CHESTER COUNTY, SC (WBTV) –
Many counties in South Carolina are now designated as natural disaster areas because of the drought, and farmers are feeling the effects.

Ronnie Stephenson of Stephenson Dairy Farms in Chester County estimated the dry conditions will cost him around $200,000 this year. Lunch for Stephenson’s dairy and beef cattle usually comes from the sorghum he grows on his 600 acres.

This year, there production is down, and the price of the cows’ food is going up.

“We normally get about 15 tons to the acre and after looking at this, now I’m not sure we’re going to get 6 tons,” Stephenson said.

This week the USDA declared York, Lancaster, and Chester Counties among those disaster areas because of the drought. As bad as Stephenson’s had it, he knows others are in much worse shape.

Take your cotton farmers, soybean farmers, if their crop is damaged this bad it’s going to be tremendously a set back for them,” Stephenson said. 

Conditions are so dry, Stephenson isn’t even sure the cows will eat the silage he’s growing.

“I don’t know quality wise what we’re going to have until we get it in the silo and get it tested. All the leaves are dry at the bottom,” Stephenson said.

It’s one of the worst years in Stephenson’s memory, and he’s been doing this for decades.

“It’s a challenge,” he said.

Consumers may pay more for some farmers’ crops at the grocery store because of the increased costs that come from the drought.

When it comes to the milk from Stephenson’s dairy operations, he says he’ll have to eat the loss rather than the consumer.

“On the dairy end I don’t think it will impact the consumer at all, because right now we’ve got an oversupply of milk,” Stephenson said.

Thirty-five of South Carolina’s 46 counties have been designated disaster areas. 

Farm operators are eligible for loans with a lower interest rate to compensate for loses that might not be covered by some crop insurance. Loans can be applied for from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.