The devastating drought of 2002

Every day ... in more dismal and devastating ways ... we are feeling the depth of the Drought of Twenty-O-Two.

It's depressing to see. Pastures burnt to brownness ... dryland cornfields shriveled to shreds ... and long lines of trucks carrying cattle to the sale barn.

We watched on television as massive sections of Colorado and Arizona were burned to a crisp by massive forest fires. We've had fires here, too, but the long-time, lingering effects of the drought are proving just as severe and perhaps more damaging.

Because -- in order for the pasture and cropland to recover -- we must have steady, soaking rains and an abundance of snow on the arid plains.

That could take months ... or years.

Meanwhile, what are the farmers and ranchers of the Golden Plains going to do?

Finally, a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is coming to Nebraska to help in the search for a answer.

Ben Nelson, a native of McCook and a first-term member of the Senate, will be in Grand Island today to take testimony at a Senate Ag Committee Field Hearing. Among those he will hear is Dale Dueland, a McCook area farmer who will give an eye-witness account of the drought's devastation.

Then, on Thursday, Sen. Nelson will be in Southwest Nebraska for a two-to-three hour tour of the drought-stricken countryside.

Going in, we know that Sen. Nelson believes federal drought assistance should be an additional expenditure, not a reduction from the farm bill.

That is as it should be. The Drought of Twenty-O-Two is a disaster, not unlike a flood or hurricane or fire in its devastation.

People's livelihoods are being destroyed. Federal aid is not only needed, it is justified by the immense proportion of the problem.

We're glad Sen. Nelson came home to see how bad the drought is. We hope he is successful in carrying our message back to Washington.

To see some of the sites that will greet Sen. Nelson during his drought tour this Thursday, take time to look at Gloria Masoner's Focus page titled "The Burning Plains" on page 13 of today's edition.