Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley are reporting major crop losses worth millions of dollars due to a devastating drought that has parched South Texas.
The growing season has been the worst since 2006. The Natural Resources Defense Council ranked Texas No. 10 in the country for drought losses.
Farmers who work non-irrigated land lost 88 percent of their crop to drought, a loss valued at about $1 million. Cotton farmers in the valley lost about 90,000 acres in the dry spell, while those who farmed grain sorghum lost 60 percent of their crop, or some 410,000 acres.
The USDA's defense council is encouraging farmers to employ new methods and techniques that cut down on water usage as more extreme weather becomes the norm.
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Information from: The Monitor, http://www.themonitor.com
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