Tagged: drought

For some, a natural Christmas tree is the only way to go for the holidays.

The evergreen trees sold during the Christmas season take up to seven years to reach maturity. During that growing season, weather and animals are the tree farmer’s biggest enemies. This year the region’s industry was another victim of the 2012 drought.

Kentucky’s agriculture industry is faring better than early predictions.  The agriculture industry, which includes crops, cattle and horses, earned more than $5 billion.  That figure is beyond Kentucky’s reach this year, but University of Kentucky Agriculture Economist Will Snell says many farmers should still do okay.

Officials with the Kentucky Division of Forestry say this summer’s lack of rain, along with tornadoes that have knocked down trees have created the conditions for a potentially bad wildfire season.  The recent drought has dried out state forests in the Commonwealth, and fallen trees and limbs means there’s plenty of fuel for wildfires.  State forester Leah MacSwords says this could lead to an active fire season and be dangerous for firefighters.  She says people should take extra precautions and watch out for forest arson, the leading cause of Kentucky’s wildfires.  This fall’s fire season

This year’s drought hasn’t just lessened corn crops in our region. It’s also left stalks too low for the fall tradition of corn mazes.

Sam Brown of Mayfield’s A-Maize-ing Farms says instead of the usual 20-acre corn maze, it will offer other activities such as a petting zoo and paintball. The owners of Paducah’s Blooms ‘N Gardens say if it hadn’t been for their irrigation system, they would’ve lost their 8-acre maze.

This summer’s drought caused a significant decrease in grass hay production, which many cattle farmers rely on for feed.

The dry weather cut hay production by two-thirds, raising prices $15 to $20 per ton, says Caldwell County Extension Agent Shane Bogle.