As drought deepens, no declaration planned in Washington | Grains and row crops | capitalpress.com
The Washington Department of Ecology has no plans to move forward with declaring a drought, as Eastern Washington bakes and wheat farmers harvest smaller crops.
Ecology drought coordinator Jeff Marti acknowledged Friday that dry-land wheat farmers are being "hammered" by the second-driest spring in state history followed by heat waves.
A drought declaration, however, won't bring water to non-irrigated farmland, he said. "I want to make sure that if we do declare drought, it is to accomplish something and be an actual benefit."