Gov.
Mike Parson on Wednesday directed the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to activate the Drought Assessment Committee and the associated drought-impact teams to help coordinate resources to address the impacts of this year’s drought.
Parson said elements affected by the drought include livestock forage and water.
Cole County is one of those counties along with Boone, Callaway and Moniteau counties in Mid-Missouri.
The latest drought map shows all of Boone County in "severe" drought along with part of the western side of Callaway County and the extreme northern part of Moniteau County.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is assisting Missouri livestock producers affected by drought.
Farmers and ranchers in counties affected by drought can apply for assistance at local NRCS offices until Aug. 31.
The U.S. Drought Monitor Report will be used to determine eligibility.
Applications for assistance in counties with the more severe drought conditions will be given priority.
"We are focusing on what we can do to provide the most assistance in the quickest manner."

SALEM, Ore. – Governor Kate Brown announced Wednesday a drought emergency for Wheeler County due to low snowpack, lack of precipitation, low streamflows and warming temperatures as wildfires spread throughout Oregon.
“Drought conditions and unusually high temperatures could have serious impacts on Wheeler County’s economy, as well as natural resources, livestock, and fisheries,” Brown said.
“To minimize these impacts and provide support to the community, I’m directing state agencies to work with local and federal partners to provide assistance to Wheeler County.” Wheeler County is the seventh county under a drought emergency this year, joining Klamath, Grant, Harney, Lake, Baker and Douglas counties.
The governor’s drought declaration allows increased flexibility in how water is managed to ensure that limited supplies are used as efficiently as possible.
Forecast water conditions are not expected to improve, and drought is likely to have significant impacts on agriculture, livestock, natural resources, and the local economy.
Wheeler County officials requested the state to take action on July 12, and the Oregon Drought Council considered the counties’ requests by weighing current water conditions, future climatic forecasts, and agricultural impacts.
Oregon’s state agencies will continue to work with local governments and other partners to coordinate efforts and mobilize actions to address drought-related issues.
The Governor’s drought declaration authorizes state agencies to expedite water management tools to which users would not otherwise have access.
As state and local officials coordinate with federal partners, conditions will be closely monitored by the state’s natural resource and public safety agencies, including the Oregon Water Resources Department and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.

While the heavy rain earlier this week offered some relief, the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor classifies Cayuga County as abnormally dry, and its possible conditions could worsen to a moderate drought, according to the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.
According to the Drought Monitor’s latest report from July 10, Cayuga County, along with most of New York and the Northeast, is defined as being abnormally dry, meaning the area is experiencing a short-term dryness that could slow the planting and growth of crops and pastures.
The Drought Monitor places regions across the country into categories of abnormally dry, moderate drought, severe drought, extreme drought or exceptional drought based on a variety of measures including soil moisture, weekly stream flow and precipitation.
Judy Wright, extension educator with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, said in a release that, despite heavy rain on Monday, the potential still exists for the region to progress into the moderate drought classification, defined when there is some damage to crops and pastures; streams, reservoirs and wells become low; and some water shortages develop.
To that end, the extension has a list of methods for anyone interested in voluntarily conserving water available on their website, blogs.cornell.edu/ccecayuga, under the “Gardening” tab.
The tips include indoor and outdoor water conservation, water wise gardening and lawns, gardening under drought conditions and managing your well during a drought.
Some of the tips include taking short showers instead of baths, only operating dishwashers when fully loaded, avoiding watering your lawn, using a commercial car wash that recycles water and more.
For anyone unable to access the webpage, the extension asks those interested to call (315) 255-1183 and leave a general message including your name, address and which fact sheets requested.
Hard copies of fact sheets are also available Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the extension’s education center at 248 Grant Ave., Auburn.
More relief may be on the way, however, as the National Weather Service is currently forecasting showers and thunderstorms beginning Sunday and lasting until at least Wednesday, July 25.

More than 80% of North Dakota is drought-free this year, a welcome change from 2017.
At this time last year, 94% of the state was under drought.
A third of the state was in extreme drought.
AgDay host Clinton Griffiths said the state is pulling in a bumper crop of feed due to normal and above normal precipitation, a welcome relief for many ranchers.
Timere Zenker, a farmer in Grant County, N.D., says their alfalfa hay crop “is just beautiful.
We haven’t seen such nice alfalfa in quite a few years.” Mixed hay was also yielding nicely, she says.
In 2017, producers were chopping corn early for feed, baling cornstalks and other annual crops.
Being able to replenish their hay stocks are incredibility important this year.
“Having the ability to make some hay this year, and what looks to be an ample hay crop will make a huge difference to the bottom lines of livestock producers,” said Julie Ellingson, North Dakota Stockmen’s Association.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018, 11:18 – TAOS, New Mexico (Reuters) – Bigger and more "explosive" wildfires are raging across the U.S. West, with the area burned in Colorado already four times the size of last year’s total, as rising temperatures, drought and a buildup of forest fuels supercharge blazes.
So far this year, 3.3 million acres have burned in U.S. forests, just below the figure for this time in 2017.
Around 2,600 homes have been destroyed nationally by fires year to date, according to Forest Service data.
Nine U.S. wildland firefighters have been killed up to this week, compared with 14 killed in all of 2017, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.
The number of wildfires larger than 25,000 acres on U.S. Forest Service land in the West nearly quadrupled in the decade to 2014, compared with the 1980s, according to data from the Department of the Interior.
The number of U.S. homes destroyed in wildfires almost tripled to 12,242 in 2017 from the previous year, according to U.S. Forest Service data, largely due to giant blazes in California that killed 43 people.
Nearly all of California faces abnormally dry or drought conditions, according to the Drought Monitor agency.
The state has had its worst start to the fire period in a decade, with 220,421 acres burned through Thursday morning, according to NIFC data.
Millions of trees and bushes killed by California’s 2012-2017 drought are another fuel source.
Burning at thousands of degrees with 300-foot-high "tsunamis of flame" fanned by erratic winds, Brack called it the most "explosive" fire he has seen.

