in a state of extreme drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Courtesy photos
The USDA reports that 100% of the stateƵs topsoil and subsoil was rated dry or very dry, while the agency rated 92% of its pastureland in poor to very poor condition.
At the same time, an area of Ƶexceptional drought,Ƶ the most severe Drought Monitor category, was recorded in West Virginia this week for the first time in Drought MonitorƵs 25-year history. That area includes parts of Jackson, Mason, Putnam, Roane, Wood and Wirt counties.
Meanwhile, West Virginia retains its status as the state with the nationƵs most severe and widespread drought. Its Drought Severity and Coverage Index rating of 333 was more than 130 points higher than that of Montana, currently the second most drought-plagued state.
Drought Monitor, produced jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the USDA, and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, produces weekly maps and reports on the status of drought in the U.S.
West VirginiaƵs drought conditions as of Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
U.S. Drought Monitor
According to the most recent Drought Monitor report for West Virginia, Ƶreports have been received of widespread crop loss and water hauling for livestock and irrigation, pastures and meadows not regenerating, and low streamflow.Ƶ
Goats graze in a bone-dry pasture, on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, at Hillside Farm near Leon, Mason County.
Courtesy photo
Farmers feeling the drought stress
Across the state, withered pastures have forced many farmers to begin feeding hay to their livestock several months earlier than normal. Many West Virginia farmers who normally produce their own hay have given up on producing a second cutting this year and are either buying hay from outside the state or pasturing their stock in their former hayfields.
ƵIƵve lived here 30 years, and IƵve never had to feed my goats so early,Ƶ said Frank Chapman of Hillside Farm, near Leon in Mason County. ƵI bought one load of hay about a month ago, and IƵm going to Ohio tomorrow to get another load that I hope will last through the winter.Ƶ
Chapman, who now has about 30 acres of fenced pasture, said he plans to apply for a drought assistance loan to pay for an electric fence to enclose another 10 acres of land for grazing use, in an effort to minimize the amount of hay he will have to feed.
ƵNormally at this time of year, pastures are green and full of grass and weeds for the goats to eat,Ƶ Chapman said. ƵThereƵs usually enough here for them to eat until early November, when we normally start giving them hay. But IƵve never seen things as bone dry as they are now. You can see cracks in the soil. Even in the woods, the briers are drying up and the hickories are dropping leaves.Ƶ
Hoping for speedy relief from the drought, Chapman said he fears that a major hurdle could occur next spring, if farmers will again have to buy hay if pastures fail to receive enough rain or snow to rebound.
Rick Steelhammer is a features reporter. He can be reached at 304-348-5169 or rsteelhammer@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ on Twitter.
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