While many areas of the state received badly needed rains weeks ago, most of the benefits to agricultural producers are evaporating due to less than adequate rain and higher-than-normal temperatures statewide.
The previous rains were a boon for agricultural producers and helped with some crop plantings and establishment, but soil moisture levels in many parts of the state have deteriorated since then, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
This reversal of fortune and shifting weather patterns mean growing conditions through winter could be subpar for some cool-season crops like wheat for grazing. Drier soils, coupled with a drier and warmer fall and winter weather pattern could spell less than optimal planting conditions for next spring.
Mark Welch, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist for grain marketing in the Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station, said the weather has been transitioning back to a La Niña pattern with drier and warmer than normal weather that will likely last through the coming winter. Welch said the impact of the current drought and stressful conditions throughout Texas have also greatly affected corn and sorghum.
PHOTO: Farmland on the US-Mexico border wall near Fabens, Texas. (iStock – Bill Chizek)
