Texas is known for its hot climate, cattle and agriculture but this summer, most are experiencing the heat.
“For this time of year this seems to be the third worst drought I have ever seen in Texas,” said John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas state climatologist.
From November 2010 to June 2011, the loss Texas has experienced due to the drought has reached approximately 1.5 billion dollars, causing serious problems for crop and cattle farmers.
“Each day without rainfall is one in which crop and livestock losses mount,” said David Anderson, agrilife extension livestock economist. “Even with the severity of the current drought, estimation of economic losses is difficult given that we are still early in the growing season.”
The majority of southern and western Texas is experiencing “exceptional drought”, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is the highest drought rating you can receive along with New Mexico and parts of Arizona.
“Texas is the largest beef cow producing state in the U.S. with more than 5 million head,” Anderson said. “More than 90 percent of the state’s beef cows are located in counties categorized as being in severe to exceptional drought.”
The drought has caused the price of crops to rise, which causes increased feeding costs all while cattle farmers are losing acres of grazing pasture.
“This increased feeding cost over normal levels is a direct economic impact on the livestock producers,” Anderson said. “The sudden severe onset of the drought has forced livestock producers to purchase even more hay, driving up prices sharply.”
Many ranchers have started to feed their cattle much earlier in the season, and with a shortage of water for their cattle, it is an ongoing struggle throughout the state.
“This requires even higher costs to haul water daily to meet livestock needs,” Anderson said.
Many livestock owners have been forced to sell their cattle due to increasing costs and some produces have sold as much as half their livestock to keep from running a deficit.
For Texas crops, it is still an unknown in how much the drought will impact them. Many Texas famers have yet to plant their crops for this season and are waiting to see if the weather conditions become more favorable.
“However, for wheat, cotton and grain farmers in central and south Texas who have planted or are facing final planting deadlines, and ranchers supplemental feeding on short pastures, each day without rainfall is costly,” said Mark Welch, an agrilife extension grain marketing economist.
The window for crops to have a favorable chance of surviving this season is very unlikely with each passing day.
“The low harvested percentage is compounded by several factors in addition to the drought,” Welch said. “Record-high calf prices increase the value of wheat for grazing, especially if grain production prospects are poor, and record high cotton prices offer incentives for producers to terminate poor stands of wheat in hopes of producing a high value cotton crop.”
The drought has also taken its toll on homeowners and hobby famers, in which many have lost all their crops of the season, forcing them to deal with dry, cracked and unusable soil.
“Based on past droughts, it’s likely to get worse as the weather stays hot and chances of precipitation decrease. The less water people use, the less the need will be for putting in water restriction to conserve water this summer,” Nielsen-Gammon said.
Major cotton producers still have positive outlooks due to the uncertain conditions in west Texas.
“Given the regular occurrence of dry weather in west and south Texas, and the late planting date in west Texas, it’s not unusual to be facing uncertainty about the level and condition of cotton plantings in the state. As the west Texas crop is not usually planted until May, there’s still time for conditions to change,” said John Robinson, an agrilife extension cotton economist, said.
The conditions have yet to improve, and if the drought continues on in Texas, famers and livestock producers may be looking at a very dry situation.