In 1960, my partner and I came to the Ozarks, in a pickup truck pulling a Uhaul trailer. And through those years I have seen some good years and bad when it comes to farming. In 1963 after taking a turn at teaching, I went to work for Tyson Food as a field man and continued to farm. That fall and the next year were classified as “dry.” Many shallow wells went dry and poultry famers faced some tough times if they owed on a poultry house.
I recall meeting a Purina field man coming out of one my grower’s driveway, his window was rolled down and he was shaking his head. “You guys at Tyson’s will do anything to keep a grower. That guy back there said he wouldn’t change dealers because Tyson loaned him the money to drill a well.”
We had. I told him, it was part of us being local folks. He shook his head and drove on. In those days we spent half our time or more helping folks get in the chicken business or convincing other growers to feed with us. That year it was dry, but I don’t recall it as a drought. Again in the 1980s we saw some hot weather and dry times. I missed the early 1950s, but my wife told me about folks coming to their spring on Bohannon Mountain for drinking water. Today we have lots of rural water, which is a blessing. But today most people don’t have water in their ponds, dozer people are busy cleaning the mud out but far worse than that, there is no forage.
Last year we scoffed at the poor Texans who came over here and bought hay for $50 to a $100 a large bale, then hauled it to Texas. Now we’d like to have it back. Last weekend Pat and I made a circuit up in southwest Missouri. The burned up cornfields represent lots of money in seed corn and fertilizer, all I can do is hope they have crop insurance. Pastures have nothing but a few dead green weeds. Timber all over the Ozarks is dying and we won’t see the real effects on the woods of this drought until next year.
Thousands of mother cows are being sent to slaughter. Wils Smith, a farmer, who lived down by Winslow, Ark., once said, “You can get out the cow business in 10 minutes, but it takes years to get back in.”
The after effects of all these disbursements line up. What will the sale barns do next year for business? Each one of those cows represents a calf they won’t sell in 2013. This wide spread of drought means the same to lots of folks; tractor dealers and folks that sell farm supplies won’t have customers. Many people will have to make serious decisions about their financial conditions.
About 10 percent of the U.S. fuel supply is ethanol. Due to the drought in the Midwest, the supply of corn is going to be short. That will impact poultry, hog and cattle feeding in a big way. Economists claim meat will rise 5 percent in the grocery store – that figure could be a lot higher.
I know most readers didn’t need to be told this story, because they are living in the middle of it. We all should pray for rain. God bless
Western novelist Dusty Richards and his wife Pat live on Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas. For more information about his books you can email Dusty by visiting ozarksfn.com and clicking on ‘Contact Us’ or call 1-866-532-1960.
