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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded a natural disaster declaration to 11 North Georgia counties after initially declaring a drought disaster in four counties last week. That comes as Georgia celebrates another win in its many legal battles over water.
In its declaration, the USDA said those counties have experienced at least eight weeks of drought. Some are undergoing exceptional drought conditions — the most severe level.
While the main growing season has ended, the drought means pastures are too dry for cattle to graze, so many farmers will need to buy feed. It’s also time to plant grains like wheat and rye for spring, but the drought-parched ground has been too dry.
The disaster declaration allows farmers in the 11 primary counties, another 11 contiguous counties in Georgia and five contiguous counties in neighboring states to apply for emergency loans and other aid.
Recent forecasts also hold some hope for North Georgia farmers, according to University of Georgia Agricultural Climatologist Pam Knox. After weeks of warm, sunny weather that helped dry out the land, rain is coming.
“Every little bit of rain is going to help chip away at that drought,” Knox said. “It’s not going to wipe away the drought anytime soon, but it will help from getting things worse.”
Knox said recent rainy weather is good news — if it continues. Droughts are persistent and take a long rainy period to get out of.
While the drought disaster is in the northern part of the state, the metro Atlanta region is also dryer than usual. Many metro counties are experiencing abnormal dryness to moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
It’s always wise to conserve water, but things aren’t yet dry enough…
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