The Herald-News - News Story

    Although the recent rainfall has been a welcome sight for many in Rhea County, the land still has a long way to go before it is quenched from its months-long drought.
    The Tennessee Valley entered the year with a 19-inch rain deficit, and Rhea County remains one of the driest in the area.
    According to TVA rain gauge data, Dayton had received 1.57 inches of rainfall for the month of August as of Monday and roughly 2 to 3 inches Tuesday, but not enough to end the drought, according to Jerry Lamb, UT Extension Agent and Officer Director.
    Dayton received 3.5 inches of rainfall in July and 3.07 inches in June.
    The monthly average rainfall in the Tennessee Valley ranges from 3.0 to 5.5 inches, according to TVA data. Tennessee averages around 51 inches of rain per year, but as it stands now, the state is 9.5 inches short of its average to date. Dayton is at the lower end of this statistic; before this week�s downpour, the town was 11.5 inches below average.
    "Before this rain, you could have stuck your hands in the cracks of the ground," said Lamb. "We could use a lot of rain."
    Lamb estimated that crop yield has been reduced by as much as 50 percent in Rhea County due to the drought.
    He said that hay yield is down even though the spring crop of hay was good. Furthermore, he added, since much of the grass is dried up, farmers are being forced to feed hay to their cows. Normally, hay is reserved for winter feed, but because cattle are eating hay during the summer months, some farmers may have a shortage of hay for the winter. As a result, Lamb said, farmers are reducing the number of cows on their pastures.
    Lamb also said that the high cost of fertilizer is contributing to the poor crop this summer.
    A combination of these factors has led to poor yield in corn and soybeans as well.
    "The earlier corn was not affected as much by the drought as the late corn was," said Lamb.
    Lamb said some soybean crops are nearing 10 inches tall, but others are starting to lose leaves and have empty pods.
    Not all crops are at a disadvantage though. Tomato crops are among the more fortunate this season. Dry weather leads to less plant disease, said Lamb. However, some tomato farmers are running into problems because their ponds are drying up due to the drought.
    According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over 50 percent of the state�s pastures remained in very poor to poor condition. Corn, soybeans and tobacco crops are below normal progress levels in Tennessee as well.
    As of Aug. 22, topsoil moisture levels in Tennessee were rated 40 percent very short, 37 percent short and 23 percent accurate. The data shows that Eastern Tennessee has below-average rainfalls and two to four degrees above-average temperatures.
    "There's supposed to be another hurricane coming from Cuba, so we might get another shot of rain from it," said Lamb. "If [the rain] continues, we could see crops getting drowned out, but right now it is beneficial rain. The ground is soaking it up and it may mean that we will have more hay yield. A lot of it depends on how warm it will be after the rain and if we get an early frost."
    Michelle Friesen can be reached at michelle.friesen@rheaheraldnews.com.