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South Texas Farmers Hope Dry Start to Year Turns Around Soon
Posted: Mar 19, 2013 5:12 PM by Jessica Holley - jholley@kristv.com
Updated: Mar 19, 2013 6:40 PM
SAN PATRICIO COUNTY - Farmers across America have been struggling with the drought for a few years now. But with a small chance of rain in the forecast is giving South Texas farmers a bit more hope that their crops may have a chance this season.
It's what Brian Ring has done all his life, tending to his field of crops.
"The farming part of it has actually gotten easier, but with the weather conditions you know it's a constant battle," Ring.
A battle Ring has fought for many seasons, the dry cracked ground yielding fewer and fewer crops each year. Last year ring says he lost enough money that would have allowed he to live comfortably for three years.
"Until we get some substantial rainfall it could be 100 percent because the crops just cannot make it with the amount of moisture we have right now," says Bobby McCool, San Patricio County Agrilife Extension.
On average a farmer digs down one to three inches in to the dirt to find moist soil. But because of the drought McCool is actually estimating you have to dig down eight to 10 feet before they would hit moist soil. And that is simply just too far down in to the earth for these crops to pop up from. The water thirsty ground sucks up any moisture, the problem is there hasn't been any. So with the sun drying the fields crops planted earlier in the year look spotty and patchy.
Despite the challenge, Ring continued to plant Tuesday in the moist parts of his field.
"The stuff that has moisture the stuff that has sprouted and come up is not going to last real long if we don't get some rain pretty soon," says Ring.
He remains optimistic that the dry start to the year will turn around.
"It's a struggle. We are having to pitch pennies and trying to make sure we don't over spend," says Ring.
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