Drought

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has granted Kansas' Governor Sam Brownback's request for the USDA to issue a drought disaster declaration for 21 Kansas counties as well as 18 contiguous counties. “This is good news for farmers in Kansas Counties experiencing production losses caused by drought, wildfires, and high winds.  I appreciate the Secretary and USDA’s quick response to my request,” Gov. Brownback said in a statement. “This is worse than previous droughts I've seen during a lifetime in agriculture.  It already is affecting how farmers and ranchers are doing business – and that in turn will quickly impact local businesses and communities.  It will take a great deal of time and rain to reverse the impact of this drought.” Declaring these county agricultural disasters makes qualified farmers in both primary and contiguous counties eligible for emergency loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, as well as any other aid that may be available through the Supplemental Revenue Assistance payments (SURE)

The City of Wichita wants your input on dealing with drought conditions in the region. The city scheduled six public meetings for mid-April. Officials say the Wichita region is in its third year of a prolonged drought, and there's no indication of when it will let up. The city says the hot, dry weather since 2011 has depleted the City's water supply. Cheney Reservoir, which supplies Wichita with about 60% of its supply, is expected to cease yielding drinking water in August 2015 - if weather conditions and water usage do not change.

Hot, dry weather is taking a toll on Kansas waterways. Many Kansas rivers are at their lowest level in decades. “It's probably the lowest I've ever seen it,” says Penny Lusk who lives along the Arkansas River near Derby. “Doesn't look like much of a river does it?” asks Lusk as she looks at the little water that is still flowing. The Arkansas in Derby is running, but only at a fraction of what it normally does this time of year.  As you head west, the river is dry. National Weather Service Hydrologist Janet Spurgeon says things will likely get worse before they get better.

“We are in a hot dry period,” said Kent Hixson, Mulvane City Manager.  “We are a growing community.” That combination has led to friction between the cities of Mulvane and Augusta over water use.  Back in the 90's the two cities signed a contract saying Augusta would sell Mulvane up to 200 million gallons of water a year.  Neither expected what's happened since. Now people in Augusta are frustrated that Mulvane's using more water while Augusta has to conserve. “Believe me, there's nobody out there that's more frustrated than I am,” said Bill Keefer, Augusta City Manager.

The dry and hot summer weather pattern continues across the central plains with sunny skies and temperatures expected near 100 for most of Kansas over the weekend.  Wind speeds today should remain less than 20 m.p.h.  The light winds and high relative humidity in the eastern half of Kansas will only make it feel hotter with heat index values between 100-105 during the late afternoon. Skies will remain mostly clear overnight with temperatures dipping into the comfortable range (upper 60s to low 70s)

This year's drought has prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to designated 20 Kansas counties as natural disaster areas. Those counties are: Allen Cherokee                      Greenwood                   Neosho Anderson                      Coffey                          Labette                         ...

In December, Sumner County wheat farmer, Curt Hoobler's fields were a mixture of brown and green. Months, with little precipitation, left him worried about what would be left by spring. On Monday, those same fields were blanketed with a fresh layer of the snow he was hoping for. "My daughter called me and said 'hey, look outside it's snowing!' It's great, we finally got some precipitation. " Hoobler's main concern was for his soil. Without moisture it can heave up and damage the roots on his crop.

A few snowstorms and a little rain have helped. But most of Kansas remains in extreme to exceptional drought, according to the latest figures from the National Weater Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture. At Cheney Reservoir, boating enthusiasts say the water level has risen about six inches, but that's not nearly enough to get most sailboats or jet skis on the water. "I've never seen it this bad," says Kent Carter. He's sailed at Cheney for more than 30 years. The sailing docks he's come to know so well have weeds growing out from the dry ground surrounding them.

Facing extreme heat and continued drought, Dodge City says no to fireworks this Fourth of July. City Commissioners in Dodge City held a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss fireworks this Fourth. Previously the city issued a waiver allowing fireworks July 2, 3 and 4. Today, commissioners voted to rescind that waiver, citing concerns over the severe drought. A public fireworks display scheduled for July 4 will be postponed until a future date. Other events planned at the Boot Hill Museum will continue as scheduled.

As the nations drought continues the National Agricultural Statistics Service says the cattle population has shrunk to its smallest size in 50 years. Ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma made the most drastic cuts to their herds as the drought withered crops driving hay prices to record levels.   Friday the agency released its national cattle count, revealing only 90.8 million adults and calves as of January 1st. That's 2 percent below last year.  The last time the count was this low was back in 1952, when the nation had 88.1 million head of cattle.