Much of the state of Georgia is in a state of drought, and southeast Georgia has not escaped the rough conditions.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire county is in the “exceptional drought” category — the worst classification.
Austin Bagby, Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for the University of Georgia Waycross extension, offered more insight on the matter.
“The area has been in a drought cycle that’s been building since mid-to-late 2025,” Bagby said, “and it’s still ongoing with extreme drought conditions in 2026.”
The recent dry conditions combined with low humidity and gusting winds Monday, April 20, prompted the National Weather Service to issue a “Red Flag Warning” for wildfire risks in southeast Georgia including all of Ware, Pierce and Brantley counties from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. Monday.
And there’s little help expected to ease conditions from the NWS advance forecast. There only are two days among the next nine with a better than 40 percent chanceofrain— April29(42)andMay 1 (51).
According to Bagby, from January 1 through April 2 this year, Ware County had only received 5.16 inches of rain, compared to 8.86 inches during that time last year, per the UGA weather station.
These dry conditions have been heavily influenced by the current El Niño/La Niña weather pattern. La Niña typically causes drought conditions in the southeastern U.S., though it is forecast to be replaced by El Niño conditions in the coming months.
“Hopefully when the El Niño comes around we will start to see wetter periods and drought conditions start to decrease,” Bagby said.
A prolonged drought could result in delayed planting, poor germination and weak early crop growth, along with incurring more irrigation costs.
When asked about ways for farmers to reduce negative impacts on their crops, Bagby suggested good irrigation strategies, along with planting drought-resistant varieties.
“Timing planting before rain could help to be an advantage,” he added.
T.J. Moore of Moore Farms provided a firsthand account of the current conditions.
“We’ve used a lot more water and resources than we normally have to use,” Moore said. “With this also comes more labor and income costs.”
The last major drought Moore recalled dealing with was in 2007.
Moore was blunt when asked about measures farmers can take.
“Without the property well or water sources, there aren’t any measures,” Moore stated. “Georgia farmers have been dealt a rough hand over the past several years. We’re due a good profitable year before farmers are unable to do it any more.”
