Although North Carolina was spared a hurricane disaster in 2007, the state is experiencing another kind of disaster that can have longer-term consequences than a hurricane. That disaster? DROUGHT. Over three-fourths of the state is characterized as a region of exceptional drought, the highest-risk category.
The extreme drought of 2007 has caused severe hardships especially to our farmers. It could hasten the end of many multi-generational family farms. This is not a one-year dry spell. The drought has been building for the last several years and it is predicted to continue into 2008. It has caused severe crop devastation and it has led to the depletion of livestock inventories.
Hay production has been particularly hard hit. The shortage in North Carolina could be as high as 200,000+ tons. That equates to about 450,000 large round bales. Placed end to end, that number of bales would stretch from Manteo to Asheville---a lot of hay! While some livestock can be fed damaged corn and soybean forage, there is simply not enough of these substitutes to materially reduce the need for hay.
When farmers are forced to sell off their livestock, the market is flooded and the prices they receive plummet. We all feel the impact later in the grocery stores when the inevitable meat shortages occur, causing the price of meat to soar.
What can North Carolina Baptists do to help?
North Carolina Baptist Men PO Box 1107 Cary, NC 27512 205 Convention Drive Cary, NC 27512
Phone: 800.395.5102 ext. 5599
Fax: 919.460.6329