Heat beats local stocks, crops

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Stock tanks are low, and in some cases empty, due to inadequate rainfall since fall. Ranchers are selling cattle because water, pasture and hay are in short supply. JUDY SHERIDAN/DEMOCRAT PHOTO

July 18, 2011

Judy Sheridan CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Mon Jul 18, 2011, 08:01 AM CDT

PARKER COUNTY — There’s no doubt that agricultural production in Parker County is off this year with meteorologists noting a moderate-to-severe drought and intense heat reminiscent of the summer of 1980, when temperatures topped 100 degrees for 69 days.

In fact, the county extension office is predicting an economic impact in the millions of dollars, according to extension agent Jon Green.

Pasture grass and hay are in short supply, Green said, and the water in earthen stock tanks is low, or in a few cases, completely gone.

Beef producers, he said, are trying to decide what to do.

“Our pastures are turning brown due to the lack of rain and heat, making it tough on folks with cattle,” Green said. They’re running out of grass and having to make decisions on where to buy hay if they can find it, or looking at reducing their cattle numbers.”

Green said auction barns are running record numbers of cattle, a fact confirmed by Jackie Bishop, manager of Graham Livestock Sales.

Bishop sells cattle from areas within an 80-mile radius of Graham, from Parker, Stephens, Palo Pinto, Young, Jack and Wise counties.

“Last week, our sale had 3,415 head. Normally it’s between 1,500 and 1,800,” he said. “But the prices are real good. They’re not taking a hit because they have to sell them. Another month of this, though, and it may go another direction.”

Packer cows are selling for 50 to 62 cents per pound, and calves for $1.30 to $1.60 per pound, “what they have been getting,” he said.

Big ranches, with 200 to 1,000 cows, are selling their culls, Bishop said. A lot of smaller ranches, with 15 to 40 cows, are selling totally out.

“There’s just not enough feed, hay or water,” he said.

Bishop said the cattle are going north, to buyers from Missouri, Minnesota and Iowa, where there has been more rain.

Hay production, Green said, is about a fourth of where it should be right now.

“It started out not too bad,” he said, “some people got one cutting, others haven’t gotten any. Even the first cutting, in May to early June, was about half for some of them, less than half for the rest.

“I’m hearing high prices, $80 to $85 for round bales, [compared to] $45 to $50 a bale.”

During the massive heat wave of 1980, Green said, Parker County’s hay production only generated about $2 million in gross sales, about a sixth of the average sales for the three years that followed.

The cutting horse industry is also being affected by the drought and high temperatures, Alexandria Harrel, CEO of Leon Harrel Enterprises, said.

“The one thing that’s affecting us is not having the grass to feed cattle,” she said. “Also, the dry air makes the animals cough, and it’s difficult for them to stay hydrated and perform well.”

“In our business, we don’t slack off, we keep pushing,” she said, “but the horses can tie up if they don’t stay hydrated. Their muscles start to contract.”

Green said the weather has taken a toll on peach trees, which are yielding fewer, smaller peaches.

“The pecan trees set a pretty good crop this spring, but I’ve got a feeling they’ll be shedding off some of their crop,” he said.

“We’re going to need a substantial rain to turn things around,” he said, “several rain events, not just a few showers.”

Even in area greenhouses, where bedding plants are cared for in controlled conditions, the weather is having an effect, Barbara Walker, co-owner of Harry’s Greenhouse, said.

“It affects our customers, and that affects our sales,” she said, “and we’re having to water more often because of the heat.”

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