TEXAS NEIGHBORS | SUMMER 2018 By Justin Walker Communications Specialist It’s hot. It’s dry. Not a cloud in the sky. This has been the norm for much of Texas this year. And drought conditions continue to worsen across the Panhandle and West Texas. Droughts are tough on the land. And livestock. But we often forget the toll it takes on the farmer. Jesse Wieners, a farmer in Carson County, grows wheat, milo, cotton and alfalfa, along with some pro-duce and wine grapes. Wieners received his first ben-eficial rain of the year in mid-June, bringing his yearly precipitation total to 1.5 inches. That is a far cry from normal levels. “We should probably we somewhere around 11 inches,” he said. The lack of rain has been hard on Wieners’ crops. This year, both his wheat and cotton crops were lost. “We planted a wheat crop and had all of our inputs in it,” he said. “We didn’t even get to harvest the crop.” After losing his input costs in the wheat crop, Wie-ners planted cotton hoping rain would arrive. Unfortu-nately, it never did. “We dry sowed our cotton seed in the hopes that we would get a rain in time,” he said. “We didn’t get anything.” In June, Wieners’ cotton crop was disastered out, putting him further behind. As tough as it is to farm in these conditions, he remains optimistic. “We still have time to plant a hay crop or a sorghum crop, if we get some moisture,” he said. “Then at least we would have that crop to do something for us.” Sitting back and complaining isn’t an option for Wieners. While the hay and sorghum approach isn’t a “fix-all” solution, it is a step in the right direction. “To recover from two lost crops, we are going to need two bumper crops to make up for it,” he said. “We’re certainly not going to get that this year, but maybe next year or the year after that.” It’s hard to prepare for these conditions, Wieners said. It hasn’t been just the lack of rain farmers and ranchers in that area have dealt with, but wildfires as well. Crops aren’t the only commodity impacted by the drought, either. Wieners said he sold his entire cattle herd due to the current situation. “We ran out of grass,” he said. “The grass we were going to move them to burnt up.” While everything seems to be going against him, Wieners said he has to stay hopeful. “We have to always stay hopeful,” he said. “If we start to think things aren’t going to work out, then I guess we are done.” It’s hard times in many parts of Texas for farmers and ranchers. But having faith that it will turn around keeps them doing what they love. “We are always saying that next year is going to be better,” Wieners said. “That’s what keeps us going.” WWW.TEXASFARMBUREAU.ORG