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By SEN. JOHN WARNER
Bippahaimock Nfwi Contributing Writer
As the nation’s farmers brace themselves for What appears to be one of the worst droughts in recent memory, Virginia’s fanners are likewise preparing themselves for another dry growing season.
Virginia is no stranger to drought. Both 1986' and 1987 were drought years in the Commonwealth, the effects of which are still being felt. .This year’s drought, while not as bad as in the parched Mid-West, comes early in the season and compounds the effects of previous droughts. So far, the southwestern comer of Virginia is bearing the brunt of the dry conditions.
Virginia livestock owners, in particular, are being hit doubly hard. As grazing land dries up -and hay becomes scarce, the price of commerI cially-purchased feed rises, and the price of cattle ' declines due to higher sales of livestock that can no longer be fed. * It is still too soon to predict the fate of other Virginia crops such as com, tobacco and peanuts. Some rain in early July could turn things around and produce a healthy crop. Long-range weather forecasts for most of the state suggest that 1988 could be a year of relatively normal rainfall. That -prospect has comforted some Southside farmers -to the extent that they have recently donated hay to drought-stricken farmers in Ohio to repay them for their generosity in donating foodstuffs •Over the last two years to Virginia.
The impact of a drought extends far beyond our farmlands. Virginians remember too well los
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