Farmers are performing a speedy harvest following a drought that reduced cropland and stunted what winter wheat survived. It's been a feast or famine situation,'' said Ken Biddle, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture spokesman. The bushel totals are considerably off,'' Biles said. A historic drought has proved to be a crushing blow to ranchers, threatened the state's forests, and caused water shortages in several small rural communities in southwestern states, United Press International reported June 24, 1996. In May, Arizona Gov. Fife Symington declared a state of emergency because of the extreme conditions.
Ranchers worry because drought conditions mean no grass for grazing and scant water for their herds.
Doc Lane, a top official at the Arizona Cattlemen's Association, said the bottom-line effects are being felt by many of his 2,000 members. State weather officials said the drought is the worst that Arizona has felt since 1904. Rainfall since January has dropped to a trickle in some areas, while some cities like Flagstaff, which normally gets nearly 9 inches of rain by this time of year, have received slightly more than 2 inches. Bone-dry conditions also have left Arizona forests and other public lands vulnerable to wildfires. Blazes have blackened about 88,000 acres in Arizona already this season.