Severe Drought Hitting Parts Of The South

(Dow Jones) -- Severe drought is hitting parts of the South, even as North Carolina and Louisiana experienced historic flooding this year. Although the drought has spared some major agricultural sectors, including the area's large poultry industry, it has left livestock and hay producers scrambling. Ranchers raising more than 2.35 million cattle and calves in Alabama and Georgia, out of about 92 milllion nationwide, expect major losses. Hay production, valued in 2015 at about $369 million in those two states, could drop significantly. The drought -- covering parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and the Carolinas in addition to Georgia and Alabama -- has scorched pasture land, hurting cattle herds and farms across the region. As of Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared 84 counties in Georgia, 41 in Alabama, 25 in Mississippi and 20 in Tennessee disaster areas due to drought.