Around the county

I know we were all hoping for rain on Sunday, Aug. 13. I have heard reports of 0.35 inches of rain all the way up to 5.9 inches of rain. I have two drought monitoring locations where the crops are looking pretty rough, and unfortunately those fields and pastures received very little rain. North Dakota State University Extension released a new publication by Miranda Meehan, NDSU Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist, titled "Reporting Drought Impacts in North Dakota with Condition Monitoring Observer Reports," which I have used as the source for this article.

The Aug. 8 report moved Eddy County from Abnormally Dry to Moderate Drought. I would like to encourage anyone that has been affected by this year's lack of rainfall to visit https://go.unl.edu/cmor_drought to make a report.

Why should you

monitor drought?

Your reports provide an understanding of local drought impacts that may not be apparent in broader- scale climate datasets. The reports are used in the formation of the U.S. Drought Monitor map. At the federal level the Drought Monitor triggers drought assistance, including the Livestock Forage Disaster Program and Internal Revenue Service tax provisions. State agencies use the information in the reports to direct drought response efforts.

What happens to

your reports?

Your report will be displayed on a map of Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) (https://go.unl.edu/cmor_drought). You will be asked to provide your contact information; however, this will not be displayed publicly without your permission. The reports will be archived to help better understand drought and improve drought forecasting.

How often should

you report?

We recommend submitting a report once a week throughout the growing season to provide an ongoing comparison of wet, dry and normal conditionås at your location.

Submitting a CMOR report

For step-by-step instructions on how to submit a report, visit ndsu.ag/report-drought.