Drought

Rain was scattered across West Central Texas, with some areas receiving over 2 inches. Temperatures were found in the lower 30s to lower 80s. Small grains were growing slowly. Wheat and oats were improving each week. Field preparation for spring crops began. Many stock tanks and ponds caught water from the recent rain, but more was needed to replenish it fully. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 21, 2024 Rain fell over West Central Texas, allowing soil moisture to increase and be in good condition. The rain and warmer temperatures allowed small grain fields to improve. Wheat looked good and started creating good grazing for livestock. Rain was still needed to fill ponds for livestock water supplies. Although pastures and rangelands were greening up, producers continued heavy supplemental feeding for their herds. Cattle prices at local sale barns continued to rise, and cattle were holding good body condition. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 6, 2024 Light snow and rain were scattered across the district and accompanied by frigid temperatures, with three days below freezing. Soil conditions remained steady, but moisture was appreciated as it was received. Small grain fields were set back due to the freezing conditions. Wheat and oat pastures were struggling and in dire need of rain for cool-season annuals and native grasslands. The polar vortex challenged livestock producers who were feeding and busting ice for their livestock. Supplemental and hay feeding increased in response to the cold weather. Despite the freezing temperatures, cattle and wildlife were in decent condition. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Jan 23, 2024

Cool, cloudy conditions were prevalent across Far West Texas. Daytime highs were reported in the mid-70s, and nighttime lows in the mid-20s. Conditions remain very dry and hard. A cold front moved through the area over the weekend, followed by seasonally warmer temperatures. Producers prepared the ground to plant and started drip irrigation for cotton and alfalfa. Wheat was growing and preparing to bloom. Cotton and milo production was expected to be lower than average. Livestock and beef cattle producers continued supplemental feeding regimens as rangeland conditions continued to deteriorate due to lack of moisture. Kidding season continued for goats and lambs. A few small-scale wildfires were reported as winds were high and conditions continued warming up. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 21, 2024 Temperatures in Far West Texas averaged highs of 70 with overnight lows in the upper 30s. The rain was in a narrow strip through the east-northeastern corner of the region. Tillage operations have continued for most growers this past week. Winter wheat was in fair condition due to moisture and warm weather. Underground moisture was non-existent. Many fields have yet to germinate. Many producers were questioning whether to turn irrigation wells on this season. Moisture improved minor grain conditions. Pecan harvest continued to be slower than anticipated, although most orchards were previously harvested. Ground preparation continued for the upcoming season; it’s anticipated acreage will be up due to the water supply from Elephant Butte Reservoir. Livestock were in fair condition. Lambing and kidding season began. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 6, 2024 Temperatures in Far West Texas remain below average, with nighttime temperatures dropping below 20 degrees and daytime temperatures rising to the mid-40s. The district received a slight mist and little precipitation. The strong winter storm that affected much of the state had only a brief hold on the Big Bend region, with temperatures dropping into the single digits overnight. Rangeland conditions remained steady, and soil moisture remained short to adequate. The grass was dormant, and pastures remained extremely bare except for a few winter weeds, which livestock consumed quickly. Livestock were in fair condition as producers continued supplemental and hay feeding and ensured they had access to water. Cotton has been harvested and most pecans have been harvested, although some pecan orchards were late harvesting. Ground preparation was in progress. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Jan 23, 2024

As much as 4 inches of wet snow swept across different areas of the Texas Panhandle. The response from wheat growth was evident as soon as soil temperatures began to increase. Producers started some pre-plant tillage for summer crops. Daytime temperatures gradually increased. However, additional moisture was needed to replenish the upper soil moisture profile, especially in fields planted with small grains, cover crops, or improved and native grass pastures. Supplemental feeding continued for cattle on range. Overall, soil conditions were reported from adequate to short. Pasture and rangelands were reported to be fair to very poor. Winter wheat was reported as good to fair. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 21, 2024 The Texas Panhandle remained very dry. The weather modified, with some temperatures reaching the 70s but still no substantial moisture. Stocker cattle have been moved because of limited pasture. Supplemental feeding continued for cattle on pastures and rangelands. Overall, soil conditions were reported from adequate to very short. Pasture and rangelands were reported to be fair to very poor. Winter wheat was reported as fair to poor. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 6, 2024 The Panhandle region remained extremely dry. Temperatures were in the single digits, with the wind chill below zero. There was no farming activity. The cold weather increased the amount of supplemental cattle feeding to help maintain body condition and meet energy requirements. Labor increased as ice had to be broken on tanks to supply water to cattle. Overall, soil conditions were reported as ranging from adequate to very poor. Pasture and rangelands were reported to be fair to very poor. Winter wheat was reported as fair to poor. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Jan 23, 2024

