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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Texas agriculture losses reach $3.6 billion
  • Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:24:48 -0600


Texas agriculture losses reach $3.6 billion
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 1:24 AM
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009507364_apusfarmscenete

xasdrought.html
By BETSY BLANEY

AP Agriculture Writer
LUBBOCK, Texas —

Drought in Texas has led to an estimated $3.6 billion in crop and livestock
losses, and without ample rains, the year's final tally could top the state
record set in 2006, Texas agriculture officials say.


Drought in Texas has led to an estimated $3.6 billion in crop and livestock
losses, and without ample rains, the year's final tally could top the state
record set in 2006, Texas agriculture officials say.

Crops and rangeland are scorched from lack of rainfall and record
triple-digit temperatures throughout parts of Texas - the nation's
second-largest agriculture state behind California. Much of the central and
southern parts of the state have been in the two most severe stages of
drought for months.

Agriculture officials in the state, which leads the nation in cotton and
cattle production, estimated Monday that total crop losses attributed to
the drought that started in November have reached $2.6 billion. Livestock
losses have reached an additional $974 million. And officials have not yet
tallied how much ranchers will lose from having fewer cattle to breed or
from selling calves earlier than usual because they don't have pasture on
which their animals can graze.

It could be two years before a reduced beef supply and higher prices hit
the grocery store, said Travis Miller, a drought specialist with the Texas
AgriLife Extension. He noted that many cattle being sold at Texas sale
barns will end up in states where grazing lands are better.

As far as cotton, U.S. and world supplies left over from previous years are
still high, so the amount grown in Texas this year won't influence the
price of a T-shirt or blue jeans, said Roger Haldenby, spokesman for the
Plains Cotton Growers, which serves a 41-county region of western Texas
that is the world's largest contiguous growing patch.

If dry conditions persist, losses could surpass the $4.1 billion in
agriculture losses three years ago, the highest amount ever in Texas in a
single year. That drought spread across more of the state than this year's,
said Carl Anderson, an economist and professor emeritus at Texas AgriLife
Extension.

"The last three months of this drought have been so, so severe," Anderson
said. "The critical factor here is how soon will we get soaking rains."

It is so dry in some parts of Texas that water for livestock and wildlife
is evaporating. According to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map,
released July 14, 55 of Texas' 254 counties are in extreme or exceptional
drought; no other part of the nation is that dry.

Extreme drought conditions can lead to major crop and pasture losses;
extreme fire danger; and widespread water shortages. Exceptional conditions
can lead to widespread crop and pasture losses; an even greater fire risk;
and water emergencies, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

"I can't remember it getting so bad so fast because of extreme heat," said
Jim McAdams, a fourth-generation rancher in central Texas and past
president of the National Cattleman's Beef Association. "This is one of the
worst hot spells I've ever been through."

According to Texas AgriLife Extension, range and pasture conditions are
poor or fair over more than 85 percent of Texas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture rates a third of Texas' cotton acreage
as very poor or poor. Dry conditions indicate a large amount of acreage
will likely be abandoned, and a small cotton crop is expected because of
lost acreage and low yields.

Texas crops besides cotton are also hurting. More than 40 percent of corn
and sorghum were in the poor category. Loss estimates for goats, sheep,
honey and horses totaled $105 million.

To deal with the lack of pasture for cattle, Texas Agriculture Commissioner
Todd Staples has asked the USDA to allow ranchers to graze their animals on
Conservation Reserve Lands, acreage set aside for conservation purposes. He
sent two letters seeking help - one in May and one last week.

"Many of our farmers and ranchers are frustrated today," Staples said
Monday. "Frustration won't make it rain. Immediate action by USDA will ease
their pain."

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company








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