Farmers in Arizona eligible for drought help

May 07, 2015

Loans are being made available by the USDA

Farmers and ranchers in Arizona have been battling some form of drought for about 20 years and even though some heavy rains have hit the state, it’s not enough to completely recover the losses.

The United States Department of Agriculture realizes this and is coming to their aid with special loans aimed at easing the process of dealing with the financial impacts of drought.

Drought

“Water is the greatest natural resource for life,” said Mark Killian, Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture. “Not only for each of us in our daily lives, but also as the key to putting food on our tables.”

Farmers should apply for the loans within eight months of a natural disaster declaration - earlier in May, the USDA declared a natural disaster for all 15 counties in the state.

According to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, as of May 5^th, most of the state falls under the D1 Moderate Drought status, with some pockets of severe drought.

Arizona’s best producing agricultural commodities are lettuce, cotton and hay.

Many states in America continue to battle drought with California possibly seeing the worst of it.

The United States Drought Monitor shows that a large portion of California is experiencing exceptional drought and about 92% of the entire state in some form of drought.

It’s been so dry that Governor Jerry Brown suggested fining people who waste water up to $10,000.

Join the conversation and tell us if you’re affected by the drought. Would you consider applying for any assistance?

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.