Drought distresses Southern U.S. crops

Louisiana oyster harvesters are finding lots of empty shells in their haul

Farmers' output wilts in dry spell

July 5, 2000
Web posted at: 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT)

(CNN) -- From oysters and honey to peanuts and rice, the drought gripping parts of the Southern United States for a third summer has cut production of certain foods.

Some examples:

  •  Georgia peanut farmers, hit by drought, cheap imports and low prices, expect to harvest their smallest crop since 1982. Georgia produces almost half the nation's domestic peanut supplies, much of it for peanut butter.

  •  Sugar cane stalks in Louisiana have virtually stopped growing, says Howard Cormier, a specialist with the Ag Center in Vermilion Parish. "They're turning red and starting to wilt."

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  •  Honey production has suffered, too. Dry conditions mean flowering plants don't produce as much pollen, a main source of protein and vitamins for bees. The plants also don't produce as much nectar, the sweet liquid bees collect from flowers to make honey.

Ideally, honey bees need ample rainfall in the early spring and then dry conditions in May, when the bulk of the honey is produced. But "when there's enough of a drought, something has to give," says Keith Delaplane, a bee specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service in Athens. "Nectar production is the first to go."

  •  In Louisiana, where rainfall is 20 inches below normal along the state's vast coastal marshes and salty water from the Gulf of Mexico is seeping into fresh water estuaries, oyster fishermen are hauling up increasing numbers of empty shells.

"I've been doing it about 10 years, and I've never seen it this bad," says Brett Dunne, an oyster fisherman in Terrebonne Parish. Other freshwater sea life is dying, too, but for saltwater anglers, the drought has produced a bonus -- a bigger habitat for saltwater fish.

  •  Rice crops are being hard hit, as saltwater creeps into aquifers beneath the fields, contaminating wells used for irrigation and causing rice to expel water, rather than absorb it. So far, 130,000 acres in Louisiana have been lost. Farmers are also planting less than they would in a regular season.

  •  The Florida Department of Agriculture said last month that crops such as cotton, soybeans, corn, watermelons, hay and some vegetables have suffered across 90 percent of the state's counties. Bill Ramsey, who grows blueberries in north-central Florida, says he fears he could lose most or all of his crop. "I can't do it all with irrigation,'' he says.

  •  U.S. production of winter wheat is down 3 percent this year, due in part to severe crop damage in Texas. The state is expected to produce just 70.4 million bushels, compared to 122.4 million bushels in 1999.

  •  Farmers growing non-edible crops are being hurt, too, as the drought kills trees that provide shade and beauty for homeowners and cash for landowners who grow them to feed pulp mills and lumber yards. Dry weather has killed thousands of pine seedlings planted in the spring, and it has made mature pines more susceptible to disease and insects.

The drought is a setback for the forest industry, which depends on a steady supply of trees to make everything from furniture to paper. Some Georgia landowners decided in the spring that it was too risky to plant; others planted and saw the tender seedlings wither and die, officials say.

CNN Correspondent Charles Zewe, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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United States Department of Agriculture's Home Page
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government
National Weather Service Home Page
Georgia Peanut Commission
Georgia Peanut Producers Association
Drought 2000 -- Special Info from the University of Georgia/Cooperative Extension Service

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