The lack of rainfall during the fall and winter months led to the explosive growth of extreme to exceptional drought conditions across the Southwest and southern High Plains, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
Meanwhile, winter wheat – which is not droughted-out – is headed out.
On a short trip to the country, I observed a good stand of wheat near Miles in Runnels County headed out.
In areas where it rained the wheat will likely make at least an average crop, but there are droughty fields ten miles away,” Holubec said.
He said like most of his neighbors: “we keep watching the skies and listening to the weather folks with hopes their predictions of that next rain will come soon!” Most of McCulloch County’s wheat is grown on the western edge of the county around Melvin, about 60 miles southeast of San Angelo.
“Those fall-developed roots are keeping plants alive as they await seasonal rainfall, even under extended drought conditions,” he said.
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 56 percent of winter wheat is headed and 74 percent of oats across the Lone Star State.
Irrigation where available, continued on wheat fields in the Northern High Plains.
A late freeze by April’s end damaged wheat in the Panhandle, Southern Plains and Rolling Plains.
Winter wheat in Far West Texas during the severe cold in February, 2011 delivered a 100 percent loss of some stands of germinated wheat, according to the weekly crop and weather report issued by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.