Wind and sunshine dominated in Central Texas and began to dry out the wet soil conditions. Winter pastures, specifically ryegrass, started to grow well. Planted winter pastures were good and grazed. Stock tank levels were full, for the most part, but additional rain and runoff were needed to help drought conditions. Weeds emerged. Several wheat fields needed to be top-dressed before corn planting. Wheat continued to grow well, even with excessive moisture. Rust was beginning to show in light occurrences, and Hessian flies continued to be a concern. Cattle remained in good body condition, with producers feeding hay and other supplements. Weaned cattle were pulled. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 21, 2024 Although some regions of Central Texas experienced rainfall, it hasn’t been widespread enough to bring the entire district out of drought. Some stock tanks were filling, but lake levels were still low. If lakes do not catch some significant rainfall by summer, there will be little to no irrigation this year. Warmer temperatures and good soil moisture were improving pastures and small grains. Winter pastures were starting to develop. Many producers had limited access to begin fieldwork in wet conditions, but they were getting planters ready for corn planting when the fields dried up. Wheat and oats were being grazed. Cattle producers were busy feeding hay and other supplements to maintain good body condition in their herd. Cattle prices were in good to fair condition, and calving season had started. There were reports that Hessian fly continued to be identified in some wheat fields. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Feb 6, 2024 Central Texas experienced consistent below-freezing temperatures, but most counties also received adequate rain, providing some drought relief. A few counties reported needing additional rain to relieve extreme drought conditions and replenish stock tanks and natural bodies of water. Native pastures were in fair condition, with some counties reporting a die-off of various weeds and trees due to extreme temperatures. There were some reports of prolific weed pressure in neglected pastures. Fieldwork halted due to freezing temperatures but was quickly back underway when the weather permitted. Wheat and oats were considered good quality, although growth has slowed, and producers expected to see some freeze damage. The carinata crop planted in early fall and into December was substantially freeze-damaged and not expected to survive. Hessian fly larvae continued to be observed in wheat varieties. Supplemental feeding was being carried out for all classes of livestock, and livestock were in fair condition. AgriLife Today (College Station, Texas), Jan 23, 2024

To continue to draw water from Lake Travis, the Cedar Park City Council approved the construction and recommissioning of a temporary floating raw water intake system. Community Impact - Austin (Texas), Feb 9, 2024

Years of drought in Oregon have led to reductions in irrigation water for growers relying on the Deschutes River. The North Unit Irrigation District in Jefferson County, for example, has had less than 50% of full water allotments for the past four years. Consequently, farmers have planted fewer crops, and cattle ranchers have had to buy more grain or feed for lack of water for pastures. A rancher near Madras sold more than 40% of his 5,000 cattle because his rangeland could not support the livestock as it used to do. Some farmers have even considered leaving the industry. Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland), Feb 13, 2024

The mayor of Madison and the Board of Aldermen issued a state of emergency for the city in January as the drought and beetles left thousands of dead pine trees across the city. Experts say that the trees will soon fall, creating a safety hazard, so the city needs to remove the trees soon. The cost of removal may be $800 to $1,500 per tree. City officials were hoping for some state and federal assistance to deal with this natural disaster. WLBT 3 (Jackson, Miss.), Feb 16, 2024

Record-setting heat and intense drought devastated the crawfish population on a Sour Lake farm. There were few crawfish to harvest, although they ought to get 200 to 300 sacks daily. Last year those crawfish sold for $4 per pound, whereas this year, they’re selling for $10 per pound. Of the roughly 500,000 acres of crawfish country in Texas and Louisiana, 170,000 acres will not yield any crawfish this year. KHOU 11 (Houston, Texas), Feb 16, 2024

