Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Noble County
Dry 
conditions have continued, despite all our best efforts to put in requests for rain. This past week, all of Noble County along with several other SE Ohio counties moved from the classification of D2- Severe Drought to D3- Extreme Drought. What does that mean, exactly, other than that it is really dry?
Well, it means that a group of experts have evaluated the changing conditions that have resulted from the lack of precipitation to create the United States Drought Monitor Mapping System and determined that parts of Southeast Ohio have sustained drought conditions for so long that the impacts of drought will have an increased impact on the resiliency of the land to bounce back from drought conditions, to the point that the potential economic damage could be substantial.
The Drought Monitor website explains, “The USDM map provides a “snapshot” of current conditions. Authors build upon the previous week’s map, identifying areas that might have changed in response to recent weather patterns. They bring together the physical climate, weather and hydrology data and reconcile that with local expert feedback, impact reports and conditions observations.”
You can learn more about how the map is created online at: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/AbouttheData/DroughtClassification.aspx
The practical, boots on the ground, explanation is this:
If D3 drought conditions are sustained, then the counties severely impacted by extreme drought may be eligible for disaster assistance through the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Producers who wish to seek assistance can get the most up to date information from the Farm Service Agency online at https://www.farmers.gov/protection-recovery/disaster-tool. You can also reach out to your local FSA Office.
The staff of OSU Extension are here and willing to help assist producers however we can to develop ways to cope with the impacts of drought. Reach out to your local OSU Extension office or visit our drought response website at: https://kx.osu.edu/page/early-drought-response.
D3 is never a good thing to hear, but the little glimmer of hope is that we have now reached the point where assistance may be available.