2012 North American Drought

2012 North American Drought

The 2012 North American Drought is a record-breaking expansion of the 2010–2012 Southern United States drought which began in the spring of 2012, when the record-shattering lack of snow in the United States caused very little meltwater to absorb into the soil. The drought includes most of the US, parts of Mexico, and central and Eastern Canada. It currently covers 80% of the contiguous United States with at least abnormally dry conditions. Out of that 80%, 62% is designated as at least moderate drought conditions. It is affecting a similarly large area as droughts in the 1930s and 1950s but it has not yet been in place as long. The drought has inflicted, and is expected to continue to inflict, catastrophic economic ramifications for the affected states. The drought has exceeded, in most measures, the 1988-1989 North American drought, the most recent comparable drought. It is on track to exceed that drought as the costliest natural disaster in US history.

Crops have been noted to be failing or yielding very low this year due to the drought’s presence in major farming areas. Food prices are expected to rise dramatically because the resulting supply shortfall. Parts of the Mississippi water levels have plummeted, affecting trade and commerce.

1,692 counties across 36 states in the US have been legally declared primary natural disaster areas as of August 17 as the drought continues to cover 62% of the contiguous US. Hundreds of additional counties bordering the primary disaster areas are designated as “contiguous” disaster areas, and are also eligible for federal aid.

The current drought, or any event that affects prices for raw farm commodities, ultimately has a marginal effect on what we pay at the grocery or restaurant. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently signed disaster designations for an additional 218 counties in 12 states as primary natural disaster areas due to damage and losses caused by drought and excessive heat. Counties designated today are in the states of Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming. More than half (50.3 percent) of all counties in the United States have been designated disaster areas by USDA in 2012, mainly due to drought.

During the 2012 crop year, the USDA has designated 1,584 unduplicated counties across 32 states as disaster areas — 1,452 due to drought — making all qualified farm operators in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans. The U.S. Drought Monitor indicates that 66 percent of the nation’s hay acreage is in an area experiencing drought, while approximately 73 percent of the nation’s cattle acreage is in an area experiencing drought. During the week ending July 29, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that U.S. soybeans rated 37 percent very poor to poor, matching the lowest conditions observed during the drought of 1988. NASS also reported that 48 percent of the U.S. corn crop was rated very poor to poor, while 57 percent of the nation’s pastures and rangeland are rated very poor or poor condition.

Primary counties and corresponding states designated as disaster areas:
• Arkansas:
  Benton
  Washington
• Georgia:
  Bartow
  Cherokee
  Cobb
  Haralson
  Paulding
  Polk
• Illinois:
  Adams
  Bond
  Boone
  Brown
  Calhoun
  Carroll
  Cass
  Champaign
  Christian
  Clark
  Clay
  Clinton
  Coles
  Cumberland
  De Witt
  Douglas
  Edgar
  Effingham
  Fayette
  Ford
  Fulton
  Greene
  Hancock
  Henderson
  Iroquois
  Jasper
  Jefferson
  Jersey
  Jo Daviess
  La Salle
  Lee
  Livingston
  Logan
  Macon
  Macoupin
  Madison
  Marion
  Marshall
  Mason
  McDonough
  McLean
  Menard
  Monroe
  Montgomery
  Morgan
  Moultrie
  Ogle
  Peoria
  Perry
  Piatt
  Randolph
  Rock Island
  Sangamon
  Schuyler
  Scott
  Shelby
  St. Clair
  Stephenson
  Tazewell
  Vermilion
  Warren
  Washington
  Wayne
  Whiteside
  Winnebago
  Woodford
• Indiana
  Jackson
  Warren
• Iowa
  Appanoose
  Benton
  Black Hawk
  Boone
  Bremer
  Buchanan
  Butler
  Cedar
  Clayton
  Clinton
  Davis
  Delaware
  Des Moines
  Dubuque
  Fayette
  Grundy
  Hamilton
  Hardin
  Henry
  Iowa
  Jackson
  Jasper
  Jefferson
  Johnson
  Jones
  Keokuk
  Lee
  Linn
  Lucas
  Mahaska
  Marion
  Marshall
  Monroe
  Muscatine
  Polk
  Poweshiek
  Scott
  Story
  Tama
  Van Buren
  Wapello
  Wayne
• Kansas
  Atchison
  Brown
  Doniphan
  Jackson
• Mississippi
  Marshall
• Nebraska
  Antelope
  Arthur
  Banner
  Blaine
  Brown
  Buffalo
  Box Butte
  Cedar
  Chase
  Cherry
  Cheyenne
  Dawes
  Dawson
  Deuel
  Dixon
  Franklin
  Garden
  Garfield
  Gosper
  Grant
  Hall
  Harlan
  Holt
  Hooker
  Kearney
  Keith
  Keya Paha
  Kimball
  Knox
  Lincoln
  Logan
  Loup
  Madison
  McPherson
  Morrill
  Perkins
  Phelps
  Pierce
  Platte
  Rock
  Scotts Bluff
  Sheridan
  Sioux
  Stanton
  Thomas
  Wayne
  Wheeler
• Oklahoma
  Adair
  Cherokee
  Delaware
  Haskell
  Mayes
  McIntosh
  Muskogee
  Okmulgee
  Rogers
  Sequoyah
  Tulsa
  Wagoner
• South Dakota
  Bennett
  Bon Homme
  Butte
  Charles Mix
  Clay
  Custer
  Davison
  Douglas
  Fall River
  Gregory
  Haakon
  Hanson
  Hutchinson
  Jackson
  Lawrence
  Lincoln
  McCook
  Meade
  Pennington
  Shannon
  Todd
  Tripp
  Turner
  Union
  Yankton
• Tennessee
  Fayette
  Haywood
  Lauderdale
• Wyoming
  Albany
  Campbell
  Converse
  Crook
  Goshen
  Niobrara
  Platte
  Weston

2012 North American Drought