A Withering Midwest Drought

 

Prairie grass like this would normally be green from summer rains.

The Great Midwest Drought of 2005 is pressuring lawn and garden equipment dealers and fruit and vegetable growers to consider rain dances and cloud seeding. Anything to bring desperately needed rain.

?EUR??,,????'??Everything dies when it?EUR??,,????'???s dry?EUR??,,????'??+the grass, mower and lawn tractor sales and, of course, there is hardly any parts-and-service business,?EUR??,,????'?? said Dave Schroeder, who owns Schroeder Implement Inc., Sussex.

Schroeder estimates sales at his 52-year-old lawn equipment business are off 50 percent because of the fourth-driest spring and summer ever recorded in southeastern Wisconsin.

For the fourth consecutive year, spring and summer rainfall in southeastern Wisconsin is below normal. This year?EUR??,,????'???s drought is affecting everyone from lawn and garden equipment dealers to farm implement manufacturers, fruit and vegetable growers, landscapers and dairy farmers.

Long-range computer models at the National Weather Service show there is no relief in sight, Rusty Kapela of the Weather Service said in late summer.

Due to the ongoing drought, Hawk?EUR??,,????'???s Nursery Co., Wauwatosa, hasn?EUR??,,????'???t purchased lawn equipment for use in its landscaping and lawn care business in two years, said Joe Kresl, president and owner.

Schroeder said this is the worst drought since 1988, when dozens of lawn and garden dealers went out of business.

?EUR??,,????'??It could rain for a week and the ground would still be dry,?EUR??,,????'?? he said.

Schroeder is a dealer for Simplicity Manufacturing Inc., Port Washington, a division of Briggs & Stratton Corp., Wauwatosa. Simplicity is working with dealers to offer financing programs to help them sell equipment and lower their inventories, said Troy Blewett, a spokesman for Simplicity.

?EUR??,,????'??In the end this could be a big benefit to consumers,?EUR??,,????'?? said Blewett.

Wisconsin is not the only state in the Midwest suffering from the worst drought in 17 years. In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared all but one county in Illinois disaster areas, allowing farmers to apply for low-interest loans. Drought is also affecting farmers in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and eastern Colorado.

The effects of the 2005 drought could also erode future business for Hawk?EUR??,,????'???s Nursery.

Hawk?EUR??,,????'???s has a one-year warranty on trees, shrubs and other perennials. People who planted in the spring and summer of 2005 and did not adequately care for the plants may demand replacements.

Source: The Business Journal of Milwaukee