Oconee now a drought-free county

Along with neighboring Pickens and Anderson, Oconee is now a drought-free county.  The state’s Drought Response Committee credits 4 to 8 inches’ rain over the past three weeks to downgrade the drought status of the tri-counties. Of South Carolina’s 46 counties, 29 are now considered drought-free.  Drought this year has mainly affected agriculture — especially the pollination of early corn planting and grazing conditions for livestock in the Upstate.