Devastation from Drought Ravages Texas Farms; Ranchers' Crops Wither, Livestock Sold as Future Wilts like their Fields

Livestock pastures on many Houston-area farms are turning to dirt, some covered in 1-inch cracks that would take a tropical storm to fill.

At the same time, an auction house west of Houston reports an ever-increasing stampede of cattle being sold. Ranchers say they do not have the food and water to keep them alive. Yellowing, burned-out fields of corn, meanwhile, are so stunted that sometimes they don't even produce a single ear.

Texas farmers and ranchers report their livestock and crop prospects in most every sector are withering under the relentless heat and drought as experts fear the state's $100 billion agriculture market is poised to face an all-time record loss.

Travis Miller, who heads the state's agriculture extension service in College Station, predicts that this year the state will more than double its worst recorded loss of $4.1 billion in 2006.

"The 2006 drought hit only the bottom third of our state, but this one is more extreme and striking 90 percent of the state," he explained.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday released its first snapshot of the anticipated crop harvests for 2011. It paints a bleak picture for Texas: cotton production (Texas' No. 1 cash crop) is expected to plummet by 43 percent compared with last year; corn is expected to drop by 41 percent; winter wheat fell by 60 percent; sorghum (feed grain) is down by 46 percent; soybeans (a smaller Texas crop) dropped 61 percent; rice (the only bright spot because it's irrigated) still declines by 4 percent.

Waller County's extension agent J. Cody Dennison said the situation worsens the longer this scorching weather pattern continues. It already has produced one of the hottest summers and the driest 12-month period ever recorded in the state.

"I've noticed in the last two weeks that the desperation level is increasing from the number of calls I'm receiving from worried ranchers and farmers," said Dennison. "It's so bad that deer are coming into peoples' sprinkled yards to find food and water to keep alive."

Long waiting list

One hay farmer and cattleman with a 1,500-acre spread on the Harris-Liberty County line said he tried to rejuvenate an old water well to avoid selling half his thirsty herd. Cattle need an immense amount of water, as one cow by itself can consume 25 gallons on a hot day.

"But the water drillers are just so busy now," said Dick Bumstead. " I couldn't find anybody to do it before I had to sell."

Kenneth Robinson, who operates a well service in Waller, said customers are asking him to dig a deeper well or lower their pumps because the water level has dropped about 60 to 100 feet since the drought.

"I've got people on a six- to eight-week waiting list needing help," Robinson said. "I've never seen anything like it in the 40 years that I've been in business."

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said the state's dire situation will only continue mounting as water resources are depleted.

John Warren, who runs a 6,400-acre cattle ranch on the southwest side of Harris County in Hockley, was shocked to see a 100-acre reservoir that he's used for irrigation for generations shrink to a mere 4 acres.

"We haven't seen a drop of rain for days. If this continues another year, I'll have to get a job at Walmart," he quipped. "Our pastures look horrible. Weeds won't even grow."

He then abruptly stopped the interview because he had spotted a small wildfire - another hazard that often accompanies such dry conditions.

"It's heading toward my neighbor's property, and I need to alert him," Warren said.

Farmers also complain about their crops being destroyed by this unprecedented weather. Much of the corn fields, the Houston area's biggest cash crop, have either been abandoned or are having low yields, said Miller.

'Worst crop I ever had'

Michael Watz, a farmer in El Campo, said he was forced to plow under 800 to 1,000 acres of corn that looked good in February but never matured.

"It was the worst crop I ever had," he moaned. "Some stalks grew only 3 feet tall instead of the normal nine. And they never produced an ear or even a tassel."

Hay also racked up a horrible performance in the Houston area. Miller said hardly any of it is being sold because landowners had to save it for their own animals.

Texas, the No. 1 cattle-producing state with 13.3 million head, is now seeing its herds sold because of food and water shortages. An auction barn in Industry, about 60 miles west of Houston, reported a 56 percent increase in cattle sales this summer compared with the year before. In June, cattle sales in Texas reached 482,450, the largest monthly sale since 2007, the Texas Department of Agriculture reported.

Miller hopes the ranchers don't have to cut their herds to the point they eliminate their root stock. Without that breeding stock, any recovery will be expensive and take years, he said.

"Farmers and ranchers are facing a terrible uncertainty about their future," said Miller, especially since climatologists say the drought could continue another year.

On top of that, the agriculture industry worries federal farm assistance may be cut as the nation faces a debt crisis.

All of this has left many ranchers and farmers feeling helpless, looking skyward and praying for rain, extension agents say.

"The worst part is the helplessness," said Peter McGuill, Wharton County's agriculture extension agent. "There's nothing a rancher or farmer can do from a management standpoint to fix it. It's totally out of their control."

cindy.horswell@chron.com ... Statewide drought conditions, through Thursday: Exceptional Extreme Severe -- 78.3% of state in exceptional category, up from 73.5% last week Source: USDA ...

BLEAK OUTLOOK U.S. Department of Agriculture harvest forecast for Texas: PRODUCTION Crop 2010 2011 Change Corn (1,000 bushels) 301,600 179,200 -40.6% Cotton (1,000 bales) 7,871 4,527 -42.5% Oats (1,000 bushels) 4,160 1,980 -52.4% Rice (1,000 cwt) 13,468 12,994 -3.5% Sorghum (1,000 bushels) 119,000 65,000 -45.4% Soybeans (1,000 bushels) 5,550 2,200 -60.4% Winter wheat (1,000 bushels) 127,500 52,000 -59.2% Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture