In 2007 East Tennessee reached a level of record drought, severally affecting most of the state and its residents. With over ten years of insignificant rainfall, East Tennessee businesses are beginning to feel the affects of the dramatic weather conditions.
"The drought has lasted for a little over two years now but it wasn't until the early months of 2008 that we began to see significant damage in our industry," said Steve K. Buffaloe of Woodstream. Woodstream headquarters, located in Lititz, Pennsylvania, sells a wide variety of lawn and garden items. The company is separated into four separate divisions. The fourth and largest division, agricultural fencing, both perimeter and electric, seems to be the area of the industry that is currently hurting the most according to Buffaloe.
The long-term effects of the drought have affected the agricultural industry in a number of ways, but the major concern brought on by this alarming situation lies in the rapidly growing operations costs for livestock. A recent lack in natural feed due to the drought in turn produces considerable increase in production cost.
"Our clients simply can't keep up with the market's current production costs," Buffaloe said. " Our clients are finding themselves forced to sell their stock and go out of business, placing a significant dent within our market in the last few months and causing a trend of failing sales."
Overall the drought has hurt the agricultural industry and companies like Woodstream by generating roughly a 20% downtown. According to the U.S. drought monitor , East Tennessee continued to experience extreme drought conditions for the early months of January and February.
The drought monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions and in chart released on February 7, 2008 East Tennessee was predicted to see improvements in the conditions.
For more information regarding drought predictions, trends and a photo gallery The official website of the
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