Farmers in New York state feel consequences of worst drought in over a decade

This summer, New York state experienced its worst drought in over a decade, with 51 counties receiving a “natural disaster area” designation from the federal government.

The drought has made a number of farmers eligible for emergency loans, with farms seeing “unprecedented crop damage,” New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a press release.

“A strong agricultural industry is critical to this state’s economy,” Cuomo said.

In addition to a decrease in rainfall over the summer, there was also little precipitation this past winter, meaning that there was less snow melt than usual. That, coupled with higher temperatures, left evaporation high and soil dry, said Jessica Spaccio, a member of the research staff at the Northeast Regional Climate Center.

“We can’t say that any one event … would or wouldn’t have happened with climate change,” Spaccio said. “But we do expect to see these kind of short-term droughts occur more often with climate change.”

Farmers in counties with or contiguous to a disaster designation qualify for an emergency loan program offered by the federal government. Factors that determine eligibility include a loss of at least 30 percent in a primary crop or in crop quality, the farmer’s financial stability and the farmer’s ability to repay the loans.

Up to 100 percent of losses can be taken out in loans so long as the loans are applied for within eight months of the disaster declaration and the losses do not exceed $500,000, according to the Farm Service Agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to a press release from the agency, emergency loan funds can be used to “restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize the family farming operation, or refinance certain non-real estate operating debts.”

Tim Setter, a professor at Cornell University, said corn in New York state is particularly vulnerable to droughts.

“So if it has been dry for the four- to six-week period leading up to late July, corn kernel development will be damaged and yield will be much lower,” he said.

An increased need for irrigation is also a source of new expenses, he added.

To conserve water and help aid the problems caused by the drought, institutions such as Cornell University and Ithaca College have been campaigning in residence halls to encourage students to take shorter showers, and Cornell’s dining halls have started using disposable plates and utensils so they don’t have to run the dishwasher.

Spaccio added that energy production uses water, so “things like conserving energy will also conserve water.”

In recent weeks, the drought has seemed to become less severe. During the last week of September, the Drought Monitor classified 38 percent of the Northeast as abnormally dry, but the following week only 24 percent was classified as such.