Spring Break
Drought affects farms and ranches
Texas is in the middle of a severe drought with crops at or below half yield
By: Julie Rambin
Issue date: 7/1/09 Section: News
Texas is experiencing a drought.
"From 2006 to this point now, there are some places in the state that have not received any significant rainfall," said Larry Redmon, Texas Agrilife Extension Service forage specialist and soil and crop sciences professor.
The drought has done considerable damage to Texas farms and ranches, said Al Nelson, Texas Agrilife Research agricultural research superintendent.
"The pastures and hay meadows are really suffering tremendous losses," Nelson said. "A lot of cattle owners are liquidating their herds because they don't have enough hay or grazing."
Even the agricultural research divisions at Texas A&M University have been affected by the drought, said agronomy professor Tom Cothren.
"We pump water out of the Brazos River into a reservoir and we depend on the water in the reservoir to irrigate the plants. It's hard for us to keep up, even if we're trying to work around the clock with the employees," Cothren said. "There's just too many people asking for availability to the water source and there's not enough."
Many Texas crops have been a total loss, Redmon said.
"If you don't get the moisture to make the crop then you're not able to harvest," he said. "In some cases you don't harvest anything, and in some cases the harvest is so minimal that it's not worth going through the harvest activity."
The most heavily affected crops include cotton and corn, Cothren said.
"Our South Texas people lost crops early in the year. They had cotton acreage they couldn't irrigate, and corn acreage they couldn't irrigate," he said. "The problem being that if you're depending on irrigation water now, you're in trouble."
Even in the Brazos Valley, crop yields are down to approximately half of normal yield, Nelson said.
"We did get some rain earlier in the spring and early crops are OK, but still about half," he said.
The rain in College Station on Tuesday might have brought temperatures down, but the drought is not over, said Texas Agrilife Extension Research spokesman Blair Fannin."Certainly the rain is welcome and it has cooled things down, but it's temporary," Fannin said. "It doesn't do much for crops that have been out there baking in 100-degree heat."
"It's a pretty substantial drought," Nelson said. "On a scale of one to 10 it's probably a nine."
This drought is likely part of a recurring cycle, Redmon said.
"The climatologists tell us that we're a little past midway in a 20- to 25-year dry cycle. That cycle started in 1995 or 1996," Redmon said. "These cycles are usually about 25 years, so they aren't unheard of or unusual, but they sure do make it tough on our producers."
"From 2006 to this point now, there are some places in the state that have not received any significant rainfall," said Larry Redmon, Texas Agrilife Extension Service forage specialist and soil and crop sciences professor.
The drought has done considerable damage to Texas farms and ranches, said Al Nelson, Texas Agrilife Research agricultural research superintendent.
"The pastures and hay meadows are really suffering tremendous losses," Nelson said. "A lot of cattle owners are liquidating their herds because they don't have enough hay or grazing."
Even the agricultural research divisions at Texas A&M University have been affected by the drought, said agronomy professor Tom Cothren.
"We pump water out of the Brazos River into a reservoir and we depend on the water in the reservoir to irrigate the plants. It's hard for us to keep up, even if we're trying to work around the clock with the employees," Cothren said. "There's just too many people asking for availability to the water source and there's not enough."
Many Texas crops have been a total loss, Redmon said.
"If you don't get the moisture to make the crop then you're not able to harvest," he said. "In some cases you don't harvest anything, and in some cases the harvest is so minimal that it's not worth going through the harvest activity."
The most heavily affected crops include cotton and corn, Cothren said.
"Our South Texas people lost crops early in the year. They had cotton acreage they couldn't irrigate, and corn acreage they couldn't irrigate," he said. "The problem being that if you're depending on irrigation water now, you're in trouble."
Even in the Brazos Valley, crop yields are down to approximately half of normal yield, Nelson said.
"We did get some rain earlier in the spring and early crops are OK, but still about half," he said.
The rain in College Station on Tuesday might have brought temperatures down, but the drought is not over, said Texas Agrilife Extension Research spokesman Blair Fannin."Certainly the rain is welcome and it has cooled things down, but it's temporary," Fannin said. "It doesn't do much for crops that have been out there baking in 100-degree heat."
"It's a pretty substantial drought," Nelson said. "On a scale of one to 10 it's probably a nine."
This drought is likely part of a recurring cycle, Redmon said.
"The climatologists tell us that we're a little past midway in a 20- to 25-year dry cycle. That cycle started in 1995 or 1996," Redmon said. "These cycles are usually about 25 years, so they aren't unheard of or unusual, but they sure do make it tough on our producers."
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