Drought during the 2023 summer stressed Missouri pastures, leaving hay availability and quality varying by geography. While state data indicate that that hay supplies were adequate, producers say otherwise. AgUpdate (Tekamah, Neb.), Feb 15, 2024

The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group determined that the Catawba-Wateree River Basin was no longer under a drought after the wet weather of the past few months. The Stage 1 Drought that began Nov. 1 has ended. Queen City News (Charlotte, N.C.), Feb 16, 2024 The Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group announced on Nov. 2 that warm, dry weather has put the Catawba-Wateree River Basin in Stage 1 of the group’s Low Inflow Protocol. Stage 1 is a drought stage that requires the first phase of operational adjustments at Duke Energy’s hydroelectric facilities. Voluntary water conservation was strongly encouraged. Residents using water from a Duke Energy lake for landscape irrigation were asked to limit watering to Tuesdays and Saturdays. During drought conditions, Duke Energy’s hydroelectric plants operate at reduced levels to progressively decrease downstream flows and preserve water storage in the lakes. At Stage 1, Duke Energy increases surveillance of its public boating access areas along the lakes. To ensure the safety of boaters and protect property, some boat ramps will close temporarily due to declining lake levels. McDowellNews (Marion, N.C.), Nov 2, 2023

Cameron County Irrigation District No. 2 may run out of irrigation water by April, which would force the city to push water to utility customers. Mandatory water restrictions take effect, requiring water conservation with the possibility of fines if water use does not fall. Per the second phase of the state’s water conservation plan, residents were banned from watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Insufficient irrigation water could cost the Valley $993.2 million, according to a Texas A&M study. Water levels in January were the lowest in history and have dropped to 18.2% of capacity for Falcon Reservoir and 24.8% for Amistad Reservoir. My RGV.com (McAllen, Texas), Feb 15, 2024

Drought and freezing temperatures have delayed the crawfish season in Louisiana and East Texas. The crawfish season usually begins in January and stretches until July, but the January harvest was roughly 10% of usual, according to a crawfish distributor in Austin. The crawfish were also smaller, so they were difficult to eat and less likely to survive the eight-hour trip to Central Texas. The freezing weather in January was also hard on the crawfish as the crustaceans struggled to get enough oxygen in the frozen ponds. With fewer crawfish available, restaurants were charging $16 to $22 per pound just to break even, according to local vendors. A restaurant in Georgetown planned to begin selling mudbugs this year, but was deterred by the high prices. Another restaurant owner began driving to Louisiana to get some crawfish, but found that half of them were dead by the time he returned with them. Selling crawfish was not profitable yet this year. Community Impact – Austin (Texas), Feb 13, 2024 Farmers and restaurateurs were in a supply crisis as crawfish season began after a summer of drought and intense heat in Louisiana. Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency due to the heat. In October, there was not enough freshwater to flood the fields, which encourages crawfish to emerge from their burrows and repopulate. The January freeze also hurt the crustaceans. Altogether, the loss to Louisiana’s $230 million crawfish industry was an estimated 60%. A crawfish distributor in Crowley, Louisiana who sells to H-E-B has normally bought from 100,000 to 150,000 pounds of mudbugs in the first week of February, but this year, he only bought 6,000 pounds, which is not enough for the grocery chain, so he sold to restaurants. At two farms in Acadia and Allen parishes in early February, just ten pounds of crawfish were harvested, in comparison to the normal of nearly 400 pounds. The marine extension agent for LSU AgCenter thought that 75% to 90% of Louisiana’s farm-raised crawfish could be lost this year due to extreme weather. In Texas, crawfish farmers were faring slightly better for a number of possible reasons, according to an aquaculture extension specialist and marine extension agent of Texas A&M. Texas producers typically begin to harvest in late February, so it was not yet clear how Texas crawfish were affected by the drought and heat of the summer. Producers in the Hamshire and Sour Lake area of Harris County in Southeast Texas were not too worried about the crawfish. A crawfish restaurant in Crosby, about 25 miles east of Houston, opened on January 31 and sold them for $13 per pound. The owner has since closed to wait for prices to fall a bit because he felt badly charging so much for crawfish. A Beaumont restaurant usually sees sales jump 15% to 20% during crawfish season. This year, crawdads will not be sold until the wholesale price came down to $5 per pound. One of the co-owners has seen competitors selling them for $12 to $17 per pound, buy did not feel that his customers would tolerate that. An Austin seafood market received up to 40 calls per day from people seeking crawfish for the Super Bowl. The owner is not sure whether she will carry crawfish at all this year. A Houston restaurant owner initially sold mudbugs for $16 per pound in early January, which led to accusations of price gouging. On January 20, the price was lowered to $12.99 per pound. As of mid-February, the cost is $11.99. This year, total sales in January amounted to $2,900. Last January, sales were between $100,000 and $120,000. Texas Monthly (Austin), Feb 13, 2024 A San Antonio restaurant has gotten some field run crawfish in, which is a mix of sizes rather than all larger crawfish. They were selling for $13.99 per pound, although the price would usually be $7.99 per pound or sometimes maybe $6.99. KENS5 (San Antonio, Texas), Feb 13, 2024 A restaurant that sells crawfish in Bryan was having trouble getting the mudbugs. Sales of the crustaceans was down 5,500 pounds this year compared to 2023. The week of the Super Bowl this year, they sold about 600 pounds, in comparison with about 6,000 pounds last year. The effect of the reduction to the crawfish population was being felt industrywide, from the fishermen to the suppliers to the restaurants. KBTX (Bryan, Texas), Feb 13, 2024

