Crop insurance payouts likely to hit $15 billion; drought news gets only slightly better

The long, dry, hot summer will cost U.S. taxpayers big -- a record $15 billion. That is the amount that the Farm Bill's privately run crop-insurance program will pay to farmers affected by this year's losses. The program's runaway costs are in focus as Congress looks for ways to cut government spending, making crop insurance an even bigger target for reforms than it already might have been. Lawmakers return to Washington next month. (Read more)

As for the drought itself, there was some relief, at last, from one coast to another as storm systems pushed through some very dry parts of the nation this week. Still, 62.4 percent of the nation is still experiencing "moderate" drought, down from 63.5 percent a week earlier, according to Thursday's Drought Monitor, a weekly compilation of data gathered by federal and academic scientists. Reuters is reporting that "the portion of the United States under 'exceptional' drought' -- the direst classification -- fell to 5.8 percent, from 6.2 percent a week earlier." The worst news is still reserved for the High Plains -- some parts of Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas -- where drought classified as "severe" or worse covered more than 87 percent of the region. (Read more)

Drought lowers Great Lakes levels, stifles shipping

The severe drought in the Midwest has lowered levels in the Mississippi River and in Lakes Michigan and Huron, stifling the shipping industry that depends on them. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the lakes are down almost a foot from last year, and in the next few months could break a record low set in 1964. (Associated Press photo: Freighter passes port re-opened after dredging)

Water levels near ports on the lakes determine how much coal, iron, grain and other cargo can be shipped, Joe Barrett and Caroline Porter of The Wall Street Journal report. "This is very much an industry where inches count," Lake Carriers' Association Vice President Glen Nekvasil said. He told Barrett and Porter that lower lake levels means ships are carrying about 1,200 to 1,500 fewer tons per load, a loss that is very hard to recover.

Low water also highlights the need for more dredging of ports to keep them clear of sediment, the reporters write. The Corps of Engineers has identified at least $200 million worth of dredging needs in the lakes' channels and harbors. (Read more)

Drought has produced mixed pumpkin harvest; fewer, but some that made it are big and pretty

This year’s devastating drought has reduced the number of pumpkins in many Ohio patches, but some say the summer’s abundant heat and sunshine has also produced some particularly big and rather good looking specimens. Mary Vanac of The Columbus Dispatch reports the good news that pumpkins actually like it hot. “Overall, there should be a good-size, quality harvest,” said Lisa Schacht, co-owner of Schacht Family Farm and Market in Canal Winchester and president of the Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association. (Columbus Dispatch photo by Jonathan Quilter)

Those who are wondering about how Thanksgiving dinner is going to be affected may have to wait a little longer, however. Roz O'Hearn, spokeswoman for Nestle USA, maker of the famous Libby-brand pumpkin that makes the famous Libby pumpkin pie, said it was too early to tell if the supply or price of canned pumpkin is at risk. “Our harvest is under way now,” O’Hearn told Vanac. “The many thousands of acres of pumpkin we grow are located right in the midst of the drought-stricken area, 50 miles out in any direction from Morton, Ill., where we pack the pumpkins we pick.” Libby’s did not irrigate its pumpkin fields, she said, so yields will be down this year. Ohio's pumpkin crop represented more than 10 percent of the U.S. pumpkin crop last year.

Climate change keeping pests alive through winter

Climate change is not only causing crop-killing drought, but its increasing the longevity of at least one species of pest that can devastate potato, tomato, pepper and about 40 other crops. The potato-tomato psyllid, right, sucks plants dry and can spread "zebra chip" disease in potatoes that causes potato chips to have a burnt flavor, Gabriela Quiros of Quest. That disease has cost producers in three states about $8 million so far. (University of California photo by Jack Clark)

Farmers have dealt with psyllids for more than 100 years, but rises in temperature are allowing them to survive through winter. "Our temperatures have increased by 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit, and that seems to be enough to keep them from being frozen out during the winter,” said University of California, Riverside entomologist John Trumble. If pests can live through winter, they can attack crops early in the growing season, which could leave to even more widespread loss of crops because of the bugs, Trumble said. (Read more)

Three of eight Americans don't believe in science of climate change; debate more cultural than scientific

There is no denying that a strong scientific consensus about the existence of climate change exists, especially since scientists have documented a build-up of greenhouse gases and their findings have been endorsed by a large body of domestic and international scientific agencies. But what doesn't exist in the U.S. is a social consensus about climate change. Studies have shown that Americans' belief in the scientific findings of climate change has mostly declined over the last five years.

