Botetourt coping with an ‘abnormally dry’ summer

By Matt de Simone

It’s been a hot summer, no doubt. The average temperature in Botetourt County in June was hovering around 85 degrees. A little over 700 miles south of Botetourt County is sunny Orlando, Fla. Its June temperatures were around 92 degrees daily. There, it’s Florida. This summer, “Florida” seemed to vacation here in Botetourt.

With the heat should come the rain, right? (At least that’s the way it works in the Sunshine State.) Botetourt usually has an average annual precipitation of 41 inches and temperatures that average 87°F in July. However, this summer has seen a dry climate with little to no rainfall and multiple 90-degree days. In June 2023, the county saw an average precipitation of 3.74 inches of rainfall. This past June brought Botetourt only 1.2 in. on average.

Right now, Botetourt County is “abnormally dry,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor system. In terms of intensity, “abnormally dry” is a step away from what the monitor describes as a “moderate drought.” The current estimated county population in “drought areas” totals 4,707. (To view an updated map, visit www.drought.gov/data-maps-tools/us-drought-monitor.) Additionally, 13,219 square miles of Virginia are under drought conditions with 24% (10,336 sq. mi.) “abnormally dry,” per a PlantMaps study last week.

No rain means no grains, and for local farmers, the months of June and July brought forth a bit of concern as they prepare their respective feeds and fruits for the cooler weather months ahead.

At the July meeting of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, the board passed a resolution petitioning USDA Virginia Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Ronald Howell, Jr. to declare the county as a “disaster area to provide the means for those affected to qualify for some relief assistance.”

Current County Executive Director of the Botetourt Farm Service Agency W.P. Johnson has kept an eye on the dry conditions in the county as it impacts local crops and livestock. Johnson sees some concerns with the lack of rain and the impacts it can have later this year.

“A lot of the feeds that go to feed livestock, and grains as well, are produced primarily in the peak of the summer,” Johnson explained in a recent interview. “Due to the lack of rainfall, most of the fall cuttings, some of the spring cuttings, and a lot of the corn crop has significantly been impacted as far as yield and/or growth.

“What that does is reduce the amount of feed that we have to carry livestock through the winter months and also to sell for revenue to keep cash flow for those people in the grain business.”

Johnson explained producers sometimes are forced to sell livestock or sell it early, and/or purchase feeds which creates an undue financial burden to actually keep their livestock on. The question ultimately becomes if the county is going to have a mild winter or a hard winter, which increases complexity.

For consumers, the direct market makes forced decisions about what they can deliver to the markets and their local customer base that may be accelerated or may have less volume, according to Johnson. The consumers may have to go through chain stores due to unavailability due to lack of growth from the county’s dry climate.

Local members of Botetourt’s agriculture community continue to experience this year’s unusually dry summer, waiting for the rain to return. While these conditions aren’t as bad as droughts of the past, local farmers are keeping an eye on the dry conditions as they continue this week in the county before rain possibly enters into the forecast this weekend.

“This year, speaking area-wide, the intensity of the lack of rainfall for the four consecutive weeks in June combined with the temperature levels really impacted how crops responded and forages responded to that level of heat as well as lack of rainfall. Normally, we get a shower here and there to kind of ease through droughts. This time, it basically shut off and we basically didn’t get anything for about four weeks,” Johnson said.

“To combine with that, we had 80-, 90-, and even 100-degree temperatures that just cooked the crops. It basically shut them down. About July 15, crops almost looked dead. Then, we started getting rains in the latter part of July which made a difference in early August.”

Some crops were too far gone by the time those rains came, but according to Johnson, the recent rains at the end of July and early August “gave hope” to farmers.

“When everything turns brown, there’s nothing to graze, there’s nothing to grab, nothing to cut, there’s nothing to look at and it gives you an automatic depression where if things are green and look like they’re growing, even if they’re not growing, it gives hope and faith that you have a chance to save whatever is there.”

Jay Etzler is a local cattle farmer of over 50 years and the owner of Etzler Country Hams. Due to the lack of rain this summer, it has forced some farmers like Etzler to find ways to make sure the stock remains fed and with plenty of water.

“There hasn’t been as much rain as we would like,” Etzler said when asked Monday about the ongoing dry conditions in the county. “We’ve been having to move some stock around that we normally wouldn’t. It looks like, this week, I’m going to have to start hauling water to some (of the stock) that would normally water out of the creek that’s dried up.”

