The effects of drought on hay as an agricultural resource is a significant, yet overlooked, issue in Canada. Its effects need to be examined in order to mitigate damage done to the crops themselves, the agricultural sector, and the economy as a whole. This paper explores the causes, effects and potential solutions to reducing the effects of drought on hay in the future. This paper also covers the differences between American and Canadian agriculture, and the current drought that is affecting Ontario.
Causes
There are many possible causes of meteorological and hydrological droughts, which in turn have negative effects on the hay industry. A lack of moisture, either through a minimal amount of rainfall or a groundwater shortage, can stunt hay
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133). This is due to the fact that crops and their caretakers can better adapt to drought conditions over time. However, economic effects of drought occur in the subsequent years following the initial year of drought (Leister, Paarlberg & Lee, 2015, p. 281). Despite their chronological differences, drought poses a significant problem to the hay industry in terms of both environmental and economic effects. Poor quality forage, in addition to a reduced crop yield, is responsible for driving down cattle market prices, due to the fact that farmers are forced to reduce their herds because of high feed prices (Kemper et al., 2012). Changes in feed supply, in both quality and quantity, is shown to be the direct cause of drought-induced culling of livestock (Leister et al., 2015, p. 262). Farmers who do not grow their own hay to feed their livestock, and instead rely on purchasing hay from outside producers are especially vulnerable because they cannot control the price or quality of hay needed to feed their …show more content…
(2016) mentions that drought impact studies must be performed of other economic sectors in drougb-affected regions, such as public health and public water resources, in order to form an effective drought management plan for the future (p. 134). There is also a need for a long-term economic analysis of drought, because economic effects of drought do not occur in the first few years after the initiation of drought (Leister et al., 2015, p. 281). With further economic analyses of drought, it makes it possible to financially prepare for the effects of future droughts. There is a direct correlation between drought preparedness and whether or not the affected farmer has experienced negative drought effects from previous droughts (Coppock, 2011, p. 613). The ability to survive drought comes from careful planning and flexibility, some ow which only comes from previous experience (Wilmer et al., 2016, p. 220-221). A combination of warm temperatures and a plentiful water supple are necessary in order to combat the negative environmental effects of drought and restore crop production to its normal capacity (Kemper et al., 2012, p. 2). Further explorations into the future availability of groundwater supplies are also critical to maintaining proper soil moisture (Bonsal et al., 2010, p.
Overall, droughts not only affect the environment and ecosystems that belong to the area in drought, but in turn also affect people; and in much larger cases, societies and economical things like food pricing. The impact that drought has can come in many forms and each to their own
The main industry is the agricultural sector which completely depends on the climate. There are strong linkages between poverty and environmental degradation, particularly poor water management, soil erosion, declining soil fertility and land degradation. In addition, the effects of climate change are undermining an already fragile resource base and have contributed to declining agricultural yields over the past decades. In recent years, drought has become a perennial problem in parts of Kenya. Episodes in 2009 and 2011 generated food emergencies, while flooding in 2010 affected parts of the country severely.
No one could have foresaw a drought occurring and even the most experienced farmers might have thought if a drought were to hit it would not last long. Worster states, “Over the nation as a whole, the 1930s drought was in the words of a Weather Bureau scientist, “the worst in the climatological history
Drought can occur for many different reasons. Drought mostly occurs by not receiving rain or snow for a prolonged period of time. This can occur if wind patterns change. Humans can also cause drought by cutting down broad areas of trees resulting in the soil in the ground being unable to hold water, a great example of this is the dust bowl of the
4. Inventory Resources and Identify Groups at Risk- It is crucial to take an inventory of natural, biological, and human resources. For obvious reasons water is the most valuable natural resource in this situation; its location, accessibility, and quality. The biological resources refer to the quality and quantity of grasslands or rangelands, forests, wildlife, and so forth. Human resources are the labor needed to develop water resources and haul water, process citizen complaints, provide technical assistance, and direct citizens to available services. It is important to define the exposure of various parts of the region to drought hazard to determine which groups are at risk (Wilhite, Hayes, & Knutson, 2005).
California is known for its vast production of agriculture; having some of the most fertile soil on Earth, a 4-year drought is not what California wants. The lack of water in California has had dramatic effects within the state. In fact California’s governor, Jerry Brown, has declared it a state of emergency. A drought is a serious weather condition in which many people and the environment is entirely affected. A drought is essentially a difference in the amount of water in a region and the amount of water that the people and the environment in that region needs (Mann et al. 2015). The definition of a drought varies throughout regions depending on the amount of water each region receives and needs. The time limit to announce a drought also
Organic ranchers and dairy farmers in California also feel the effects of the drought. They rely on green pasture to feed their animals a healthy diet. Due to the lack of rain, the pasture are drying up and the ranchers have to purchase supplemental organic hay from other states. In an attempt to fund the purchasing of this out of state hay, the organic farmers are selling herds to businesses for hamburger meat and the small
The drought has a strong impact on the Californian economy as well, a whopping 2.74 billion dollars down that drain and twenty thousand jobs lost. Agriculture the major business hit by the drought. Agriculture uses eighty percent of California’s water, although it has a high water usage California agriculture is very important for the national economy (Ross). Half a million acers of farmland has been dried up due to the drought which means less money in agriculture. The almond industry uses ten percent of California’s water, taking one gallon of water to grow just one almond (Holthaus). Many people think that almonds are wasting water since it takes so much resources to cultivate. On the other hand California produces more than eighty percent
Over thousands of years water has been a very valuable element in our everyday lives. Now we are being faced with a shortage of water affecting not only us, but future generations as well. The drought has become an extreme issue that has affected the United States. For example, in Texas the dry spell has had an impact in families, politics and law, religion, health care, and mass media.
The farmers have faced many challenges including droughts, and wildfires. With the challenges there are advantages to help prepare for future challenges.
Droughts The articles, “Decade of Drought” by Anne Capeci and “ Drought Report” by Jennifer Johnson both discuss about droughts. “Decade of Drought” by Anne Capeci is more information than “Drought Report” by Jennifer Johnson because it depicts the negatives effects of a drought. To begin, “Decade of Drought” by Anne Capeci explains how it effects the world. For example, “Meanwhile, hot, dry conditions increased the threat of destructive wildfires”(93).This shows a wildfires will happen if it hot and dry conditions and that will make dire wildfire. Capeci also reports “The price of olive oil rose sharply in 2014”(94).This shows that the olive price went more up and people will pay more than they were.
Understanding the different agricultural sectors practice in Wisconsin is crucial in understanding how the drought affected the ebonies of scale. Farming practiced can be broadly placed under two categories; Livestock farming and Crop farming. The relationship between the two levels of farming, can affect one sector in terms of productivity. To illustrate this, the production of short corn dropped by 17%, this translates to 90 million bushels. Short corn is fed on milk producing livestock such as cows and so the overall implication is that milk production would be lower than the previous years (Boyes and Micheal 45).
Weather can take a huge toll on crop and cattle. It can make them stress out. Which can affect the way the crops turn out and cattle growth or milking. Water levels, rainfall amount, hay or grain prices, and prices of livestock is major key. As a producer weather can make huge impact on my plans both long term and short term.
This is seen as a problem because before the drought it was hard to feed people. Than again with constant heat hydration was always an issue also. With the hard conditions ones lifestyle has to organized enough to survive.
As discusses above, drought causes the shortage of plants and animals, which provide food for human beings. Therefore, the shortage of food causes problems for living.