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Some areas experiencing extreme dry conditions

Drought intensifying in southwest South Dakota

Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff | Posted: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11:00 pm | (0) Comments

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A bale sits in a field of dried out grass near Hermosa on S.D. Highway 79. Soil conditions throughout western South Dakota have been impacted by prolonged drought and, in some cases, are extreme. (Photo by Seth A. McConnell, Journal staff)

Enough hail fell on Joel Rickenbach's homestead Wednesday that he and a grandson used it to crank up a batch of homemade ice cream.

The long-empty rain gauge at Rickenbach's ranch, six miles east and two miles north of Oelrichs, also collected one inch of rain from the "narrow, vicious little" storm that moved through southwest South Dakota, breaking windows and chewing off drought-brittle grass.

"It was a blessing, but it wasn't a cure-all," Rickenbach said. "It wasn't the answer that will make a real difference. It probably put us behind grass-wise."

Grass is a scarce commodity in southwestern South Dakota. The growing season is over for the cool-season grasses that are cattle ranchers' summer mainstay. Wednesday's rain might help preserve the grass plants and green them a little, but they won't respond by growing to feed hungry cows.

In an area in its seventh year of drought, an inch of moisture disappears fast.

"By about 9 a.m., it (the soil) had dried enough it wouldn't pick up," Rickenbach said Thursday.

The rain was also concentrated in a small area, according to Rickenbach. Like most storms over the past seven years, the rain skirted some of his land and that of his neighbors.

The spotty rain was not enough to forstall the drought that is tighening its grip on the area.

On Thursday, most of Fall River County was elevated from the severe drought category to the extreme drought category on the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Conditions continue to deteriorate in southwest South Dakota along with much of western South Dakota and southwest Wyoming, according to Melissa Smith, a climatologist with the National Weather Service in Rapid City.

"We really need widespread precipitation over the entire area to help the overall drought conditions," Smith said.

And, several days of 100-degree-plus temperatures are forecast for the coming week, which can only make conditions worse on the prairies and in the forests.

A recent Associated Press story relied upon South Dakota's precipitation totals for the past seven years, as they appear on the National Drought Mitigation Center's Web site, to suggest that the state has received normal amounts of precipitation for all but one year. The story suggested that farmers and ranchers in South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas are unnecessarily crying wolf by seeking federal drought aid.

The National Drought Mitigation Center uses the Standardized Precipitation Index to record a state's precipitation. The index is a composite record of precipitation received throughout the entire state.

Western South Dakota's rainfall is averaged with the rainfall received in eastern South Dakota for the index, according to Mike Hayes, the associate director of the agency, housed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

"In 2006, we know how hot and dry it was in May, June and July (in South Dakota)," Hayes said, referring to Usta's record breaking 120-degree day. "That was drought-related, because when it's that dry, it heats up like that."

The rains started coming to some areas of western South Dakota in August and September, bringing up some of those rainfall averages.

But if rain doesn't fall at the right time, it doesn't do any good, Hayes said.

Rainfall summaries do not tell the true story of conditions in South Dakota over the past several years, according to state climatologist Dennis Todey. The more accurate story lies in where and when the rain fell, he said.

For example, this is a critical time in eastern South Dakota when the corn crop tassels, and some areas have had little precipitation for more than three weeks.

The August and September rains that areas of western South Dakota received last year benefited wheat farmers but did little to help pastures.

The drought monitor was developed to use several factors, including feedback from local residents, to evaluate drought conditions, Todey said.

Along with Todey, the National Drought Mitigation Center consults with the National Weather Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture when it prepares its drought-monitor maps.

By using a variety of data, the drought monitor gives a better picture of drought conditions, rather than just looking at precipitation or temperatures, Todey said.

"The idea, in a way, of drought monitoring has become what is the impact: Who is being impacted, and what are the problems that they are having?" Todey said.

Roger Gates is a range and pasture specialist at the West River Agricultural Center in Rapid City. Gates was one of several specialists who met recently with Fall River County producers to hear their concerns about the continuing drought.

"There are some folks, particularly in the southwest part of the state, that have been dealing with this (drought) to the point of exhaustion," Gates said.

Thanks to good spring rains, pastures and hay crops in some areas of western South Dakota are in better shape than last year, he said.

The exceptions are Fall River and Custer counties and a few other areas in western South Dakota, Gates said.

Grasses on the Northern Great Plains are dominated by cool-season species that largely complete their growth by July 1, Gates explained.

"The important precipitation comes in April, May and June in terms of growing season production," he said.

"Custer and Fall River County are just really tough," Gates said. "There are places that vegetation never even greened up this year."

Gary Romey ranches along the Cheyenne River, downstream from Angostura Reservoir. Some of his irrigated hay ground has turned into "kind of a desert" since irrigation was shut off two weeks ago.

"Everything is just burning up," Romey said.

Many of Romey's neighbors are beginning to talk about liquidating their cattle herds. Romey sold about one-fourth of his herd in 2006. He's looking at selling half of those remaining cows this year.

"If it doesn't rain next spring, they'll all be gone," he said. "Once the factory is gone, how do you keep producing?"

Rickenbach's entire 2007 hay crop equates to about two weeks of winter's feed after he hayed and baled everything he could.

Determined not to "go into the winter feeding a bunch of cows" hay he must buy, Rickenbach will probably sell down his cow herd. If he's lucky, only one-third of his cow herd will have to go, and he can keep 200 head, he said.

Not only is the drought threatening Rickenbach's livelihood but all vegetation and the local wildlife.

Antelope gather close to the few remaining stock dams or cluster around water tanks filled from a rural water system. The water system has been a life-saver, since most local wells have failed, he said.

A daily check of water tanks usually includes fishing out dead birds that died trying to get a drink.

"Even the bugs are disappearing," Rickenbach said.

Trees and bushes are drying up and dying. Apple trees in his orchard have dropped most of their fruit to try to survive, he said.

"The signs are this is about as extreme as it's going to get if this kind of vegetation is going to survive," Rickenbach said.

National Drought Mitigation Center

Based in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, the National Drought Mitigation Center was created in 1995 to help people and institutions prepare for and reduce the impacts of drought.

Its services are used by state, federal, regional and tribal governments that are involved in drought and water supply planning.

According to associate director Mike Hayes, the center welcomes comments from people affected by drought.

Comments can be registered at www.droughtreporter.unl.edu

Suggested resources for ag producers coping with drought

Feedfinder, a Web site to list feed/pasture wanted or Available: http://feedfinder.sdstate.edu:8080/webx?14@35.HSKhanffbFK.1@.ee6bb19

When Your Income Drops: http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/FS912.pdf

Stress and the Farm or Ranch Family: http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/ExEx14058.pdf

Adult Depression: http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/ExEx14063.pdf

How to Talk to Your Children About Money Problems: http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/ExEx14065.pdf

Top 10 Drought Management Tips for Ranchers:

http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/ExEx2054.pdf

Managing Livestock Grazing Distribution on South Dakota