AMNA NAWAZ: More than half of the continental# U.S.

is facing drought.

Meanwhile, in just the## South this year, tens of millions of# people have been under flood watches.## These extreme weather conditions can have# major impacts on farmers and their crops,## at a time when they're already# facing high production costs.

Paul Solman recently traveled to# southern Georgia to hear from some## of those farmers.

It's part of our# continuing series Tipping Point.

PAUL SOLMAN: In Southeast Georgia, the# Berry family farming for generations,## their grandpa a sharecropper,# but, this spring, drought.

But your dad said you have never# seen a drought like this before.

CEDRIC BERRY, Farmer, Ludowici, Georgia: Right.

PAUL SOLMAN: Hav.. CEDRIC BERRY: No, not in my life.. I haven't.

Never heard of stories# of a drought this bad either.

TONY BERRY, Farmer, Ludowici, Georgia: If we were# to plant on schedule in the heart of the drought,## we pretty much would have lost all those crops.

PAUL SOLMAN: One hundred and seventy# miles west, the opposite problem at## the 2,400-acre Longleaf Ridge Farm run by# sixth-generation farmer Casey Cox Kerr.

CASEY COX KERR, Longleaf Ridge# Farm: I wanted to come back and## build on the foundation that my parents had built.

PAUL SOLMAN: She too faces drought,# though, her part of Southern Georgia## finally did get rain a few weeks ago.

But# it was a downpour that menaced the crops.

CASEY COX KERR: It's not only does# it drown some of the plants.

It also## creates disease and pest problems.# We're seeing wetter wets and drier## dries.

And that can be a big challenge# with what we're experiencing on the floor.

PAUL SOLMAN: Wetter wets, drier# dries.

You won't be surprised to## hear this has something to do with climate change.

RACHEL CLEETUS, Union of Concerned Scientists:# It's affecting precisely those things that people## defend on for their livelihoods, their food,# their water supplies.

These are essentials.

PAUL SOLMAN: Rachel Cleetus of# the Union of Concerned Scientists.

RACHEL CLEETUS: Climate change is making these# more frequent, both the short-duration kinds of## droughts that we're seeing in some places, but# also the longer megadroughts like the Southwest## is experiencing.

The unpredictability of it, the# extremes, both the droughts and then the whiplash## with extreme rainfall events, that makes it very# difficult to plan for these kinds of conditions.

PAUL SOLMAN: During drought, ag Professor# Wes Porter of the University of Georgia says,## the local soil compounds the problem.

WES PORTER, University of Georgia: If you look in# our region where we're at now in Southern Georgia,## we have a really sandy soil.

So sandy soils can't# hold a whole lot of water.

So what that means,## we actually evaporated out# significantly higher amounts## of water than what we have received# back in.

So we were looking negative.

PAUL SOLMAN: Meanwhile, those# farmers now face punishing costs,## like diesel spurting up almost 50 percent# since the end of February.

And some seven## in 10 farmers say they now can't# afford rising fertilizer costs.

CEDRIC BERRY: I mean, now we would# normally be at market already.

And## we haven't -- haven't been.# Things just aren't ready.

PAUL SOLMAN: Now, both guys work full-time jobs,## Tony at the Port of Savannah.# Cedric's an electrician.

How much time do you get to spend here,# as opposed to on your regular jobs?

TONY BERRY: For me, two to# three days out of a week.

PAUL SOLMAN: And for you?

CEDRIC BERRY: Evenings and weekends.

PAUL SOLMAN: They help finance the farm# with their salaries.

The drought upped## the cost.

The Berrys usually sell# hay, for example, had to hold some## of it back to feed their cattle, their own# pasture parch-dry, $10,500 in lost sales.

TONY BERRY: Fertilizer, fuel, those things like# that, that money would have covered that for sure.

PAUL SOLMAN: Is that $10,500,# that -- is that a substantial hit?

TONY BERRY: Oh, yes, sir.

