Drought Monitor data at spring planting: Looking ominous.

[NNadir]

http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

Northern Illinois was severely affected last year.

There is no telling what the weather might bring this year. In 2003, drought in the Ukraine, one of the world's more productive agricultural regions reduced the crops to 25% of what they otherwise would have been. In fact 2003 brought worldwide decline in the world grain harvest, mostly the result of poor European results. We know, of course, that Portugal and Spain are undergoing rapid desertification.

http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update27.htm

We are experiencing some dryness here in New Jersey but we're not in Portugal yet.

[Gman]

1. And there we are in South Texas

With the D4 rating. We got 1.5 - 2.0 inches of rain here in San Antonio last Sunday/Monday morning. First decent rain since October.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Texas looks like it's gonna have a bumper crop of cactus this year.

[pecwae]

3. Still on mandatory water restrictions

here in Raleigh, NC. I invested in a rain barrel system.

[Boomer]

4. We have two rain barrels already

And just this morning were discussing whether we should buy or make some additional ones to get us through the summer. Problem is, if the temperatures get high enough it doesn't matter how much water you pour on plants, they die anyway.