Drought has cost Missouri $460 million, officials say

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri is facing its second year of a severe drought that already has cost the state economy at least $460 million, officials said Wednesday.

Lowell Mohler, director of the state Department of Agriculture, said farmers lost about $251 million last year because of the drought.

But because farmers had poor crops and livestock, they didn't buy as many supplies as they usually do. Mohler estimated the hit to the agribusiness economy at $209 million. Estimates of losses are conservative, Mohler said, and could be much higher.

And the economic losses may get more serious before they improve, he said.

Still, Mohler acknowledged that Missouri's situation was not as bad as some states, including Kansas, which he said lost $1.4 billion last year.

In Missouri, the most severe drought has occurred in the northwest corner, where some areas went an unprecedented 71 days without measurable rain or snow, said Pat Guinan of the University of Missouri extension service.

The Thompson River at Trenton in northwest Missouri now flows at about 10 percent of what it averaged over the 73 years for which records have been kept.

Last month, 16 Missouri counties received no precipitation. Rain in Kansas City over the past seven months was 15 inches below normal. In St. Joseph, it was 14 inches below normal.

"It's imperative that we get significant precipitation in the next few months to replenish water supplies both above and below the ground," Guinan said.

But Guinan said the difference between the various areas of the state is remarkable. Usually the disparity between the part of the state with greatest and least rainfall is 15 inches per year. But in 2002, the disparity was 40 inches. Southeast Missouri received some of the heavier precipitation amounts.

In the short term, Guinan said, the precipitation outlook is not good for farmers. Guinan said climatology predictions show rainfall is not likely to be substantial until May.

Missouri's soil deviation -- the difference between this year's soil moisture and the average -- is 140 millimeters below normal. That puts Missouri the furthest below normal of any state in the country, said Steve McIntosh, director of the state water resources program.

Low water levels could affect various parts of the economy, including power plants that use river water to cool their generators.

Water temperatures already are significantly higher than normal. When power plants raise the temperature of the water, it may become too hot for aquatic life to survive. But Missouri is not yet at that stage, McIntosh said.

The 2002 drought didn't begin developing until June and July, when just 7 percent of northwest Missouri had adequate in the ground, said Gene Danekas of the Missouri Agricultural Statistical Service.

In August it became clear that the entire western part of the state was in bad shape. Then the dry areas grew to include northeast and central Missouri.

Last year, 28 Missouri counties received a total of $2.7 million in aid from the Emergency Conservation Program. The federal government paid more than $62 million to livestock farmers because of the drought.

Mohler, the state Agriculture Department director, said the best chance for more help will come from the federal government in the form of a new farm subsidy bill.

Mohler was blunt about the drought's effects on the state.

"If this situation doesn't improve or we don't get some help, we're in for a world of hurt," Mohler said.

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On the Net:

Missouri Department of Natural Resources: http://www.dnr.state.mo.us/geology/droughtupdate.htm