Between April 2008 and October 2009, belief in climate science dropped to 57 percent from 71, according to the Pew Research Center. This February, it had risen to 62 percent, which means 38 percent of Americans still do not trust it. "Such a significant number of dissenters tells us that we do not have a set of socially accepted beliefs on climate change," Andrew Hoffman, right, the Holcim Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, writes for the Stanford Social Innovation Review. He says the debate is not so much about science as about culture, worldviews and ideology.

"Acceptance of the scientific consensus is now seen as an alignment with liberal views consistent with other 'cultural' issues that divide the country -- abortion, gun control, health care, and evolution," Hoffman writes. This partisan divide on the issue is a recent phenomenon, something that wasn't seen during the 1990s. Hoffman examined "the climate change debate through the lens of the social sciences," because he says "we need to understand the social and psychological processes by which people receive and understand the science of global warming."

He writes there are two "overriding conclusions" about the climate change debate: Climate change is not a "pollution" issue, and it is an existential challenge to our contemporary world views. He outlines three possible ways in which the ideological debate will manifest: the "Optimistic Form," in which "people do not have to change their values at all," the "Pessimistic Form," in which "people fight to protect their values," and the "Consensus-Based Form," in which "a reasoned societal debate, focused on the full scope of technical and social dimensions of the problem and the feasibility and desirability of multiple solutions," are discussed. (Read more)

Water-conservation PSAs do a drip-drip-drip on Internet as drought recovery slowly begins

This summer's massive drought has infiltrated the national consciousness and now resonates within our video culture. YouTube has become inundated with public-service announcements about water conservation, Felicity Barringer of The New York Times reports. Making a video seems to be "the school project du jour," she writes, but others stand out.

"Often, contributions to the art form show someone cavalierly overusing water in the sink or shower and are supplemented by statistics about the amount of water wasted every year. One variant features water wardens — like the 'Saturday Night Live' comedians Horatio Sanz and Rachel Dratch — dropping in on the bathrooms and kitchens of unsuspecting water spendthrifts," Barringer reports. There is one featuring toddlers from France, and another from Malaysia. Some use music; "Sesame Street" characters assist on others.

This following comes from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro:



Here's another from Kennesaw State University in Georgia:

Scientists' survey of last year concludes that Fox, Wall Street Journal misled on climate change

A new study contends that Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, both owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., have greatly misled their audiences about climate change. The Union of Concerned Scientists concluded that 93 percent of Fox broadcasts and "Wall Street Journal Editorial Report" TV programs about climate change from February through July, and 81 percent of Journal editorial pages from August 2011 through July 2012, were misleading.

The survey defined inaccurate information about climate change as citations that "questioned either the reality of climate change or the fact that recent climate change is largely due to human activities, or they advanced other arguments that dismissed established climate science."  Tim McDonnell of Mother Jones writes, "The climate change debate in America is still mired in bickering over whether the problem even exists or not." (Read more)

Western wildfires expected to increase as climate keeps warming

With two months left in fire season, this year is likely to be one of the worst on record for wildfires in the West. The area burned this year is 30 percent more than in an average year, with fires consuming more than 8.6 million acres, according to the National Integrity Fire Center. (Climate Central map shows current wildfires)

Also, what defines a "typical" wildfire year in the West is changing, as spring and summer temperatures continue rising and snowpack continues to shrink. Several studies have shown that the risk of fires will increase as the climate continues to change.

For every degree Celsius the temperature rises, the size of area burned in the West could quadruple, according to the National Research Council. Temperatures in the West have been estimated to increase from 3.6 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit, Climate Central reports. In a 42-year analysis of U.S. Forest Service records for 11 Western states, Climate Central found that compared to an average year in the 1970's, there were seven times more fires in the past decade greater than 10,000 acres each year. There were more than 100 fires on average per year from 2002 to 2011, compared to less than 50 during the 1970's. (Read more)

To see Climate Central's full western wildfire report, click here. The group has also created an interactive map that shows currently burning wildfires, which can be found here.

Drought is likely to cost consumers next year

The massive drought that hit many U.S. farmers hard this summer will be felt by consumers next year in the form of higher food prices, according to The Food Institute. A family of four will likely spend $351.12 more on food in 2013, about $6.75 a week. The data was gathered by calculating the actual financial effect of the drought, which reduced corn yields, causing feed prices to rise, making livestock producers unable to afford it.

