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CNN Sunday Morning

Georgia Farmers Face Worst Drought in Decades

Aired May 06, 2001 - 07:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Many parts of the U.S. have been experiencing the worst drought in decades. For farmers, that means dry land, fewer crops and a lot less money. The lack of rain and snow even affects our energy supply.

CNN's Jill Brown takes a look at the drought situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNMORE JAMES: If you're going to be a farmer, Grayson (ph), you got to learn all this stuff.

JILL BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the James family. Three generations of farmers here in Macon County, Georgia. In 32 years on this land, Lynmore James has seen some good years and some bad.

JAMES: This has been the worst since I've been farming. We've had droughts during those 32 period, but it has never lasted for three years.

TOMMY IRVIN: Back-to-back-to-back losses in the farm sector put agriculture in stress, not only in Georgia, but also at America. So anything that could happen this year to give us better production will be certainly welcome to farm families.

BROWN: Georgia made up its rainfall deficit in the month of March, but other states have not been so lucky. In Florida, after the driest year ever recorded there, wildfires are raging across the state. Low water tables have led to sink holes, causing homes to give way right under their owner's feet. And alligators in search of nesting sites are looking for water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will walk and they will walk around -- they can walk miles if they need to, across roads, into your backyard.

BROWN: Across the country, the normally wet Pacific Northwest is experiencing the worst drought since 1977. The snowcap in the Cascades is of half normal levels. Hydroelectric plants count on the crucial snow melt during summer months to produce 70 percent of the electricity use here.

The water shortage has put the salmon population in jeopardy, too. To conserve water for hydroelectric power, the Bonneville Power Administration is limiting still water over the dams, just as salmon begin their annual swim to the sea. Low water levels mean many of the salmon will die.

DOUG LECONTE: Whether or not you're talking about wildlife, irrigation for farming, hydroelectric production, I think the bottom line is even though we're getting some relief now, it's a matter of too little and too late. And it looks like drought problems, water problems, will continue right through next winter.

BROWN: In Georgia and Florida, the outlook is more positive.

(on camera): In the Southeast, after three consecutive years of drought, rainfall is two to four feet below normal. Forecasters do not expect that deficit to be erased, but consistent rain through the spring and summer could still allow farmers like Lynmore James a bountiful harvest.

JAMES: You never know when the rains are going to start. So when you're trying to second-guess Mother Nature, you lose every time. So you do what you can and you hope for the best.

BROWN: Sound like the stock market.

JAMES: Worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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