Drought Ravages Farms Across Wide Swath Of Mexico

http://www.wbur.org/npr/146483996/drought-ravages-farms-across-wide-swath-of-mexico

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A vulture picks at a dead steer. Ranchers say many cattle have died because of the drought that has ravaged much of Mexico. (Jason Beaubien / NPR)

In the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, 76-year-old Genaro Rodarte Huizar rides his donkey along a dry riverbed. On his left is a dried out pasture; on his right is what used to be a cornfield; now it's just long furrows of gray, dusty dirt.

Rodarte says that for the past two years, the crops that he's planted here have failed. Normally, he plants beans and corn to feed his family, and oats to sell. He says he hasn't harvested anything because the land is too dry and there's no water.

This is an arid part of Mexico, but normally there's a rainy season between June and September, allowing farmers to grow crops during the summer. They also tend cattle on the scrubby rolling hills dotted with cactuses.

Rodarte has lived here all his life and says this is the worst drought he's ever seen.