By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Crops in the Rio Grande Valley are facing a tough growing season due to ongoing dry conditions and lack of irrigation water that is supposed to be supplied from Mexico.

Despite these challenges, recent rainfall has given farmers a glimmer of hope.

“It just depends on where you go,” Brady Taubert, Cameron County Farm Bureau president, said. “It didn’t rain everywhere and not everywhere got the same amount of rain.”

Some areas in the Valley recently received nearly an inch-and-a-half of rain while others only saw three tenths, according to Taubert.

Taubert, who manages RGV Gin Company in Harlingen and grows cotton, milo and sesame, had to stop growing sugarcane after Texas’ only sugar mill closed earlier this year due to water shortages and ongoing issues with Mexico under the 1944 Water Treaty.

The recent rains have slightly changed Taubert’s perspective for this year’s growing season.

“For some people, it’s going to be a game-changer. We’re going to need some more rain still in the upcoming weeks to finish the crop out,” he said. “Some of the milo will finish out, but the cotton, it’s going to need some more rain and the sesame probably will, too.”

However, the weather forecast can be unpredictable.

“What happened the other day really wasn’t supposed to happen,” Taubert said. “Several of the weather forecasts I follow weren’t predicting rain, and then it just happened.”

But the overall outlook remains dry.

The Rio Grande Valley covers Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties, stretching along the southernmost tip of Texas and marking the U.S.-Mexico border. The area shares two Rio Grande River Basin reservoirs with Mexico, Lakes Amistad and Falcon.

The latest data from Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) shows Falcon Reservoir levels under 10% and Lake Amistad at about 28% full.

“It’s going to take an act of God to resolve this problem,” Taubert said. “Even if Mexico were to pay their water debt back, that’s going to be a band-aid for a couple of years. We need rain, a serious rainstorm.”

Taubert, however, remains hopeful for the rest of the growing season.

“You have to have strong faith to farm. This is one of the only industries that most things are out of our control, especially the weather,” Taubert said. “You just have to have faith that everything happens for a reason, and the good Lord is going to take care of us.”