Peach County , Georgia ( CNN ) -- The strange , twisted metal Erector Set-looking apparatus is known in farming circles as a pivot . It might also be called a life-saver or , at the very least , a farm-saver . Because if you 're a farmer and you have a pivot -- a farming word for irrigation system -- then you 're probably not feeling the effects of the drought that is now plaguing more than 60 % of the U.S. `` We 've put in a lot of pivots in the last five years for people that never did have it before , '' said Elton Sharp of Sharp Irrigation Systems in Georgia . `` It hurts us to see their crops burning up because we know that they 're losing money . '' Sharp says his irrigation business has doubled in the past two years . The summer is supposed to be his slower season , but not recently . Typically , he says , the summer season is busy with repairs , but the past couple of years , his company is doing more installations in places like a soybean field in Marshallville , Georgia . His business is booming . `` We 're not normally still behind putting up pivots . We 're still putting them in for this year 's crop , '' he said . No drought aid for farmers as Congress breaks for summer . More than half of all U.S. counties have been designated disaster zones , the Department of Agriculture reported , blaming excessive heat and a devastating drought that 's spread across the Corn Belt and contributed to rising food prices . According to the agency , only 27 % of U.S. farmland has irrigation systems . They 're expensive , running well over $ 100,000 , depending on the size of the field that needs watering . But it appears to be a necessary investment for farmers struggling to deal with harsh heat and little rain . Betting on the gift of rain from Mother Nature is a lot like rolling the dice . `` Once a crop is growing , during each week , it has specific water requirements , '' said Jim Reid of Reid Brothers Irrigation . `` If those water requirements are not met that week , then the yield is diminished . '' Little hope for worsening drought in U.S. Plains . Reid 's crews are working six days a week , almost 12 hours a day , to install and repair watering systems for farmers . On this day , he and his crew are working on a cotton field , connecting a new well to irrigation pivots on the other end of a cotton field . The farm 's surface water is drying up , so Ron Everidge needed a well drilled to help guarantee a return for his money on his cotton . `` It 's a debt to me , but it 's a benefit to me to have a commodity to sell , '' he said . `` This is my insurance . '' Nearby , at Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley , peaches are nearing the end of their harvest -- and what growers say has been a great year . They 're getting paid almost 50 % more for their fruit this year . `` These peaches are really full of sugar 'cause of the lack of rain , the lack of water , '' orchard owner Duke Lane said . `` You can taste the difference . '' But even these peaches could n't count on rain . Lane 's orchard has irrigation on about 70 % of its land . `` Everybody is realizing that water enables us to have a better number at the end of the season , '' Lane said . The drought , they say , has resulted in a smaller , sweeter peach that will allow Georgia to live up to its nickname as the Peach State . Too much water and rain can hurt the fruit , because it promotes rot . This year , there was little worry about that . Complete coverage : U.S. drought .
Nearly all of the continental US is experiencing severe drought . More than half of the counties are designated disaster zones . Irrigation projects are benefiting from the extreme drought . Bill Reid : ` ` It 's a debt to me , but it 's a credit to me to have a farm to sell ''