How severely will the drought effect local agriculture?
Western Washington farmers are used to dry periods during the growing season. Most farmers plan on irrigating during August. Under drought conditions, water may become more difficult for farmers to access. To track the drought condition in Western Washington and its potential effect to local agriculture, visit this WSU Drought Alert (external). Q: What can farmers do to conserve water without hurting their yield? A: Technology now allows growers to calculate crop needs based on soil moisture, rainfall and individual crop metabolisms. WSU provides a service to growers all across the state to aid in calculating evapotranspiration rates and help them irrigate crops only when plants need it. To learn more, visit this WSU-Prosser web page (external). Growers have many other simple conservation practices they can implement. Growers commonly add organic mulches and utilize cover crops to avoid periods of bare ground between crops. These practices are just a few that farms use to conserve soil