The increase will be felt most at meat counters, Lisa Keefe of Meatingplace reports. Annual costs of meat will rise about $44 next year for a family of four and about $30 for a two-person home. Beef costs would account for almost one-third of those estimates. Fresh produce will be the next most expensive, adding about $23.44 to a family's annual grocery spending. "These spending predictions could vary as substitutions are made in one category or another," Keefe reports, adding that consumers could choose to spend more on canned and frozen products to offset higher prices for fresh meat and produce. (Read more)

Drought expands slightly; weather patterns indicate little or no relief should be expected in early 2013

The worst drought in more than 50 years has expanded slightly for the third consecutive week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Exceptional drought, the most severe category, now covers 6.2 percent of the U.S., up from 6.1 percent last week. All levels of drought increased to 64.2 percent from 63.4, the highest percentage this year.

There were "minor improvements" in the Midwest, Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Arizona and the Great Basin, Brian Sullivan of Bloomberg reports. Drought has caused corn and soybean prices to rise as the size of harvests shrunk, creating hardship for livestock and dairy producers who could no longer afford feed. It has also caused Mississippi River levels to drop in some places, making river travel difficult to impossible. (Read more)

Relief from drought conditions may be years away. Iowa State University extension climatologist Elwynn Taylor said the La Nina weather pattern causing the drought will likely stick around through early 2013. An El Nino pattern that would bring enough rain to quench U.S. soil isn't anywhere on the horizon, Jeff Caldwell of Agriculture.com reports. "If weather patterns respond to a neutral or to an early 2013 development of La Nina," Taylor said, "it will be likely that the U.S. corn yield will fall below the 30-year trend line for a fourth consecutive year." (Read more)

Hurricane Isaac helps some drought-stricken areas, leaves others behind

Even though Hurricane Isaac re-hydrated much of the very parched Midwest last weekend, meteorologists and agriculture experts say a large portion of the U.S. remains "desiccated with ponds still too shallow to water cattle, fields too dusty for feeding and crops beyond the point of salvage," John Eligon of The New York Times reports.

The drought has actually worsened in some places, shifting the greatest exceptional-drought area to the Central Plains, from South Dakota to North Texas. "Isaac's rains were like Chapter 1 in the drought relief book," said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist David Miskus. "We still need a lot more rain to go here to really eliminate this drought." States including Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and Oklahoma got very little rain, and conditions could get worse because of a forecast of hot temperatures this week. Miskus said many of those areas will remain in or be upgraded to extreme and exceptional drought. (U.S. Department of Agriculture Drought Monitor map, Sept. 7)

Click map for larger version

Areas from Arkansas through Missouri to Illinois saw anywhere from two to eight inches of rain, which was a welcome sign for farmers preparing to plant wheat, Eligon reports. In Illinois, 72 percent of pastures were rated in poor to very poor condition this week compared to 90 percent last week, and poor to very poor fields in Arkansas dropped 12 percentage points to 72 percent, according to the USDA. (Read more)

Drought is undermining home foundations

This year's oppressive drought is causing problems for thousands of homeowners across the Midwest. Soil has been sucked dry of moisture, causing homes to sink into the earth, cracking foundations and walls that must undergo repairs. Drought related home damage has been reported is 40 states, and the total amount of damage could reach $1 billion, Jim Salter of The Associated Press reports. (AP photo by Jeff Roberson: Repairmen fix drought damage in Missouri)

Repairs usually cost thousands, can run into six figures, and often aren't covered by insurance. Home-repair businesses, especially those dealing with basements and foundations, can barely keep up with demand. Homes in the central U.S., from Louisiana up through the Dakotas, are bearing the brunt of such damage, but damage is being reported throughout the country. Dayton-based Basement Health Association board member Dan Jaggers told Salter this year's drought has been the worst for homes since the 1950s. (Read more)

Meteorologists make official stance unequivocal: Humans are main cause of climate change

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has firmed up its definition of the relationship between climate change and weather events. The group has issued a statement that says the warming world is a fact beyond reproach, and that human activity -- despite some natural variability -- is the main force behind such changes. (KUSA-TV image)

"Warming of the climate system now is unequivocal," reads the statement. "Observations show increases in globally averaged air and ocean temperatures, as well as widespread melting of snow and ice and rising globally averaged sea level." The dominant cause of the warming since the 1950s is human activities, it went on, adding that their scientific finding is based on "a large and persuasive body of research." Read the complete AMS statement here.

A 2010 George Mason University study of working television meteorologists found that only 54 percent believed in climate change or global warming, 25 percent said it wasn't and 21 percent were not sure. About one-third (31 percent) said global warming was caused mainly by human activity. Read findings of the study here.

