WASHINGTON, D. C. – The worst drought in Ohio since the “Dust Bowl” days of the 1930s is devastating farmers throughout the state, who are reporting low yields and poor pasture conditions due to scant rain.
“Farmers are used to uncertainty and bad weather, they manage that year round” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry told reporters in a Wednesday press call. “But this is worse than a wet couple of weeks or a dry spell. This is an emergency.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency has declared disasters in 28 of the state’s 88 counties, and Brown said he expects that number will go up. With one seventh of Ohioans depending on food and agriculture for work, Brown described the drought as a challenge for the entire state’s economy. Ohio has 76,500 farms that cover more than 13 million acres, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Brown said he expects many of the state’s farmers will need to tap Agriculture Department disaster relief programs, and that his office is working to let farmers know of the programs available to help them.
Ohio Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Adam Sharp said farmers are facing a “double whammy” with low commodity prices in addition to the drought. He said his family’s Fairfield County farm typically harvests 65 to 70 bushels of beans per acre, and is getting just 18 this year, due to drought conditions. Instead of getting three or four cuttings of hay, his farm got one and a half cuttings this year, which he described as “dire.”
“When the pastures aren’t good, that means guys are baling hay and they’re feeding it immediately this summer, just because their pastures aren’t there,” Sharp said on Brown’s press call. “That means they have no hay for the winter. So the problem compounds itself as you move into the winter.”
Ohio Farm Bureau senior director of communications and media relations Ty Higgins told reporters some parts of Ohio had 10 inches less of rain than usual this year. He said some hard-hit farms are selling off livestock because they can’t afford to water or feed them. He predicts many of the state’s pumpkin patches won’t open this year because of the drought, and apple crops will run short.
“This is putting a big strain on farm families who want to maintain the legacy of their farm for generations to come,” said Higgins. “Mental wellness of the farmer is of high importance right now as we go through these challenges of 2024.”
An anonymous survey of farmers by the Ohio Agricultural Mental Health Alliance found that 44% of respondents said they needed mental or emotional care or counseling services during the last year. About half of those said they did not get the services they needed; a quarter said they received some services but needed more or different services. Extreme weather events, trade policies and commodity prices all are stressors that affect farmers, according to the Ohio Farmer Stress and Wellbeing Report.
Dr. John Patterson, State Executive Director of the USDA’s Ohio Farm Service Agency, said his agency has been working closely with the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio State Extension to provide all the support services necessary to assist Ohio producers “during this time of historic challenge.
“Interested producers should consult the USDA website to explore our suite of programs applicable to their needs and then call their local FSA office to schedule an appointment,” said a statement from Patterson. “We stand ready to serve.”
