By Sharah Truett
Howdy farmers! Last year, we had a doozy of a drought. It got so bad that the Department of Ecology issued a Drought Emergency for the Sequim-Dungeness River Watershed. By the end of April 2025, the snowpack of the Dungeness-Elwha watershed was only 55% of normal. Farmers experienced a very dry and warm spring and early summer, as well as an extremely dry June with only 18% of precipitation recorded at the Elwha Ranger Station. If you are a farmer with questions about how to get through future droughts, give the WSU Extension Office a call. We are happy to help.
Here’s a little information about how to prepare for dry times and how to recognize drought stress in your crops. Here goes:
In the spring, carefully monitor soil moisture and make sure to irrigate enough to bring the soil to capacity. Once the dry season begins, be looking for signs of moisture stress. If you see moisture stress in part of your field, make sure to apply irrigation to the whole field, otherwise it may be too late by the time you see widespread symptoms. Here is a chart showing how different crops show moisture stress as well as the most critical moisture times for each crop.
| Crop | Moisture Stress Symptoms | Critical Growth Period |
| Beans | Wilting | Bloom and fruit set |
| Sweet Corn | Dull green color, curling, rolling of leaves | Tasseling, silking, ear-filling stage to harvest |
| Tree Fruits | Dull leaf color, leaf rolling without recovery by evening | Full bloom to 4 weeks after bloom, fruit set, last 2 weeks to 30 days prior to harvest |
| Tomatoes | Grayish green color, droopy, wilting, leaf rolling | After fruit set |
| Onions | Dull color, wilting | Bulb formation |
| Small Grains | Dull green, curled leaves, firing of lower leaves | Boot through soft dough |
| Potatoes | Dark green colored leaves, wilting during the heat of the day | Tuber formation and growth |
| Grass Hay and Pasture | Dull grayish, green color | Early spring through first harvest |
To get more detailed information from WSU, check out the WSU publication “Visual Crop Moisture Stress Symptoms.”