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mg 12,000 acres to fires last fall. And the lower water levels also mean dwindling fish stocks and increased bacterial pollutions from less oxygen in Virginia’s streams and rivers.
Ironically, this year started out to be a promising one for agriculture. After the slump of the last several years, prices were climbing, exports overseas were increasing and farm values were bouncing back to reasonable economic levels. Farmers looked forward to a robust and prosperous year.
Unfortunately, this drought could get worse before conditions get better. Fairly reliable longrange weather forecasts for the coming month indicate little likelihood of substantial rain in the areas most affected by drought to alleviate this driest spell in 50 years.
In the short term the effects on food prices for consumers will be mixed. The prices of items made directly from grain, such as bread, beer, and breakfast cereals, are already beginning to climb. Simultaneously, meat prices should decline as livestock owners are form! to slaughter cattle they can no longer feed. While less than a tenth of our Gross National Product (GNP) comes from agriculture, the drought’s effect on food prices and economic growth could add one-half percent to inflation, while reducing economic growth a half percent.
In Washington a Congressional task force is working with the administration to provide federal assistance to drought-stricken areas. This ef
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