Although Etzler’s farm is known for the country hams, its beef cattle that is his farm’s main enterprise. The farm has “mama cows” and Etzler buys calves at 400-500 pounds, and then grows them to 800-900 pounds for eventual sale. However, in order for those calves to grow, they need to eat. Etzler explained that in these current conditions, cattle aren’t going to eat unless they’re comfortable.

“When it’s hot, cows try to stay cool,” Etzler said. “They’ll stay in the shade – wherever the coolest spot in the field that they can find. They don’t get out and eat like they would if it wasn’t so hot and, consequently, don’t put on weight that they normally would. That can be adverse for them as well.”

As far as keeping the cows comfortable, it isn’t necessarily up to the farmer to know what’s best for the stock.

“(The cows) certainly know more about how they feel than I do and regulate that the best they can, given the conditions they have,” Etzler chuckled when asked if he is having to move cattle to keep them cool. “We certainly try to keep them in situations where they have adequate shade and plenty of water. That’s important.”

Etzler recalled droughts of the past in comparison to the current dry climate in the county.

“We have had worse droughts, but of course we’re not out of the woods yet. It’s probably been eight or ten years ago – the rain quit middle to the end of August and really didn’t any substantial rain until Thanksgiving or just after. I can remember back in the late ’70s/early ’80s, we had absolutely no rainfall that summer. It was miserable and as hot or hotter as it is now.”

The county received some showers around July 4 and recently managed to get a couple of inches of rainfall from the recent Hurricane Debby that touched down on Florida’s panhandle and moved its way northeast. However, the county is drying off once again and waiting for the next batch of rainfall.

Other cattle farmers have felt the impact of Botetourt’s hot summer. Courtney Henderson is a cattle/dairy farmer at Cave Hill Dairy Farm in Troutville. Her family has continued to find ways to keep their cattle comfortable, given the hot summer.

“With any drought, you’re mainly concerned about not only crop growth, because there’s always the chance that you’re not going to have the crops,” Henderson said. “Without the crops, you’re not going to be able to feed the cows or any of the livestock and you’re basically depending on the storage you’ve had from other years.”

Henderson shared that her family’s farm is currently depending on storage of past years “a lot.”

“I know in other places around the state, they didn’t have any storage from last year,” Henderson continued. “This drought has almost been a two-year drought for them. The biggest things are making sure the cattle have enough water, enough food, and making sure that we have grass because in droughts the grass becomes very scarce. You’re depending on the hay you have and whatever you have from last year to help you make it through until crops are ready this year.”

Henderson and her family have spent the summer moving the cattle to keep them cool. This year, Henderson said they’ve done “a lot of waiting” because the hay and corn aren’t ready. Farmers often worry about running out of feed and constantly looking at the grass, waiting to see if it will soon rain.

The main focus of Henderson this summer has been keeping the cattle cool.

“It was so hot (this summer) every single day, I put in misters and fans just to try and keep them cool. We saw a drop in milk production just from that. I spent a couple hundred dollars on fans and misters and trying to figure out how to make them feel cool and comfortable.”

Henderson noted that there were a couple of cows that had evidence of heat stress and that she struggled at times to keep them comfortable, unsure if she was taking the right measures.

“You know the saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink’ – the same goes for cows,” Henderson added.

Fortunately, Cave Hill planted corn later than some other farms in the area. Henderson thinks the recent rains came at the right time and will produce a decent corn crop for the farm and a good third-cutting of hay.

Some farms have been affected by the recent warm weather different than others. For the farms facing tough times, there are steps to take to better ensure the health and sustainability.

W.P. Johnson spoke about what can be done if a drought is officially declared by secretary of designation.

“Our (emergency loans) department is based out of Pittsylvania County. Our offices in Botetourt can help get that resource worked out,” Johnson said. “From there, it becomes how well the risk was managed with either crop insurance activities or through risk management agency (RMA).

“Those options provide producers insurance just like your car insurance, but it’s on crops, to be able to financially come back from any losses there. If the drought would have been a little bit more severe, there would have been some other programs that would’ve kicked in based on the (U.S.) Drought Monitor.”

A lot of the country’s disaster relief programs are triggered from the U.S. Drought Monitor, according to Johnson. The monitor states that eight consecutive weeks of “D2 (Severe Drought)” or any time “D3 (Extreme Drought)” classifications are the beginning trigger for most of the disaster programs.

Botetourt County was in four weeks of “D2” this summer, but not enough to trigger additional USDA relief programs, Johnson mentioned. As of August 22, Botetourt is in “D0” of abnormally dry classification, with the northern part of the county in “D1,” moderate drought.