"The U.S. agriculture secretary Wednesday designated 39 counties in eight states as disaster areas due to the drought that now spans 61 percent of the country. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the drought -- which affects 1,297 counties in 29 states -- is the "most serious situation we've had probably in 25 years."
"Drought has set in early and hard across the Midwest, parching the Arkansas River basin. The river trickling out of the mountains is dry before it reaches some of the major agricultural uses downstream. And the drought is torching crops, sapping tourism and threatening supplies of drinking water. High in the Rocky Mountains, about 10 miles north of Leadville, Colo., the Arkansas River starts as a trickle running off some of the tallest peaks in the continental United States.
In a normal year, "you would see snowcapped peaks and water rushing down," says Garry Hanks, a retired high school teacher who now serves as a deputy water commissioner in southeast Colorado. But this year there's hardly even a dribble of water coming down from the mountains. And the drought intensifies just downstream."
In a normal year, "you would see snowcapped peaks and water rushing down," says Garry Hanks, a retired high school teacher who now serves as a deputy water commissioner in southeast Colorado. But this year there's hardly even a dribble of water coming down from the mountains. And the drought intensifies just downstream."
Drought Disasters Declared In More Counties; 1,297 Affected So Far
"In a statement posted by his department and during a briefing now underway at the White House, Vilsack noted that despite the dry conditions and scorching temperatures, forecasters still expect farms will produce "the third-largest corn crop in U.S. history" because more was planted this year than during other droughts."
-- Really? --
