Texas crop, weather
Texas High Plains dryland cotton in 'dire straits'
"We just haven't had a good region-wide dryland rainfall," said Randy Boman, AgriLife Extension cotton agronomist, Lubbock. "What we've got is that most of the irrigated cotton has been planted, and the guys are really getting on the dryland now because of the final planting dates for insurance purposes."
About half the 3.4 million acres of cotton that Texas High Plains producers reported they intended to plant this year are in dryland, Boman said.
But that doesn't mean half the crop is at risk, he said.
"The irrigated crop yields are normally quite a bit higher," he said. "The irrigated crop is a little bit behind right now, based on what I'm seeing. We've been relatively cool in May. Our heat units are tracking pretty well. But we've had a lot of days where we've had cool mornings and the cotton is just not growing like it should for this time of year."
Though soils remained too dry, Boman said dryland producers were being forced to plant anyway to meet crop insurance guidelines.
The following summaries were compiled by AgriLife Extension district reporters:
CENTRAL: Some counties received rain. The first cutting of hay began, but yields may be light due to the drought last winter. Some oats were harvested; yield reports were pending. Cotton was planted and looked good. Corn was beginning to tassel. Rangeland and pastures were in good condition with forage for livestock readily available.
COASTAL BEND: Scattered showers provided some relief to ranchers. The rain may have also helped cotton producers. Some sesame was planted. However, more rain was needed for sesame and other alternative crops. Stock ponds remained low. Producers continued to provide supplemental feed to livestock due to lack of forage.
EAST: Some counties received little to no rain, while other counties got a drenching. Producers continued to bale hay. Growers began harvesting vegetables. Diseases and insect problems were reported on several vegetable crops including tomatoes. Blueberry and blackberry producers prepared for harvest, with some already harvesting. Feral hogs continued to be very active. Livestock were in good to excellent condition.
FAR WEST: From 0.2-3.5 inches of rain fell. Some areas reported erosion where downbursts fell on denuded rangeland. There were also some instances of hail, but little or no damage resulted. Cotton planting was in full swing with most irrigated fields completed. Some replanting had to be done because of wireworm damage. Planting of dryland fields was expected to begin soon. The wheat harvest was in full swing.
NORTH: Soil moisture ranged from adequate to surplus. Weather was warm with little rain, allowing fields to dry and producers to get back in them. Corn on well-drained land looked good; some was tasseling. The corn on sloped land was on schedule. Poorly drained fields were looking better as the soils there began to dry out. Wheat was nearly ready for harvest, but some fields were still too wet to bring in equipment. After the late freezes and the rain, wheat yields were expected to be far below average. Some producers baled their first hay crop and reported yields lower than expected, especially ryegrass yields. Some attributed the lower yields to less fertilizer being applied during the past two years. Peaches looked good. Livestock were in fair to good condition. Cotton was planted and in fair condition. Soybeans, sorghum and rice were all in fair condition, but more sunshine was needed to continue to dry out soils. Rangeland and pastures were in fair to good condition.
PANHANDLE: Conditions improved after a rain, but more moisture was still needed to allow producers to begin planting sorghum. The winter wheat crop neared harvest despite all the damages it incurred this season. The condition of the wheat crop varied from field to field and county to county, with some reporting fair to very good crops and others expecting yields to be down significantly. Corn and cotton were off to a good start, with minimal insect pressure from thrips in the cotton. Silage acres were being planted, but these acres were less this year due to many dairies and feed yards trying to stretch existing feeds. Ensilage was being harvested and wheat hay being baled.
ROLLING PLAINS: Beautiful, warm weather has been the norm for the last couple of weeks with small rain showers when needed the most, but the rain has been spotty. The mostly dry weather was favorable for many cotton farmers, allowing planting to continue at full throttle, though some growers found fields still too dry to plant. Fields already planted received just the right amount of rain to get plants up and going. Most pastures were in fair to good condition. Livestock were doing well.
SOUTH: From 0.5-4 inches of rain improved rangeland and pastures, but many livestock ponds remained low to very low. Soil moisture ranged from short to very short with adequate conditions in some areas. Cotton, corn and sorghum crops looked good thanks to irrigation and the rain. Some peanut planting began. The potato harvest was ongoing, and in the region's northern counties, the harvesting of green beans was expected to be completed soon. In the eastern counties, new buffel grass supplied green forage for cattle. Most field crops have been zeroed-out. The western counties received thunderstorms with golfball-sized hail in some areas. Producers were actively harvesting onions but were slowed by the rain. The wheat harvesting was expected to be finished soon. Watermelons, cotton and corn were doing well, with melon harvesting ongoing in the more southern counties.
SOUTH PLAINS: The region received 0.5-2 inches of rain. Soil moisture remained very short to short. Most dryland cotton producers began planting fields to meet crop insurance deadlines. Cotton stands in most center-pivot irrigated cotton fields looked decent. Wheat was in very poor to poor condition. Irrigated wheat has been terminated and much of the crop was drying down, with harvesting expected to begin in a couple of weeks. Growers began planting pumpkins. Pastures and rangeland were in very poor to poor condition. Producers continued to provide supplemental feed to livestock.
SOUTHEAST: Higher temperatures and increased winds dried out soils. From 0.25-2 inches of rain was received in some areas. Harvesting of hay began. Most crops were in good condition. Livestock were doing well.
SOUTHWEST: About 1 inch of rain was received, but the region remained dry. Rangeland and pastures greened up, but forage availability was short. Dryland crops showed little growth. Irrigated crops were making excellent progress. Ranchers continued to provide heavy supplemental nutrition to some remaining livestock. The cabbage, onion and potato harvests were ongoing. Corn was tasseling, and some sorghum was heading out.
WEST CENTRAL: Up to 3 inches of rain, along with warmer temperatures, improved rangeland. Cotton planting was in full swing. Callahan County sorghum was planted with some already emerged. San Saba County wheat was nearly ready to harvest. Livestock were in good condition. Pecan trees looked good.
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