LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) – Drought conditions are worsening across northern Mississippi, and farmers are among those most affected.

Parts of Lafayette County have received a tenth of an inch of rain over the last 30 days.

Much of the area has significantly worsened over the last month.

According to the latest drought monitor, most of Yalobusha, Grenada, and Montgomery counties are under a severe drought or a moderate drought.

The drought monitor will update Thursday morning and is expected to worsen for those counties and the area.

In Lafayette County, it has rained on four out of the last 30 days. Those days totaled 0.13 inches of rain.

On average, the area should have nearly four inches of rain during that stretch.

The City of Oxford asked residents Wednesday morning to limit their water usage due to the drought and heat.

The city wants residents to reduce their watering usage by 50 percent and to water plants and lawns between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m.

High heat and low rainfall have put many farmers in west Mississippi in a difficult situation. The owners at Fudgetown Farms, just outside of Oxford, conserve water as best they can with their irrigation, but the bills pile up when rainfall slows down.

“My watering bill is four times as much. I have an app hooked up to my timers to tell me how much it’s costing me,” said James Bowker of Fudgetown Farms. ”If we start getting rain events, I don’t have to use this water. And it’s in general good for big patches and big plantings in or plantings for us so.”

Bowker is also dealing with the heat himself as well as on the farm.

Oxford has had four 100-plus degree days since Aug. 1, with just five days of average or below-average temperatures.

Bowker said many of the flowers grown on the farm don’t do well when temperatures rise above 95 degrees. Water is critical during this time to help keep those plants cool and alive.

By the end of the month, temperatures are expected to go from the low 90s to the mid and upper 80s.