Cotton growers in west Texas are praying for rain as their crop struggles against the heat this late in the season.
Travis Mires farms in O’Donnell and serves as the President of Plains Cotton Growers.
“It unfortunately is really, really spotty, you know. There have been areas that have got some really good rains in the last two to three weeks, you know, and their crops are doing well,” he explains. “Irrigated cotton is doing well. It could sure use some help right now but our dry land crops for the most part are in trouble. We’ve got a big, heavy fruit load on them and they’re just— they need more water than they’re getting. So, we desperately need rain.”
However, Mires says that things are looking a bit more optimistic for cotton growers in southern portions of Texas.
“It’s been pretty interesting. The guys from south Texas, you know that are basically our neighbors, you know, have luckily escaped this last hurricane that come down through there, you know. And so, they’re right in the middle of their harvest right now, and just, you know, they’re praying for good open weather. And of course, we’re sitting up there in west Texas hoping for a hurricane that might push some moisture up to us, you know. But anyway, they’ve got a good crop down there and they just need time to get it out,” he adds.
This week’s Crop Progress Report out of the USDA rated Texas cotton 37% very poor to poor and only 33% good to excellent.