AMS Executive Director Keith Seitter explained that the society's most current climate change statement is "the result of hundreds of hours of work by many AMS members over the past year. It was a careful and thorough process with many stages of review, and one that included the opportunity for input from any AMS member before the draft was finalized." The statement continues: "It is clear from extensive scientific evidence that the dominant cause of the rapid change in climate of the past half century is human-induced increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrous oxide. The most important of these over the long term is CO2, whose concentration in the atmosphere is rising principally as a result of fossil-fuel combustion and deforestation." (Read more)
 

Isaac could bring some help to worst drought area

Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane and may cause widespread damage along the Gulf Coast, but as it moves inland, weakens and dumps its moisture, it could be a welcome visitor to one of the most drought-parched regions of the U.S., notes Ron Scherer of The Christian Science Monitor. (Map from The Weather Channel shows where storm could go)

"Although it is probably too late to help this year’s harvest, agricultural experts say the rain could help recharge the soil for next year’s crop in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio," especially winter wheat, Scherer writes. "It could also add needed water to the river systems that drain into the Mississippi. And by adding moisture to the air, the storm may also set the stage for more rain in the future in some drought-affected areas."

Scherer quotes Dale Mohler, senior meteorologist for Accuweather: “Everyone will welcome this rain. The benefits outweigh the negatives.” But Bill Lapp, president of Advanced Economic Solutions, an agricultural consulting firm, said the rain will come not only too late for this year's crops, high winds "may knock down crops already weakened by the minimal moisture, increasing the harvest losses," Scherer reports.

Drought worse; seems to have reduced tornadoes

The government announced Thursday that the nation's unrelenting drought has now spread to 63 percent of the country, most of that centered in the parched earth of the southern Midwest. For some residents outside municipal water districts there and dependent on wells, it has become a struggle to wash dishes, or fill a coffee urn, even to flush the toilet, reports John Eligon of The New York Times.

The absent clouds do seem to have a beneficial lining in the region, known as Tornado Alley. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said today that fewer tornadoes plowed across the U.S. in July than during any other July in the 60 years since reliable numbers began being recorded. The same analysis shows that the summer of 2012 may break the record for the fewest tornadoes for any U.S. summer.

Eric Adler of The Kansas City Star reports that in prime tornado season, from mid-April to late July, the U.S. typically sees about 850 twisters -- two-thirds of the 1,300 or so that sweep across the nation yearly. The drought might be to thank for that, said Harold Brooks, a research meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla., who analyzed the data with colleague Greg Carbin, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, also in Norman. (Read more)

What about sorghum? Under-appreciated, drought-tolerant staple crop can also be turned into biofuel

Voice of America photo by Steve Baragona

As the worst drought in decades shrivels U.S. corn supplies, some are seeing the virtues of sorghum, a cereal grain that is a minor part of the U.S. harvest. As the climate changes, experts believe the drought-hardy food and fodder crop may become more popular. Steve Baragona, a Voice of America reporter, found a believer in Nebraska farmer Fred Propkop, above, whose corn and sorghum crops were sown side by side. One is green and lush, the other brown and lifeless.

Years like this one are why University of Nebraska researcher Ismail Dweikat is a passionate advocate for sorghum, an under-appreciated crop. In hot, dry regions of Africa, sorghum is a staple food. Its waxy leaves and deep roots are better suited for dry climates than corn, and Dweikat says that's going to be increasingly important. More droughts are expected worldwide this century as climate change warms the planet.

Sorghum also has potential as a biofuel crop. Dweikat says sweet sorghum, grown for its sugar cane-like stalks rather than for grain, can be turned into ethanol more efficiently than corn. (Read more)

Forest Service suspends 'burn out' policy in West; shift requires it to fight every fire

The U.S. Forest Service has temporarily suspended a long-standing policy of allowing small fires in the West to burn out, according to a memo from the agency's deputy chief of forestry. Nathanael Massey of Environment & Energy News reports that "while the memo acknowledges the necessity of employing fire as a tool of restoration, noting that suppression of all fires 'is not a desirable approach in the long-run,' it cites the need to protect life and personal property -- as well as budgetary concerns -- in its decision." The current elevated fire risk, he writes, is a result of higher-than-average temperatures and a profusion of fuel, the product of nearly a century of fire suppression policies. (Wildlandfire.com photo)

The decision, while not a direct reversal of policy, does represent a departure from that practice of natural restoration, said Jennifer Jones, a Forest Service spokeswoman. "We realize that we are making some trade-offs here," she told Massey. "We're working within short-term fiscal restraints, and that almost always requires making tough choices." The Forest Service's suppression budget was cut 6.3 percent this year, she added, while the country has experienced a rise in fire severity.

