According to information released by the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 12% of Ohio is currently facing extreme drought — the highest percentage of the state at any point in the last two decades, Cleveland.com reported.
What's happening?
According to the August 22 update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, at least 63% of the state is currently considered abnormally dry or worse, 24% is in severe drought, and 12% is in extreme drought.
This is bad news for the state's farmers, who are now confronting a shortage of hay, Garth Ruff, an Ohio State University Extension field specialist in beef cattle and livestock marketing, said.
"The deteriorating pasture conditions are pushing livestock growers to consider supplemental nutrition for their herds as they head into fall. Without significant rainfall, many may have to resort to early marketing of beef calves or, in the driest areas, culling animals to manage the dwindling resources," Ruff said.
Ohio ranks ninth nationally in terms of number of farms, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's website. It ranks third in "operations with hogs," fourth in "operations with sheep," and fourth in "livestock slaughter plants."
Why are droughts important?
Extreme drought conditions are not only happening in Ohio — all across the world, more droughts and more extreme weather conditions are happening overall, a result of the changing weather patterns that have been caused by the overheating of our planet. This planetary overheating is largely a consequence of the air pollution produced by dirty energy sources like gas and oil.
These changing weather patterns have resulted in massive challenges for farmers, not just in the form of drought but also in wildfires, storms, and more. This has threatened food security all over the world and has led to rising prices in grocery stores.
What's being done about increasing droughts?
One of the main ways scientists are trying to help farmers grow more drought-resilient crops is by gene-editing plants to allow them to grow with less water or in otherwise adverse conditions. Recent experiments have yielded drought-resistant tomatoes, drought-resistant grains, and more.
The only long-term solution to the problem is to stop the course of planetary overheating by halting the usage of dirty energy sources and switching instead to clean, renewable sources like wind and solar.
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