I mean, if you want to# give me $10,500, then I ask you that question.

PAUL SOLMAN: Tony Berry grew# up a city boy in Savannah,## never dreamed he'd wind up down on# the farm.

But with cousin Cedric: CEDRIC BERRY: We just naturally came# together and it's like, OK, well,## let's follow the family tradition and do this.

PAUL SOLMAN: Back across the state,# tradition brought Casey Cox Kerr back too.

CASEY COX KERR: Like, most things, a# little bit of time and perspective made## me realize how unique this farm is and# how special it is that I get to do this.

PAUL SOLMAN: But with a changing climate,# what hope is there for family farmers?

B.J.

WASHINGTON, CM Stripling Irrigation Research# Park: This technology is very vital to survival.

PAUL SOLMAN: Aha, technology, like precision# irrigation.

At the University of Georgia## Research Park, B.J.

Washington and team# are helping farmers conserve their water.

B.J.

WASHINGTON: You can program how much# water you put out.

You can program where it## needs to start and stop in the field.

You can# speed it up or slow it down within the field## to put out more water or less water.# You can do all that from this panel.

PAUL SOLMAN: Those big circles you see from# your airplane window seat created by center## pivot irrigation rigs like the ones here,# sprinkling water over crops slowly and evenly,## instead of spritzing it all at once.

And# these soil moisture sensors let the ground## itself signal just how much soaking# it needs so farmers don't overwater.

B.J.

WASHINGTON: Given the# drought, it's a huge deal,## because we want to we want to be as# efficient with irrigation as possible.## We don't want to waste water.

We don't# want to irrigate if we don't need to.

CASEY COX KERR: We could not grow what# we grow without irrigation because of## just the frequency of drought.

The new# irrigation systems, new technologies,## we're doing -- we're taking the# steps that we're able to take## to mitigate the risks that we can.

We# have to focus on what we can control.

PAUL SOLMAN: Which made me wonder, why isn't# everyone doing this?

One obvious answer,## it's not cheap.

The irrigation rigs cost at# least $90,000, the sensors up to $2,500 each.

But, says Professor Porter: WES PORTER: It looks like a big cost, but it's# costly for us to misapply our irrigati.. costly for us to lose yields because of that,# right?

And so I have a lot of return on investment## data that show that anywhere from on the low# end $20 to $30 per acre, all the way up to $150,## $200 per acre return for utilizing advanced# irrigation scheduling.

And that's per acre.

PAUL SOLMAN: So maybe data will get the# nation's farmers to change their ways,## and maybe farm tech will stay# ahead of further climate changes.

WES PORTER: Man, we have got this.

We can we# can adapt.

We can change.

We have been doing## it for a long time.

The way we farm today# might look different the way we farm in 100## years.

But I'm hoping that the work we're# doing today is helping build a foundation.

PAUL SOLMAN: And in the long run, Rachel Cleetus# says, there are policy steps worth considering.

RACHEL CLEETUS: And so we should, as a nation,# not leave farmers on their own to deal with this,## whether they can afford it or not.

We have# got to invest.

We have to make sure that## farmers are aware of the options that might# be there and that they get grants or low-cost## loans that they can maybe install some of these# technologies on their farms if they need them.

PAUL SOLMAN: Meanwhile, the Berrys keep# on pushing without pricey technology,## leaning on a tradition older than the farm.

TONY BERRY: We do put faith in our good lord that# he will provide a way, because he has done that## all these years before us, and I'm a strong# believer that he will continue to do that.

CEDRIC BERRY: We're doing the job that's# important, you know, providing the food for## surrounding communities, letting people know where# the food actually comes from.

And we need that.

And I just feel like, if we're# serving that purpose, he will provide.

PAUL SOLMAN: Well, he moves in mysterious ways.

CEDRIC BERRY: Definitely.

PAUL SOLMAN: For the Berrys, though.. mystery or not, wetter wets and drier# dries are an all-too-present reality.

For the "PBS News Hour," Paul Solman.