LUBBOCK, Texas – Much needed rainfall was reported on Monday in many locations across the South Plains.
Some areas were not so lucky and missed out on the rain event.
Dawson County has not seen rain since March, and some farmers are starting to get worried about planting cotton.
“We really need a good rain and you know the market in cotton is pretty bad right now so good rain I think would help everybody feel bit more positive about planting seed in the ground,” said Jeremy Brown, a cotton farmer in Dawson County.
Brown says he tries to stay optimistic but combination of wind, heat and no rain has him worried.
“Every county has a different plan date for crop insurance purposes and here in Dawson county, we’ve got to have our cotton planted by June 10th. You know, we’ve got some time here from now until then to get the cotton going but you know as things progress and it’s if it stays hot and dry it’s going to just take more and more rain, to get that profile back up,” said Brown.
On top of that, cotton prices have dropped 15 cents since the coronavirus pandemic started. This is making farmers unsure what this year’s harvest will look like.
“Everybody’s farm operations different everybody has come with break even as the price that they need to be at but I would probably say on average is probably around 65 cents. So when you’re trading in, say half 50, it’s already below, you know, farmers aren’t gonna make any money at that,” said Brown.
