With this week’s rainy weather, farmers on the South Plains are dealing with the extra moisture. They said this year’s inconsistent weather has made their jobs even harder, and more interesting.
“Knowing what our normal weather patterns are we can plan it a little better that way, but this year it’s just, ‘Here ya go!’ Just do whatever, and hope for the best,” Farmer Steven Brosch said.
Brosch knows the damage a storm can do all to well.
“July 1st, that morning woke up about 2 o’clock, and that is when that big hail storm rolled through, took out about a third of our acres,” Brosch said. “If that would have been a rain, inch and a half, that would have been awesome. It’s the hail that came along with it. It did a number on everything.”
He said drizzly days like these can be good and bad.
“No, we try to never get upset when it is raining. Sometimes it is kind of like, ‘Maybe it could’ve held off,’ but no. It’s raining and we are happy,” Brosch said. “Several rainy, drizzly days like we are having, it can have a bad effects on the cotton. Not a wipeout by any means, but it will start degrading the quality some.”
That only goes for the older cotton, that’s already opened up, with white and fluffy bolls. The younger cotton, and other crops like grain sorghum, are happy for the moisture. But farmers said the rain does slow them down.
“It’s just like turning off the oven right before the cake is done. You know, it’s just not going to be as good as it would be,” Scott Harmon.
Farmer Scott Harmon said it differs from field to field.
“It just depends if you’re wearing your cow hat or your cotton hat today. Right now, it’s pretty good for the cows and the wheat and everything coming along,” he said.
They agreed, farming in West Texas is never boring, especially during years like this one.
“You don’t have any control over it. You are just riding and try not to get bucked off,” Harmon said.
