On Tuesday, March 26, the Emergency Drought Commission met at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Food Forestry to discuss the progress of drought relief projects across the state funded by the legislature and plans for the fiscal year of 2024. Following the meeting, Associate Farm Editor caught up with Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur and talked about the highlights from the meeting.
The meeting began with remarks from Oklahoma State Forester Mark Goeller, who gave an update on fire statistics in the state. For the past few years, Goeller said Oklahoma has been a top-ten state in the U.S. for the number of wildfires, and the dry conditions haven’t helped. Goeller expressed the forestry department’s need for wildfire response funding, explaining that local fire departments are great for initial attack response. Still, the forestry department is essential in the extended attack, as some fires last for days.
Regarding projects funded through the Oklahoma Emergency Drought Commission, Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s Trey Lam gave the numbers for practices installed across the state, and the budget. With the funds allocated for drought relief, Lam said 5,694 practices have been installed so far, including projects such as water wells, pond cleanouts, cover crops, forest establishment, and more.
Six conservation districts have finished implementation of practices, and there are now 1,993 remaining projects to be completed. Of those remaining projects, Lam said 658 are pond cleanouts and 494 are water wells.
Due to the extreme wait times for contractors, many producers are edging closer to the June 30th deadline set earlier by the commission. At the meeting, it was decided that producers implementing a pipeline, pumping plant, watering facility or water wells will now have that deadline extended until December 31, 2024. All other projects, such as pond cleanouts, will still be held to the June 30th deadline.
If producers cannot complete their projects and submit receipts by the June 30th deadline, they will not be eligible for reimbursement but will be at the top of the list for the next round of funding for the 2024 fiscal year, which is an approved 23 million dollars.
Looking ahead, Secretary Arthur said a more regionalized approach may be needed, as not all parts of the state are experiencing drought at the same time.
“You may have received moisture in the eastern side of Oklahoma, but if northwestern hasn’t, are there ways we can move those dollars out there,” Arthur said.
The meeting closed out with a presentation from State Climatologist Gary McManus. While he said the state is in great condition now, McManus said drought concerns for the spring and summer of 2024 are elevated due to the return of La Nina.
McManus said factors point to drier than normal conditions ahead, although the strength of La Nina is yet to be known.
According to Secretary Arthur, the Oklahoma Emergency Drought Commission’s next meeting will most likely be in July. See the Emergency Drought Cost Share Summary from March 26, 2024 below:
