Despite recent rain, many Oklahoma farmers still need more

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Rain fell on most of the state Wednesday and more was expected today, but a few Oklahoma counties are still parched. <br><br>Southwestern Oklahoma counties still need a lot of rain,

Thursday, March 23rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Rain fell on most of the state Wednesday and more was expected today, but a few Oklahoma counties are still parched.

Southwestern Oklahoma counties still need a lot of rain, said Paul Jackson, a member of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. Jackson has traveled the state and has seen what kind of conditions Oklahoma farmers are facing this spring.

Other areas of the state are in need of a good soaking, according to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.

In its latest report, the board says east-central, southeastern and south-central Oklahoma are below normal rainfall levels for the year.

At least five regions in Oklahoma reported a drop in rainfall for the 2000 calendar year.

Brian Vance, board hydrologist, said the levels for those regions are 72, 73 and 74 percent of normal, respectively.

The entire state of Oklahoma is not in a severe drought, he said, but some counties are just drier than others.

Tillman County is one of those counties, said Fred Wyatt, a rancher from Hollister. He hasn't seen a decent rainfall since last fall, he said.

"If you've received the recent rainfall, you're doing good," Wyatt said.

Although he has installed 21 miles of water lines on his land, he is still seeing dry spots in his wheat fields. Wyatt estimated that some of his wheat fields will yield 25 to 50 percent less than previous years' crops.

Other farmers are more fortunate and won't be affected as much, if at all, by the dry weather, said Jack Carson, spokesman for the state Agriculture Department. The recent rain came just in time fo rthese farmers, he said.

"It's just a real Godsend for our farmers and ranchers," Carson said. "These early rains are extremely important for agricultural development. There's really not an aspect of agriculture it didn't affect."

It is still too early to predict if the crop yields will be affected by the dry weather, said Agriculture Department deputy state statistician Glenda Shepler. "This rain is really helping the wheat," she said. "It doesn't take a whole lot for it to take off."

The dry weather also is causing a problem for the state Forestry Department, Carson said. Firefighters are taking a break during this wet weather to catch up on equipment maintenance, he said.

The U.S. Forestry Department is predicting one of the most active spring fire seasons on record for the southern part of the nation.

The Oklahoma Forestry Department reported a 10-year average of 1,934 wildfires burning 57,359 acres. In 1999, there were 2,170 wildfires that burned 51,573 acres.

The dry winter weather can be traced to La Nina, the winter version of El Nino.

La Nina has meant less rain for Oklahoma this winter, Vance said.

Many forecasters are predicting La Nina to last well into the summer months, meaning more dry weather for Oklahoma, he said.