By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With the State Fair of West Virginia kicking off today, Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt is preparing to welcome the public and vendors, but he is also working with state and federal officials to support farmers suffering through the worst drought in decades.
Leonhardt, who is running for a third four-year term as commissioner of agriculture, requested that Gov. Jim Justice declare a state of emergency for all 55 counties due to drought conditions across the state, which he did by proclamation on July 26.
While the entire state is affected by the drought, much of the central part of West Virginia is in the D2 severe drought category as of Aug. 1 according to the U.S. Drought Monitor published by the National Drought Mitigation Center, while the entire Eastern Panhandle is parts of the Potomac Highlands are in D3, extreme drought.Leonhardt, speaking by phone on his way to the fairgrounds in Fairlea, said the last time a drought was this bad in the state was 1999, while some counties are seeing their worst drought in more than a century.
“A week or so ago when I requested the state of emergency from the governor, I was told that the drought in Jefferson County was the second worst in 130 years,” Leonhardt said.
All farmers are feeling the effects of the drought due to the lack of rain in West Virginia this summer, Leonhardt said, but livestock farmers are being hardest hit due to the demand for hay and feed for animals.
