Fierce Drought Hurts Farmers in the Southwest

A scorching drought in much of the Southwest is hurting farmers across several states and potentially crimping supplies of crops and cattle. In Texas, where the past six months has been the driest such period on record since 1967, more than half of the state is parched by extreme drought, according to the Drought Monitor, a compendium of government and academic estimates. New Mexico, too, is drying out, with almost 75% of the state in a severe drought, the monitor shows. In Oklahoma, the period between January and March was the driest since 1921, including the 1930s Dust Bowl years, said the state's associate climatologist, Greg McManus. The drought is hitting the Southwest at a time of rising commodity prices that have attracted the attention of policy makers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Because of the sizable agricultural industry in the Southwest, a decline in production could exacerbate an already tight supply situation. Forecasts call for less-than-average rains in Texas and New Mexico in the next three months, and at least for the next month in Oklahoma, according to climatologists in those states. In response, at some of the country's most productive farms and ranches, farmers are destroying unsalvageable wheat crops and selling off cows earlier than usual...more