A restaurant in Richardson finally got some crawfish in time for their Fat Tuesday celebration and was charging $17.95 per pound for fresh crawfish from Louisiana. In 2023, a Lewisville restaurant sold 209,000 pounds of mudbugs, the restaurant’s best year ever, but has not sold one pound of them yet in 2024. “A few weeks ago they literally put out 250 traps and they caught 14 crawfish. I’m not saying 14 pounds, 14 crawfish,” according to the Lewisville restaurant owner. KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas - Fort Worth (Texas), Feb 13, 2024

Dry soils were challenging for a Wilton farmer in 2023, and drought remained the farmer’s biggest concern ahead of the 2024 growing season. The tile lines that were running were below normal. Brownfield Ag News (Jefferson City, Mo.), Feb 9, 2024

From Aug. 1 through Jan. 10, the city of Beaumont spent $353,000 on in-house labor to repair leaks and conduct other drought-related activities, according to the city. The city spent more than twice that figure on contractors, spending just over $407,000. Beaumont also spent just over $260,000 on drought-related materials over the same time period, bringing the total public dollars spent on drought-related issues to just over $1 million. Beaumont Enterprise (Texas), Feb 11, 2024

Central Texans were turning to their faith and prayer for rain as aquifers were extremely low and rivers were running dry. KXAN (Austin, Texas), Aug 23, 2023

The aging infrastructure in Odessa and Midland was breaking and spilling water due to the ground shifting or the high water demand and changes in pressure. KWES-TV NewsWest 9 (Odessa, Texas), Aug 24, 2023

Lafayette Parish Waterworks District North and Lafayette Utilities System urged residents to conserve water due to the extreme drought. The daily water demand has been 25% to 35% over normal summer use. Water pressure has been affected, causing disruptions to all Lafayette Parish residents served by LUS and LPWDN. KATC (Lafayette, La.), Aug 25, 2023

The Turkey Creek Water System and 5th Ward Fire Protection District ask that residents conserve water due to drought conditions. KATC (Lafayette, La.), Aug 25, 2023

Wells are going dry in the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District as heat and drought persist. One woman was unable to find a water hauling service to bring water to her home cistern. The state’s largest springs, which come from the Edwards Aquifer, are nearing their lowest flow levels on record. San Marcos Springs, the second largest in Texas, is flowing at just 50% of its historical average for mid-August. The largest spring complex in Texas, Comal Springs in New Braunfels, is flowing at 30% of the historical average for August. Its primary spring has gone completely dry. Las Moras Springs in Brackettville, west of San Antonio, has stopped flowing. Barton Springs in Austin is flowing at about 14 cubic feet per second, in comparison with its average flow over the last 45 years of 67 cubic feet per second. The Texas Tribune (Austin), Aug 16, 2023