SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon has signed an executive order authorizing a program that will provide $2 million of unallocated State Soil and Water District Commission funds to make sure farmers have the water wells they need.
The executive order comes as many farmers say they are having trouble finding water for their livestock.
At the Francka dairy farm in Polk County, the crops have stopped growing, and the feeding bill is mounting higher every day.
"This year, instead of making hay, putting up hay; we've been feeding hay, feeding a lot of hay right now, kinda like it was the middle of January," David Francka explained.
The lack of rain has not only dried up the crops, but also the ponds.
One pond has been completely dry for two or three weeks, and some cracks in the pond's bed are nearing a foot deep. Now, they're hauling water constantly every day.
We start hauling about five in the morning and get done about 8:00 at night," Francka said.
It's a similar story throughout Missouri, with ponds, springs, and even wells going dry.
Governor Nixon announced an emergency program that will pay 90 percent of the cost to drill or deepen a farmer's well.
"We're not trying to build a whole new water district here," Nixon said. "We're not trying to build a brand new lake. We're trying to solve immediate short term problems."
The Franckas will be checking into the possibility of another well, and in the meantime, they're running misters to keep the cows cool and hauling from five to eight-thousand gallons of drinking water a day.
"We're just trying to keep our milk cows watered, to where they'll keep producing," Francka said.
But right now, the milk price isn't keeping up with the more than $1,000 per day price for hay.
"We need the good Lord to send us some rain and some cooler temperatures- maybe 80s," Francka said. "Eighties would be great."
