Despite rain, drought's effects linger in Oklahoma

That's according to The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, a nonprofit agricultural institute in Ardmore.

“Some farmers are calling this spring the best they've ever seen,” wrote Adam Calaway, foundation spokesman, in a news release. “Steady rains produced a flush of annual grasses, yielding the most abundant hay crop many can remember.”

Growth has been so good that Chuck Coffey, a senior pasture and range consultant with the foundation, described it as a “Garden of Eden” in Oklahoma.

But, he cautioned, we're not clear of the consequences of last year's punishing drought.

Last summer marked the driest four months in Oklahoma since 1921, Calaway noted. Farmers lost complete crops; the lack of food forced them to reduce their livestock herds. The arid summer had a negative $6 billion impact on Oklahoma and Texas.

There's reason to believe it's not over.