Meteorologist on China's drought
Farm and Ranch February 15, 2011 China has been getting more mention as of late in market commentary due to drought conditions in its winter wheat region. The drought has been described as the worst in decades. USDA meteorologist Brian Morris helps put this drought in perspective. First, China’s wheat crop is dormant right now. Morris: “Overall impact at this point is not that significant. The impact will be more when the crop starts to green up.” Morris also reminds us that most winter wheat in China is irrigated. Morris: “And they had ample irrigation supplies going into the season based on summer rainfall. They also had well above normal rainfall in the early part of the autumn. That rainfall actually had a coincidental effect on cotton over there where there was an actual reduction in cotton due to the heavy rainfall in early autumn but that rainfall also helped in the establishment of winter wheat.” Finally, Morris says it is not unusual for China to be dry this time of year. Morris: “This time of year they really get very little precipitation. In fact when they talk about a drought over there, despite the fact it is what they refer to as the worst in 50 years, you are really only talking about a couple of inches below normal since October 1st.” The Chinese government is taking this drought seriously. The Associated Press reports the government plans to drill over 13-hundred wells in eight northeastern provinces to help alleviate the drought's impact. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