Week's start on drought news: Wells dry up, crop insurance helps, pot shrivels, some areas gain

A cornfield in Bloomsdale, Mo., where wells
wells are going dry. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"Everyone, most everything, needs water," Rick Montgomery of The Kansas City Star wrote Sunday in the first installement of his three-part series, "Chasing the Drought." "We just can’t always expect it to be there, not as the world’s population grows and its moisture content stays the same."

So begins the week's reporting on what is fast becoming the topic none of us can escape.

“This year’s drought is a great opportunity to look at the plans in place and better prepare for the next drought,” Michael Hayes, executive director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska told Montgomery. The reporter has traveled through seven Midwest states and "met with farmers, beef producers, worried weather experts, park managers and policy wonks" to find out how each would try to avert some of this pain down the road, if it can be averted. (More here)

Abandoned Main Street in post-irrigation
Happy, Texas (Scott Tong photo)

How much impact? Today, 36 states are projecting water shortages next year. For regulators, it's hard to limit the use of the essential resources, especially in states like Texas, where groundwater is part of your private property. American Public Radio's Marketplace visited Happy, Tex., a small town in the Panhandle that knows what it's like to run out of water. (Read more)

You can add residential water wells to the list of casualties claimed by the Drought of 2012, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "For months, farmers have been forced to drill deeper wells to water parched crops and feed livestock. But in recent weeks, homeowners across the state have reported that they can't perform basic tasks such as doing laundry or washing dishes, let alone even think about watering their flower beds. It's a difficult problem to quantify, because most private wells go unmonitored."

While the government has slashed its estimate of the soybean yield, made only a month ago, to the lowest level since 2003 and its estimate of the corn yield to the lowest level since 1995, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says 85 percent of farmers are covered by crop insurance, The New York Times reports.

It's safe to bet that these farmers aren't covered: Lauren Pack of the Dayton Daily News and John Caniglia of The Cleveland Plain Dealer report that the state's marijuana crop has suffered horribly in the drought. "The potent plant that thrives in fields and wooded acres across Ohio has suffered through an unusually brutal summer," he writes. In many places, plants are a fraction of the 4- or 5-foot height that is normal for this point of the growing season. Give it time; it's a weed, remember? (Photo from KEVO-TV, Brownsville, Tex., with story by Tina McGarry)

Of course, the drought is good news for farmers in places where it is absent, because it has driven up prices, but those effects can be broader and indirect, in areas where grains are not major crops. In western North Carolina, award-winning editor Jonathan Austin of the Yancey County News found a way to make the national story local in a region that is getting plenty of rain: "Some area farmers may want to consider taking a chance by buying some of the cattle flooding the market in the Midwest. The impact of the drought on food prices could also lead more residents to begin shopping locally," according to North Carolina State University's Arnold Oltman, a professor of agriculture and resource economy. Austin also reports the region's "availability of water may prove to be an economic boon to microfarmers, beef growers and others who look to the land for at least some of their income." (Read more)

Despite lower crop forecasts, Vilsack insists U.S. will remain leader in food aid and food exports

UPDATE: In his weekly address, President Obama says his administration’s has an "all-hands-on-deck" approach to the drought, and lists steps it has taken, including opening more federal land for haying and grazing; giving farmers, ranchers, and small businesses access to low-interest emergency loans; and providing assistance to get more water to livestock and restore land affected by the drought. The audio and video of the address will be available at www.whitehouse.gov at 6 a.m. ET, Saturday, August 11.

The government slashed its expectations for U.S. corn and soybean production for the second consecutive month Friday, predicting what could be the lowest average corn yield in more than 15 years as the worst drought in decades grips major farm states. The Associated Press reports that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack insisted that U.S. farmers and ranchers will remain resilient and the country will continue to meet demand as the global leader in farm exports and food aid. For a more thorough reading of the USDA Drought Monitor, go here.

Obama orders additional drought-relief measures

President Obama told the Agriculture Department today to authorize another $30 million to help crop and livestock producers damaged by the nation's worst drought in 50 years, and announced some other steps intended to mitigate the drought's impact, including a program to help commercial truck drivers make deliveries to drought-stricken areas.

Obama said the Small Business Administration "is working with other government agencies to connect even more eligible farmers, ranchers and businesses with low-interest emergency loans as well as counseling and workforce programs," and "The National Credit Union Administration is allowing an additional 1,000 credit unions to increase lending to small businesses."

The president said the White House is actively soliciting other ideas for drought relief. also called on Congress, which just started a five-week recess, to pass a Farm Bill with drought relief. "That's the single best way to help rural communities both in the short term and in the long term," he said. For the White House's drought "fact sheet," click here.