JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Farmers across Mississippi are in a drought, and customers could soon feel the impact.

Due to the lack of rain this summer, farmers have been dealing with the severe drought.

Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said crops are not the only thing that has been affected.

“Not only crops are being affected, row crops like cotton and corn and soybeans, sweet potatoes and all the all the great crops that are grown, but also our livestock producers, cattlemen that have herds of cattle, the grass has dried up. And so now, there’s a potential shortage of hay for the winter season. So, it’s affecting all the farmers in Mississippi,” Gipson explained.

He said nearly every crop south of Interstate 20 is going to die as a result of the drought, adding that farmers with livestock may have to turn to selling their animals.

“A bad thing about it is we finally, after years and years of low cattle prices, the price has finally gotten better. But now, folks get to sell what they got,” said Ted Kendall, president and manager at Gaddis Farms.

Gipson said when the drought map is updated next week, he expected the south half of the state will begin to experience an extreme drought.

“How are we able to get our hay if the grass isn’t even able to grow? So you know, it’s even harder to get hay now just because a lot of the hay farmers aren’t able to get their cut, and if they can’t get their cut, we won’t be able to get hay,” said Roosevelt Hawkins, a rancher from Bolton.

“All of our food, all of our fiber, all of our shelter depends on farmers getting up and going back to work. So, I know our farmers will do it, and we’ll deal with this. We will persevere through this,” said Gipson.

He encouraged farmers to take advantage of the disaster relief if or when it is issued.