Drought

Irrigation Strategies Pair Water-Use Efficiency With Profit Rainfall and/or access to irrigation water is essential to viable cotton production. Circumstances vary across the different regions of the Cotton Belt. Some areas are plagued by drought and declining aquifers, whereas other...

⋅ BY SHELBY SHANK ⋅ FIELD EDITOR Farmers and ranchers are facing ongoing drought conditions in the Rio Grande Valley. Dry conditions have led cattle ranchers to downsize their herds and sell their cattle because they don’t have grass or hay to feed them. Cotton...

Despite California Storms, Water Challenges Persist ⋅ BY CHRISTINE SOUZA ⋅ In early March, as still more storms dumped new snow onto California’s burgeoning snowpack, water managers, farmers and environmentalists gathered in Sacramento to discuss long-term challenges to secure a more...

⋅ BY JUSTIN FREDRICKSON ⋅ CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU To weather extended and intensifying droughts we have experienced, and that we know are likely just around the bend again, we need to seriously bulk up our capacity to better handle the periodic...

Grower Interest And Potential Benefits Are Driving Factors ⋅ BY CARROLL SMITH ⋅ EDITOR The agricultural landscape in Louisiana is diverse. Its farmers produce everything from cotton, soybeans, corn, rice and sugarcane to crawfish, peanuts and other commodities.  In areas of the state...

⋅ BY MARY HIGHTOWER ⋅ U of A System Division of Agriculture Cotton prices were red hot in 2022, but 2023 may see a cooling trend, not only in the markets, but also acres. 2022 was marked by severe drought that smothered...

Arizona Farmers, Ranchers Weigh In On State’s Mega-Drought The third edition of the American Farm Bureau’s Assessing Western Drought Conditions survey illustrates many ground-level drought impacts, including an expected reduction in yields, removing or destroying orchard trees or multi-year crops, and selling...

It was a sobering moment when I read the article on page 10 in which it was reported that the United States is expected to harvest its lowest number of cotton acres since the 19th century, according to an...

⋅ By Mary Hightower ⋅ The United States is expected to harvest its lowest number of cotton acres since the 19th century, according to an estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “USDA projected this year's harvested acres at 7.13 million,” said...

⋅ BY SEBE BROWN ⋅ UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE Much of the cotton in West Tennessee is not irrigated and the unseasonable dry growing conditions experienced since May have forced several fields into early cutout and halted growth. With rain chances as...

Ted Schneider To Lead National Cotton Council  Ted Schneider, a Lake Providence, Louisiana, producer, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2022 during the organization’s annual meeting in Houston, Texas. Shawn Holladay, a Lubbock producer, was elected to the position of...

Conditions are drying around much of Texas, and forecasts call for winter weather to be warmer and drier than average. Commodity producers in much of the state, including the High Plains, experienced a banner year in 2021 due to high...

Conditions are drying around much of Texas, and forecasts are calling for winter weather to be warmer and drier than average. Commodity producers in much of the state, including the High Plains, experienced a banner year in 2021. That was...

Lack Of Water Reduces California Farmers’ Incentive To Grow Cotton • By Ching Lee, California Farm Bureau Federation • Lack of water for agriculture could dampen prospects for California farmers to grow more cotton, even as prices for the commodity have soared. Diminished...

Due to the worsening drought, the Bureau of Reclamation updated initial Central Valley Project 2021 water supply allocations for municipal and industrial water service and agricultural contractors. Allocation amounts are based on an estimate of water available for delivery...