Nancy Boyda: “Tonight Americans across the Southeast are praying for rain. As drought conditions have stretched from weeks into…”

“Tonight Americans across the Southeast are praying for rain. As drought conditions have stretched from weeks into months, residents face a stark reminder of how one of our most precious resources, water, can also be one of our most unpredictable. The lessons of natural disaster all too familiar to the good folks back home in Kansas. In the past year, nearly every county in Kansas has suffered from disastrous conditions. The weather has been hard on many of us, but especially on our farmers and ranchers, who depend on nature to earn their living. It's hard to find words to express their concern, their worry. Many have worked the same acreage for decades, and they've always trusted that if they treat their land right, if they plow its soil and they plant it carefully and tend it for many months, it will reward them with a crop that will earn their living. But in so many counties, disaster conditions have slashed crop yields. Ranchers face their own problems as animal feed prices soar. Kansas farmers and ranchers are good hardworking people, but lately they've found that the land and the weather are betraying them. That's why it's so important that earlier this year Congress passed a critical agricultural disaster relief package. These funds helped Kansans continue to farm and ranch in spite of the ever-present threats of drought, fire and other catastrophes.”