Cattle producers in drought-stricken Kansas counties may now cut hay or graze on land normally set aside for conservation.
Forty-three counties in central and northeastern Kansas that are in “severe drought” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor were authorized for emergency grazing and haying.
That gives ranchers limited access to grass or hay from land enrolled in the conservation reserve program or CRP.
This helps reduce soil erosion and provides valuable habitat for wildlife.
For example, the timing of the emergency grazing and haying is scheduled around the needs of local birds.
If farmers choose to cut hay on their CRP land, they can only hay 50 percent of the acreage, and there are limits to grazing, as well.
Authorizing 43 counties for drought relief is unusual, said Winkler.
Ben Kuebrich reports for High Plains Public Radio in Garden City and the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio, KCUR and HPPR covering health, education and politics.
Follow him on @Ben_Kuebrich.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.

New South Wales and Queensland are suffering through one of the worst droughts in decades.
Farmers are struggling to get by as expenses pile up and without rain, they can’t get income to pay the bills.
The severity of the drought is part of the reason 2GB is supporting the Big Dry Drought Appeal.
“Farmers are the backbone of this nation,” says Ben Fordham.
Melinda Hayter is a dairy farmer, whose farm in Werombi has been in action for over 150 years.
Just half an hour west of Campbelltown, you can see the Harbour Bridge from their paddocks on a clear day.
“We haven’t had really decent rain out our way for 14 months.
“There’s no grass!
“You’ve got to [keep your sense of humour], otherwise you go mad.” Melinda tells Ben part of the struggle is not being able to escape the tragedy.
“You’ve only got to look out your window of a morning and there it is, looking at you.” Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Our misuse and abuse of land and water is changing fertile land into deserts.
But not only developing countries are at risk; almost 1 billion tonnes of soil is lost every year because of erosion resulting from poor land management in Europe alone.
Desertification is one of the biggest environmental problems facing humanity, and has already affected over 40 per cent of the world’s population — 3.2 billion people.
Given that climate change could cause more frequent droughts and that population growth puts more pressure on natural resources, land degradation is an increasing global threat to food security, a contributor to poverty and a barrier to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
It is clear that desertification is a problem of global proportions, requiring a unified strategy among all countries.
The threat of land degradation is so widely recognised that the UN established the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) nearly 25 years ago, in 1994.
However, Canada rejoined last year, acknowledging the link between desertification and many of Canada’s development priorities.
Why Canada should care Canada has already cooperated on a regional level with other countries to combat drought and minimize the impacts of reduced agricultural productivity, wildfires and water shortages.
And although North America is one of five regions identified by the UN as facing relatively fewer challenges related to land compared to the countries most at risk, the region does face significant water stress challenges.
We must also look to how we manage our water resources to help agriculture adapt to climate change and stop desertification.

Lack of rain and extreme heat are leading to water shortages, poor crop conditions, and less hay production for area farmers.
For livestock farmers, ponds that are used to provide water for their animals are drying up.
Leading to, potentially, having to haul water to the animals.
Ponds drying up are not the only concerns for farmers, though.
Hay production is also a concern.
The dry conditions and warm temperatures so far has led to only a single of cut of hay.
Derek Hughes, a farmer in rural Andrew county, says that his only cut of hay so far this year was well below what it normally is.
Allyson Wells with the Buchanan and Andrew county Farm Service Agency says they have been receiving calls nonstop from farmers who are facing issues.
“Substantially, compared to what they are up against on like the cost of feed and take care of their animals, I’m sure it’s going to be very minimal to what is really needed.” Wells said.
Farmers who are facing water shortage issues or have questions about potential relief programs are urged to contact their local Farm Service Agency.

The region is not there yet, but more than 50 percent of New York – including the four-county GLOW region and adjacent counties – is “abnormally dry,” according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
All of Genesee, Livingston and Orleans counties are considered “abnormally dry.” Most of Wyoming County – all but a small portion in the southwest corner of the county – also rates as “abnormally dry.” Rain, which was close to normal – and even above normal in Mount Morris – for the month of June has been hard to come by in July.
Avon had recorded the most rain through July 15, with a total of 0.67 inch, compared to a normal monthly total of 1.52 inches.
Mount Morris, which typically sees 1.83 inches in July, was at 0.59 inches midway through the month.
Dansville, which normally sees 1.05 inches of rain during July, had only received 0.28 inch as of July 15.
Avon and Mount Morris have each had seven days of 90 degrees or more, according to NRCC data.
Several counties in northern New York and the eastern Adirondacks, however, are experiencing “moderate drought,” the lowest stage of four drought categories.
“Moderate drought was introduced over northeast New York and portions of northern New York this week.” The Climate Prediction Center said drought is likely to expand across Western and Central New York later this summer.
The U.S. Drought Monitor released July 12 showed 54 percent of New York as “abnormally dry,” and a little more than 9 percent in “moderate drought.” A year ago, only 1.8 percent of the state was considered “abnormally dry” and no areas had any drought designations.
Later that summer some areas of the state were designated as “extreme drought.”