First Quarter 2024 Drought Impacts Summary

Above image: This photo shows a barn and cattle on Bond Road in Oregon in June 2019.  Oregon State Archives , CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From January through March, 188 impacts were added to the Drought Impact Reporter during what is typically a quieter time of year for drought impacts. Texas had the most impacts with 57 documented agricultural, water supply and crawfish issues. Louisiana had 36 impacts primarily related to crawfish and water main breaks. Iowa and Missouri had 17 and 16 impacts, respectively, for agricultural matters and responses to drought.

The size of the U.S. cattle herd has been shrinking since 1975, with the nation’s inventory of beef cattle falling to a 61-year low at the start of 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( Investigate Midwest ). Among the country’s top 10 beef-producing states, which account for nearly 60% of the beef production, half had the fewest cattle since 1995 at the start of 2024, according to an Investigate Midwest analysis of USDA data. Drought since 2020 has contributed to the largest drop in the quality of June pastureland in Nebraska and Missouri, which are two of the top 10 beef-producing states, in comparison with other top states. A smaller herd means a reduced supply available to meat processing companies, which could increase retail prices for beef.

Below-normal rainfall has affected agricultural production in Texas along the Lower Colorado River, Rio Grande Valley and West Texas. Most of the Lower Colorado River Authority’s agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties will not receive water from the Highland Lake system again in 2024, due to drought depleting the lakes ( KVUE News ). These customers have not received water from the Highland lakes since 2022.

Years of drought and insufficient water supplies hurt sugar production in the Rio Grande Valley, prompting the board of directors of the Rio Grande Sugar Growers co-op to close the mill permanently ( Texas Standard ). Mexico has not shared the water it is obligated to provide under the 1944 treaty, which is 350,000 acre-feet per year on average.

More West Texas cotton gins are closing or merging because drought has limited cotton production, and there is not enough cotton to support all of the gins ( KCBD ). The price of many inputs has doubled, making it harder to turn a profit.

Average crawfish production in Louisiana was about 10% of normal after an unusually hot, dry summer, according to the southwest area agent for Louisiana State University Extension, who spoke with many farmers and buyers ( Farm Progress ). That figure includes ponds with a harvest of 20% to 25% of normal. Even in southwest Louisiana, the heart of the crawfish producing area, the average was only 10% to 15% of normal.

Drought and freezing temperatures delayed the crawfish season in East Texas as well as Louisiana ( Community Impact – Austin ). The crawfish season usually begins in January and stretches until July, but the January harvest was roughly 10% of usual, according to a crawfish distributor in Austin. The crawfish were also smaller, so they were difficult to eat. The freezing weather in January was also hard on the crawfish as the crustaceans struggled to get enough oxygen in the frozen ponds.

In a normal year, Louisiana has about 374,000 acres on which crawfish are farmed. Roughly 50,000 acres could not be flooded for lack of water in canals and saltwater intrusion into the coastal parishes. On top of that, another 50,000 to 80,000 acres did not yield enough crawfish to make it worth the cost of trying to catch them. Crawfish prices typically decrease in the spring as catches increase in size, but this year, crawfish availability has not increased.

There has been a spate of water main breaks across Louisiana in early 2024 that can be attributed to aging and a variety of weather conditions ( FOX 8 ). Drought is one of the factors that likely stressed the pipes when it caused the ground to shift and contract. A cold spell caused the ground to freeze, which was followed by heavy rain and mud, which all likely stressed pipes. As of Feb. 1, boil water advisories were in effect for parts of Thibodaux, New Orleans East and Covington.

Years of drought in Iowa are continuing to stress water supplies. In eastern Iowa, the Poweshiek Water Association issued a mandatory water conservation order for Tama and Amana systems ( KCRG ). Three new wells are expected to be operational by June 1. The conservation order will be reassessed when the new wells start working. PWA issued a voluntary water conservation order in June 2023 due to dry conditions.

Drought has affected maple syrup production in Iowa since less water for trees means less sap production ( The Gazette ). The warm, dry winter dried soils further, and some trees were so stressed that they shut down and ended production earlier. Sap collection from each tap was down, as was the total sap collection from each tree. Sap quality was higher, however, with a sugar content at more than 2% and even topping at 3%, a positive in a difficult season. The warm winter in Iowa led to the trees being ready to tap 22 days earlier than ever before, on Jan. 22.

Missouri sale barns have been packed with record numbers of cattle for sale since early fall due to drought and lack of forage ( KMIZ ABC 17 News ). Hay was expensive, so some were selling their calf crop early or getting rid of cows. Since 2019, hay yields have fallen nearly one ton per acre, which has been a strain on the cattle inventory, prices and beef production.

The central area of the state has seen an increasing number of fires after being gripped by drought for the past two years ( KMIZ ABC 17 News ).

Extreme drought conditions in Mississippi affected over 80,000 acres across the state, killing approximately 12.5 million trees, according to a preliminary survey on pine mortality by the Mississippi Forestry Commission ( The Daily Leader ). Drought stressed the trees, and beetles, such as the southern pine beetle and Ips beetle, likely attacked the stressed trees and killed them.

Drought severely stressed and killed many of Mississippi's magnolia trees ( The Clarion-Ledger ). Some magnolias may be able to recover and survive, but others were obviously dead.