Residents throughout Austin County shouldn’t be fooled by the rain that has finally begun to fall this week, as the area is still in a drought.

According to USGA.gov, “Rainfall in any form will provide some drought relief. A good analogy might be how medicine and illness relate to each other. A single dose of medicine can alleviate symptoms of illness, but it usually takes a sustained program of medication to cure an illness. Likewise, a single rainstorm will not break the drought, but it might provide temporary relief.”

“A light to moderate shower will probably only provide cosmetic relief; its impact is short term. Thunderstorms often produce large amounts of precipitation in a very short time, so most of the rain will run off into drainage channels and streams rather than soak into the ground,” the website says, adding, “Soaking rains are the best medicine to alleviate drought. Water that enters the soil recharges groundwater, which in turn sustains vegetation and feeds streams during periods of no rain. A single soaking rain will provide lasting relief from drought conditions, but multiple such rains over several months might be required to break a drought and return conditions to within the normal range.”

So, the current burn bans in effect will not be lifted for the 4th of July.

Actually, the drought conditions in Austin County have been so bad that emergency loans are currently available for farmers in this county and bordering counties.

A press release notification sent out last week from the United States Department of Agriculture says Austin County has been declared a natural disaster area and this declaration, “Allows the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or the refinance of certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, (Austin, Colorado, Harris, and Lavaca) counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1. D2, Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive weeks or 2. D3, Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.”

The deadline for applications for the emergency loans is Jan. 31, 2023, and the bordering counties are also eligible to apply. More information on these loans is available on www.farmers.gov. The Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Farm Loan Discovery Tool can help determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs local famers can also contact the local USDA Service Center in Bellville.

Watch for more updates on drought conditions and their impact on www.SealyNews.com and in future editions of The Sealy News.