Abnormally dry conditions this spring across a wide swath of the country, with more than 60 percent of the continental U.S. in some stage of drought, are posing growing threats to agriculture and food prices, according to a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Dr. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director with the UCS Climate & Energy program, writes in a blog post that “climate change is fundamentally altering conditions for U.S. agriculture, creating unprecedented risks and uncertainties for livelihoods of farmers and ranchers.”
“If drought conditions continue to persist, they could reduce crop yields and force ranchers to cull more of their cattle. That will put livelihoods at risk this year and beyond, especially for small and midsize farmers and ranchers who are already struggling,” writes Cleetus. “Lower agricultural output will have a knock-on effect on food prices—which have already been adversely affected by tariffs and the impacts of the war against Iran.”
Cleetus emphasizes these major findings about the record drought from the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA’s Palmer Drought Severity Index:
- Nearly all (99 percent) of the Southeast is in drought, with nearly 62 percent in severe to exceptional drought.
- Drought conditions in Florida are especially dire with nearly 82 percent of the state in extreme or exceptional drought, taking a severe toll on groundwater supplies, vital for drinking water and farming.
- With so little precipitation in the central and southern High Plains, the drought is already posing risks to major agricultural crops as the spring planting season is already underway.
- In the western US, nearly 60 percent of Colorado and Utah are in extreme or exceptional drought, worsening a multi-decade challenge of managing water in the Colorado River basin.
- Snowpack is exceptionally low in the Sierra Nevada, a snow drought that is a major threat to future water supplies for millions of Californians.