There have been too many days of extreme heat coupled with a summer that has produced very little rain, and it’s hurting most of the crops that are grown here in the Texas Panhandle.
“Yields are going down, and crop conditions are going drastically in the wrong direction,” said Ryan Wieck, an Ag producer. “There’s just no way to keep up with irrigation on these crops. The dryland crops have dried out and died, and some of them never even came up. Our irrigated crops they’re really struggling.”
“On an average day like today when it’s going to be 100-plus or say 104 degrees, these crops will be using as much as half an inch of water per day,” said Kevin Heflin, agronomist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services.
Mid to late July is considered a critical period for the crops that were planted in the spring, and Ag producers and farmers are worried that if we don’t get any rain between now and the end of August, we’re in deep trouble.
“I know some areas are in better shape than we are here,” said Wieck. “I think we’re too late for any August rain or September rains to help our summer crops. We’re already looking at planting our fall and winter crops, and that moisture that we can get in August and September will help those crops going into the wintertime.”
“Last week’s hot temperatures and this week’s extreme temperatures are affecting us,” said Heflin. “It’s not a very good outlook right now, but let’s hope it changes in August.”
We’ve been through this before in the Texas Panhandle when it comes to experiencing extreme heat during the dog days of summer.
Ag producers and farmers say that now more than ever, they need the weather to cooperate in August and September as they gear up for harvest in the late fall and early winter months.
Extreme heat and lack of rain scorch Texas Panhandle crops, growers warn of losses ahead (KVII)