After the failure of many of their summer crops because of drought, producers have good reason to worry that they won’t make a winter wheat crop either, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert.

“There are some real concerns right now, not only about potentially getting the crop up in the future, but about what kind of yield potential we are going to have with the crop if we do,” said Todd Baughman, AgriLife Extension agronomist for the Rolling Plains region.

The concern focuses on soil-moisture reserves as the bulk of winter wheat is planted during September and October, Baughman said. Without better soil moisture, the crop will not even emerge.

The concern is not just for grain production but for livestock forage production too, because winter wheat is also commonly relied upon for fall grazing, he said.

And wheat producers have reason to be concerned throughout most the state, not just in the Rolling Plains region.

“If you don’t get it up and growing, that’s going to limit your fall grazing, which is really going to hurt you from a cattle-performance standpoint,” Baughman said. “That’s probably the No. 1 fear that we’ve got right now.”

But for those who need grain production, the lack of soil moisture is causing a lot of anxiety as well, he said.

“If we don’t build up some soil moisture to grow this crop, there’s concern that it’s going to run out of water just like the cotton crop has done this year, because it won’t have any real deep moisture to help with the yield potential,” Baughman said.

Many farmers plant wheat for both grazing and grain production, pulling cattle off fields in time for the crop to make grain. But wheat for grazing is an even higher priority this year because the drought has caused summer grazing to become non-existent and continued feeding has exhausted hay supplies, Baughman said.

“Typically, what you’ll see is that somewhere between mid-September to the middle of October is the prime planting time for grazing,” he said. “Of course, we would really like to be planting right around the first of October. For our grain guys, most planting will start somewhere in the middle of October to Thanksgiving.

“That would be the prime time that we would like to plant the crop as a grain-only crop. ”

But those planning wheat as a grain-only crop could run into trouble this year, he said. This is because November typically signals the start of a drier time of year for most of the state’s wheat-growing regions. If moisture reserves aren’t already built up before winter, the chances to make a good grain crop will be greatly diminished.

“The driest months — if you look at historical weather records — will be December, January and February,” Baughman said. “November will be slightly behind those, so . . . if we don’t get any rainfall from now through the first of November, then the chance of actually building that deep moisture up is limited even in a normal year.”

East

Some areas had scattered showers, but they did not bring enough moisture to alleviate drought conditions. Pastures remained dry and short. Trees were dying.

Ponds and creek levels continued to drop. Some were already completely dried up. Producers were buying hay from out of state. Some also brought in water for livestock, while others continued culling of herds and some sold off entire herds.

North

With no rain and 100-plus degree daytime highs, soil-moisture levels were short throughout the district. The drought continued to take its toll on pastures. Nearly all livestock producers were feeding hay and supplements. Feed dealers were enlisting AgriLife Extension offices to help them find hay. Some dealers had to go as far as Alabama to find hay.

With the drought and extreme shortage of hay, most producers were reducing or liquidating their herds. