Ohio has faced a historic drought this year. For months, dry conditions and high temperatures spread the drought across the state.
The agricultural sector was hit particularly hard. forcing farmers to dip into Winter stores and go over-budget transporting water to their properties.
WYSO’s Shay Frank sat down with Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge to learn more about the impact on farmers in the state and chat about his testimony in November about House Bill 683.
If passed, the bill would offer $10 million in funding to communities severely impacted by the drought.
This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Shay Frank: So are we still considered to be in a drought right now, even with some recent rain or snow? How does that impact the current drought status?
Brian Baldridge: Yes, we are still under drought. As we look at the drought monitor, that map, we still have some areas that are still considered a four, which is the worst level of the drought. And as we think about that, yeah, we had some rain this morning and you think, 'that's good.' And we don't have the heat, which is also good. And those are good factors. But as we look at it from a standpoint of the amount on our water tables and so forth, knowing that those ponds, springs, wells, creeks had really — literally in Southeast Ohio — dried up.
Frank: What are some of the ways that a drought can impact farmers in the winter?
Baldridge: The impact occurred back this summer when they were feeding that winter inventory of their hay and then realizing that that drought, those water sources, are not producing that well, that spring. That pond is dried up, the creeks are not moving water through their farms.
Frank: Can you tell me about what House Bill 683 is?
Baldridge: What it does, to kind of backfill where the shortfalls are in the Farm Service Agency dollars. Great programs. But understanding that these programs are set up countrywide. So we want to really look at what we can do as a state.
What can we do to fill in the voids that really fit Ohio a little better? And without a doubt, listening to the members and listening to the questions, and Finance Committee, everybody was on that same page. Just making sure that this money is there to help the Ohio farmers.
Frank: So can you tell me about what your testimony was before the Ohio House Finance Committee in relation to the drought impacts and then also House Bill 683?
Baldridge: We testified as an interested party, meaning we wanted to help tell that story that was going on and the impacts to the agricultural community.
And trying to explain out, and kind of pass that information back into the state legislature, of what these folks were feeling. The impacts that they were dealing with on a day to day basis. From a standpoint of them, that's getting up in the morning and knowing that you're going to be spending two or three or four hours more a day in your normal workday because you're hauling water from the local community back to your farm to water the livestock.
Also explaining how the normal USDA Farm Service Agency programs are set up. And those are those federal programs that farmers turn to currently to help out in these type of catastrophic times in the agricultural community. So knowing and trying to explain that, yes, there are programs here, but we feel that there are weaknesses and shortfalls is a good word within those programs. And that's why there were folks that introduced this legislation: Reps. Jones and Edwards from eastern Ohio.
Frank: So going forward, are there any major concerns that this drought could really continue into the next season?
Baldridge: Very possible. We know my friends and colleagues out in Missouri, the director of agriculture in Missouri, they went through two really, really hard drought years in Missouri that affected about two-thirds of their state. And this year, they came out of that cycle. So hopefully we are not in that type of cycle.
Frank: For those people that are listening and they're thinking, ‘Well, why should I care about this drought when it comes to farmers. I'm not a farmer, so why is it important?’ If you were asked that question, what would you say to that listener or that community member?
Baldridge: When it comes to agriculture, agriculture here in Ohio and across our country is everybody's business. And you say that by defining the fact that what did you have for breakfast this morning or lunch today, or what are you going to have for dinner this evening? What we do in the agricultural community is we feed the world. And so when an impact does hit our industry, there are inline users that can be impacted by that.
Frank: Is there anything else you think would be important for our listeners, for people who read online, anything you think specifically they should know about this drought or the bill going forward?
Baldridge: The last thing I would touch on is just mental health, mental health in the agricultural community. The men and women who farm out there, sometimes we're a bit proud and we don't want to talk about any of the stresses that we have on life. And I think we say this to society, we have to talk about this issue more and more.
