South Texas Crop Losses Could Hit $100 Million

The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas may be in for another disastrous year, possibly doubling their $50 million drought losses of 2006, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts in Weslaco.

South Texas drought-related crops losses this year in cotton, corn and grain sorghum could double the $50 million lost in 2006. “Reports of failed acres of cotton, grain sorghum and corn have not yet started coming in, but I suspect they will in the coming days and weeks,” said Dr. Luis Ribera, an AgriLife Extension agricultural economist.

This year is shaping up to be much like 2006 when growers were challenged by an extended drought which was only made worse by a severe lack of available irrigation water from the Rio Grande, Ribera said.

In 2006, cotton prices were 55 cents per pound, corn was at $2.35 per bushel and grain sorghum was fetching $4.15 per hundredweight, he said. Today, those prices are 87.5 cents per pound of cotton, $6.84 per bushel of corn and $11.50 per hundredweight of sorghum.

This year could rival 2009 when only 60,000 acres were planted, 77% of which were lost to drought, according to USDA.