COLLEGE STATION – Rainfall blanketed Texas for much of the weekend as parts of the drought-stricken state received up to 15 inches of precipitation, but the drought's not over – at least for Texas reservoirs that reached record lows in October.
Dr. Travis Miller, an agronomist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and a member of the Texas Drought Preparedness Council, said Monday reservoirs received their lowest recorded reading in 23 years for October, dipping to 66 percent of full capacity. It also marked the fifth lowest all time mark in 23 years.
"We've had enough water now for runoff, but at this point we are still low," Miller said. "Our supply hasn't been adequate enough to catch up with our normal reservoir levels."
Texas farmers and ranchers welcomed this weekend's rain, though it wasn't enough to replenish the near $1.1 billion drought has cost the Texas economy this year.
Cotton losses due to drought have resulted in $485 million in losses, and about 54 percent of the state's cotton that did survive the extreme heat this summer has been harvested, Miller said. Forty-eight percent of the peanut crop has been brought in from the fields, he noted, though not all Texas farmers were pleased with the timing of the weekend rain.
"The rainfall will reduce the quality of those crops (cotton and peanuts) to be harvested," Miller said.
Approximately 70 percent of the state's winter wheat has been planted, according to Miller, with the recent rain helping promote growth..
Some 30 percent of the Texas wheat crop has yet to be planted, with many of those farmers now waiting for fields to dry before planting. Stocker cattle operators have already missed out on grazing stocker calves on wheat as Extension economists estimated $30 million in losses due to drought.
"But we do have good potential for good grain crops (because of the rain)," Miller added."My advice to agricultural producers is to conserve moisture by reducing tillage so next spring we will have some moisture there."
Soil moisture reserves beneath the surface are back on their way to recovery, Miller said, but most soil profiles aren't quite yet back to normal.
"Good agricultural soil has anywhere from 5 to 10 inches (in reserve)," Miller said. "I don't think most soils across the state are at the point where they can store as much as they can. We could still use more rainfall."
Walking in a crop field near College Station Monday, Miller pointed out most of the rows did not have standing water.
"Most of it has soaked right in," he said.
Miller noted the large amounts of rainfall throughout the state shouldn't end any thoughts of water conservation.
"Many people say we've received adequate rainfall, and does that mean we can quit conserving water? We need to conserve water long before a drought occurs. There's a lot of practices we can do in our homes, cities and in agriculture."
More rainfall is predicted in the future. Miller said the predicted pattern from November through January is for higher than normal rainfall.
Economic damage sustained due to drought this year by commodity include:
- Grain sorghum: $62 million.
- Corn: $34 million
- Wheat $153 million.
- Added irrigation costs: $47 million.
- Forage crops: $134 million.
- Other crops: $56 million.
- Added feed/water costs: $105 million.