How a rainy summer is affecting East Texas crops
TROUP, Texas (KETK) – Agricultural community members are saying that the rainy and cool summer has affected east Texas crops and plants in many different ways.
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For some farmers and ranchers, the extra water has been beneficial, but it hasn’t been good for certain crops.
“Too much rain can be just as detrimental as not enough rain when it comes to produce,” Cindy Steele, owner of Steele’s Feed and Seed, said. “It’s not been one of the better gardening years.”
According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, this is the wettest June on record for parts of East Texas in the last 130 years. Experts in the field say the excess water might not be good for some crops, such as tomatoes and peas.
However, there have been some upsides to the rainy weather, like cooler temperatures.
“I can guarantee you within a week I’m going to start seeing blooms all over those tomatoes because the temperatures gotten cooler.” said Steele
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Others are seeing the benefits from the amount of water this season and are hoping it leads to more hay this year.
“This is actually a benefit, what we’re getting now, we never get rain in July and August and we get a week of rain right now,” Michael Murphy, plant manager of American Plant Food. “That is going prolong our season and extend our season and hopefully make hay and other nutrients more available this year it’s just going to take a while”
Last year hay production was at an all-time low.
“We didn’t make hay and a lot of people were out of hay, so this is a blessing that they’re getting to make hay and have enough hay for this coming winter,” Steele said. “You cant make hay unless you have water so it’s a catch 22 But I’d rather have water.”
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