County slips into severe drought, triggering wildfire aid

Two thirds of Crook County has now slipped into a state of severe drought, with the southeastern quarter of the county now listed as experiencing moderate drought.

These conditions have triggered wildfire assistance for agricultural producers in this county through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The FSA began by reviewing the variety of fire assistance it offers and identified the counties authorized for emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands outside of the primary nesting season, for which a county must be listed as experiencing severe drought.

Local producers can now request emergency haying and grazing on CRP acres while still receiving their full rental payment for the land. Producers can also grant other livestock producers use of the acreage.

To do so, producers should notify their FSA county office before beginning any activities and have their conservation plan modified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Additional programs are also available through the FSA to assist with wildfire losses, including:

* The Livestock Forage Program for grazing losses on federal lands

* The Emergency Livestock Assistance Program for grazing losses on deeded lands, hay stacks/feed losses and honeybee or hive losses due to wildfires, as well as additional feed cost due to wildfire

* The Emergency Conservation Program for fence and physical losses

* The Emergency Forest Restoration Program for private forest losses due to wildfire

* The Livestock Indemnity Program for livestock deaths due to wildfire

* The Non-insurable Crop Disaster Assistance Program for crop losses due to wildfires.

The current drought conditions in Crook County represent a 107.3% increase to the number of people in this county affected by drought since last month. Streamflow data on the Belle Fourche River shows it has been below average for the last month compared to historical conditions during the same time period.

The U.S. Drought Monitor expects these conditions to persist for the next three months, with drought conditions affecting a significant portion of the northern half of the state by the end of that period.

Temperatures during that time period look like they will lean towards higher than average, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, while precipitation has equal chances of being above or below normal.

July, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, saw half an inch less rain than normal. As a whole, 2024 has been the 29th driest year on record, with 2.52 fewer inches of moisture than an average year.