Roy Klopfenstein (left) and Agriculture Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service (FFAS) Michael Scuse (right) look at Klopfenstein’s alfalfa field to see how the drought has impacted his crop in Paulding County, Ohio. USDA photo by Christina Reed.
The 2012 drought dried up more than just crops. For many U.S. farmers, it also dried up savings, material resources, and perhaps saddest of all, hope.
“The drought of course impacted our crop yields tremendously,” said veteran Ohio dairy farmer Leon Weaver. “Corn yields were about 50 percent of normal. Dairymen are exiting this business in droves.”
But for Weaver and nearly one hundred other Ohio, Michigan and Indiana farmers who gathered recently in rural Henry County, Ohio, hope was a commodity worth trading as they shared, in roundtable fashion, their ideas on how to access resources and rise from the dust. Read more (USDA blog).
