Austin. TX - As the southeastern states swelter through a withering drought and daytime temperatures reaching into the 100s, farmers and cattlemen are facing economic calamity with the normal dry season still ahead.
The lack of hay and other forage is already forcing some cattlemen to sell their stock at reduced prices, and agriculture producers are watching helplessly as cotton and corn, sorghum and other grains wilt in the heat.
Beverly Boyd, a spokeswoman for Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry, said : “The pastures are just burning up. Everything is so hot and dry.”
Boyd says there were “some pretty hefty cattle sales” during the weekend, as ranchers sell off their stocks for lack of water and grazing.
Curtis Thompson of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service said the situation is critical because not enough forage was produced in April, May and June _ normally the wettest months of the year.
He says, “We're now going into the time of year when we don't grow much for July and August when it's supposed to be dry. So our ranchers are approaching a point where they've got to decide exactly what they're going to do.”
The service estimated last week the statewide economy will suffer $1. 7 billion in losses if the drought does not end soon. Direct losses to agriculture producers was pegged at more than $500 million.
Meanwhile, the State Division of Emergency Management says wildfires spurred by the drought have burned 143,000 acres in Texas since May 1, and three major fires are still active in Jeff Davis, Falls and Cottle counties.
The heat wave is on a pace that could surpass the one in 1980 that saw 69 days of 100-degree-plus temperatures in the Dallas area. The thermometer has already climbed to 100 or higher nine times in Dallas.
Alan Moller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, sees no relief this week, although there a chance of rain next week.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
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