Drought

Cargill plans to close a Texas beef plant, putting 2,000 people out of work, because there's not enough beef.  That's no surprise to Kansas ranchers who know there's too few cattle. "There's a lot of people that just say it's not worth it anymore," said cattleman Daryl Larson.  "There's a lot easier ways to make a living. " The drought's left the United States with its smallest cattle herd since the 1950's.  That means we'll all be paying higher prices, even if the drought ended today.

“There's a place we hunt just south of town here that has a beautiful creek so high you can't get across it, and we stepped right across it this year.  No water!” said hunter Todd Braschler. Hunters say their sport is just brutal this year. That's because the drought has dried up water sources for wildlife. Instead geese are making their homes in neighborhood ponds, fields and inside city limits. “Over the last 15-20 years they've really started moving into the cities,” said Kansas Dpt. of Wildlife supervisor Craig Curtis.

David Heiens' fields are blanketed with snow, but it's not enough to cure the drought problem the agriculture industry faces. "A farmer needs to kind of plan ahead and make lemonade out of lemons," Heiens said. The kind of help farmers may receive because of the drought conditions are now complicated by recent developments to the Farm Bill. Congress renewed parts of the 2008 Farm Bill during their 'fiscal cliff' negotiations. The extension is for nine months. Click for Full Text of Bill Heiens says he thinks consumers will see the biggest increase in prices of meat, with the drought driving up feed prices.

It's bad and getting worse according to Marion County nature photographer Brenda Casanova. The amateur shutterbug has been out documenting the drought that's been drying up Kansas. Her photos capture a crisis emerging as the water recedes. "It reminds me of a movie--like Plant of the Apes or something," Casanova says. Casanova's photos of local bodies of water including the Marion Reservior and Marion County Lake capture images she finds disturbing. She says she's also seen deer wandering the highways in search of water and worries about other wildlife dehydrating and and starving.

Shopping isn't the only retail therapy this Black Friday.   People are also buying Christmas trees.     With the unseasonably warm temperatures this season, planters were worried about how the drought would affect sales. But one local farmer says that because the stores opened early on Thanksgiving day, that left plenty of time for people to pick out their trees Friday. "Yes, we looked at about 25 trees before we all agreed on one," says Dustin Green.

Ready or not, winter will be back in Kansas before we know it. Last year, Wichita had only three inches of snow tying for the 7th lowest snowfall on record. Many Kansans wonder if we'll get enough snow this winter to provide some drought relief. Another quesiton on people's minds, will this be a cold winter? Storm Team 12 Meteorologist Ross Janssen will give you the information necessary to plan ahead so you'll be ready when the conditions start to change.  Watch Winter Track tonight night at ten.

Hunters are getting ready for the start of pheasant and quail season this Saturday.. However, the ongoing drought has lowered the bird count this year. "It's going to be another tough year," said Regional Wildlife Supervisor Craig Curtis. "It's going to be challenging. " The Kansas pheasant and quail harvests typically rank among the top two or three in the country according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. The department says "two years of drought and extreme summertime temperatures have reduced pheasant and quail numbers, especially in the southwest portion of the state.

They can be the pride of older neighborhoods, tree lined streets.  But if you drive around Wichita, you might notice some getting chopped down.  As we go into the fall, the city is working to remove dead and dying trees from public right of way.  "God has not blessed us with enough rain in the past 2 years, not enough snow, not enough rain," said city arborist Gary Farris. That's why many older trees in Wichita are coming down.  "The trees are just tired and they're giving out.  And when they give out, they pose a risk to public safety.  "With storms and tornadoes and stuff, it's a hazard," Farris said.

The drought has taken a toll on most lawns. Landscaper say now is the time to breathe some new life into your yard. With the weather starting to cool down, and more regular rainfall, they say now is when you should over-seed. Experts say the first thing you need to do is aerate. Grass that turned brown over the hot summer may just be dormant. That should start bouncing back. If it doesn't, it could be dead. ------------ Previous Coverage, July 16 You wouldn't know we're in the middle of a drought by looking at Ken Tector's lawn.

Recent rains have helped, but this summer's drought has kept foundation and basement repair companies busy.  From basement walls to sinking driveways and sidewalks, the drought is pushing concrete to its limit. "Because of the dry weather and soil shrinking up we have some areas we've never worked on before that are now settling," said Jeb Fairchild with AAA Basement and Foundation.  He says the drought is keeping him busier than ever.  Not only does he have new jobs, but jobs he's going back to jobs he did earlier this summer that are suffering because of the weather.