OT / Dry in the East

We are in DC for the week. It has looked REALLY dry on the drive from Iowa. It looked like there was less and less moisture as we got east.

I was in CO the week before last and it did not look bad there, nor Nebraska.

I'm on the southern end of Va. Had 6 tenths of rain in June and about the same in July. July was the hottest on record in my area too. Started feeding hay to cows 2 weeks ago. I can ride 25 miles north or south and they have green grass. From what I hear it's like that in a big area. Appomattox got just over 2 inches one morning this week. I got 1 tenth.

It's hot and dry but I've seen worse. 1977 is burned in the memory for the farmers in my area. Went from the 10th of June to Sept. 17th with not a drop and many days over 100 that year. I pumped 3 ponds dry to make a crop in 77.

I am from Iowa, June was a little dry, but we have been blessed with rain most of the other months. I saw it get drier as we came east and south.

We are fast approaching our 1980 record of 42 straight days over 100 in Ft Worth, TX.
2.5 inches of rain this summer. We had 14 days in June of 100+. First 100+ days (plural) in May.
Send hay(or rain). I have not stopped feeding this year. No hay to bale either.

Joe I've read post on several ag sites about your area and to the north. That is extreme as to the droughts we have and what we have can get bad at times. Several years back we had 3 rivers stop running here in Va. But we did have rains in the winter and could make stockpile grazing and we always made a hay crop in the spring. Our droughts started getting worse in 1998 and the next 10 out of 12 years were drought.

There's hay here for sale and is cheap compared to the prices there. The shipping is so costly it would cost more than what you are already paying to get it there. I remember in the 60's and 70's folks here donated hay to send to drought areas and the national guard transported the hay. Those days are far gone by. If we had a way to transport hay like they did then I'd gladly donate some. I know all to well the feeling of what to do when it doesn't rain and the heat is burning up what is still alive. You can easily spend more to hang on than you can get back in 20 years. Hard decisions have to be made and hope you make the right ones. Times like this are hard on everything from plants, livestock and people. It works on the mind. It can take years off your life too. You spend your life working and building and it can all go to dust in months.

I keep praying for drought relief in any form for the dry areas. It'll rain sometime. I just hope it comes in time like it most years does.

Sure in Neb you drove thru the irrigated stuff.

Here in N/W Pa. we had pretty much a all day
rain. Nothing hard, and had a chance to soak
in. Just what the corn needed, it has been
dry the last 55 days after a spring that rained
just about everyday.. In the southern parts of
PA. crops are failing in some area's. I just
wish the weather would return to normal Nation
Wide.

I am 25miles south of dc and i got 4 inches of rain that saved my crop just north of me got none.Its still dry, but not as bad as last year.

I received an email from a farmer in western Ohio and they've only received one inch of rain since June 20th. He has a big pump and can pump from a river for irrigating. Here in ne eastern MD it's very dry. We get storms, but no rain. He has a big German Duetz diesel engine to run that pump. I have pics of it somewhere. Hal

(quoted from post at 19:21:41 08/03/11) We are fast approaching our 1980 record of 42 straight days over 100 in Ft Worth, TX.
2.5 inches of rain this summer. We had 14 days in June of 100+. First 100+ days (plural) in May.
Send hay(or rain). I have not stopped feeding this year. No hay to bale either.

Click to expand...

Yesterday, I heard someone claim alfalfa was now selling for $500.00 per ton in Texas.

Any truth to that?

little rain around the beltway Tuesday and yesterday...but the dirt is still dust. Only thing I've got growing are sunflowers and weeds.
Enjoy DC- head out my way and see the Air/ Space Museum.

We went there today.