COLLEGE STATION — Many agricultural producers in East Texas are feeling caught between a rock and a hot place, according to Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel.

The agricultural losses from the extended drought are extreme. But added to those costs now are frequent wildfires that have destroyed fencing, hay supplies and barns, and scorched what sparse grazing there was left, said Aaron Low, AgriLife Extension agent for Cherokee County.

“Talking with people who are more experienced with drought than I am, they’re anticipating that even it if starts raining right now, it’s going to be at least two years before our grasses are able to recover from this,” Low said.

Low said that while much of the media coverage focused later on the loss of private homes and whole neighborhoods, landowners also suffered huge financial losses of fences and crops that often can’t be replaced by insurance.

While some fires have been started by truck blowouts and tree falls on power lines, other East Texas wildfires could have been avoided with a little common sense, he said.

“The big fire that started (last) Sunday, west of Alto, was just from a truck parked in tall grass,” Low said. “The heat from the car’s catalytic converter started the fire.

“These guys came up from Houston and were filling up deer feeders and the next thing they knew, several thousand acres of timber and pasture burned.”

The Houston men lost their truck and trailer on land they only leased for hunting. The owner of the deer farm had more than a thousand acres burned.

Other loses from that fire included nearly two miles of fencing on White Oak Creek Ranch, Low said.

“If you figure a post costs $5 each, and there’s a post every 10 feet, it starts to add up,” Low said.

Statewide, about 5,500 miles of fence and 2.6 million acres of pasture had been lost to wildfire as of July 8, according to Andy Vestal, director of the Texas AgriLife homeland security and emergency management programs.

There is also the cost of fuel, Bermuda grass sprigs, fertilizer and labor needed to restore pastures to consider if there is rain, Low said.

“We are talking losses of millions and millions of dollars in East Texas alone,” he said.

Regional livestock sale barns, such as Tri-County Livestock Market in New Summerfield, have reported about double the norm for cattle sales for an “extended period,” Low said.

“Our sale barn owners and managers are extremely worried that they’re going to have a rough time staying in business next year just for the simple fact there’s not going to be any cattle to sell,” he said.

West Central

Temperatures cooled down some, but extremely dry conditions were ongoing. Increased wildfire danger was a big concern for all counties. Irrigated cotton was in fair condition.

Small-grain planting was delayed as producers held off for rain. Rangeland and pasture conditions remained very poor. All water sources continued to drop. Hay was very hard to find and very expensive. Ranchers and producers continued to sell off livestock.

North

The region remained very dry, but livestock got some relief from cooler temperatures. Wheat farmers were trying to prepare land for planting, but found it difficult with dry, hard soils. Most crops were harvested. The only exceptions are a few late-maturing soybeans and cotton.

Many cattle producers were trying to buy hay from out of state and had to to pay extremely high prices to get the hay transported to Texas when they found it. Other producers culled herds and marketed calves early. Some sold off entire herds.

The emerging problem for livestock producers was water availability and water quality. Stock ponds were extremely low or dry at this time. There were reports of a few cattle dying of possible water toxicity. Wildfire danger was extremely high.

Rolling Plains

Cooler temperatures came to the region, giving residents a break from 100-plus degree weather. But conditions remained extremely dry. Wildfires were still burning in Palo Pinto County, but were mostly contained. Burn bans remained in place in all counties.

Ranchers continued selling off cattle, but were being limited on the number they could take to sale barns due to the large amount of cattle being sold.

Lack of grazing, hay and the high cost of supplements made it almost impossible to sustain cattle through the drought. Some producers were worried that if they sold off cattle, high cattle prices in the future will keep them from getting back into the cattle business.

Some of the big ranches shipped cows out of state or to the feedlots to maintain their herds. Other counties reported that no dryland cotton will be harvested this year. Irrigated crops had a little help with the cooler temperatures, but only limited acres will be harvested, and quality is expected to be low. Stock tanks were low or completely dry.

Producers who were able to drill wells were testing water quality for livestock. Homeowners also were testing water wells to ensure their drinking water was safe as water tables dropped.

South

Extremely hot weather continued to take its toll on all rangeland, pastures, soil-moisture levels and livestock. All counties reported very poor soil-moisture conditions.

Livestock producers were still searching for supplemental feed, and feed stores were having a difficult time meeting their needs. Some ranchers were resorting to prickly pear cactus.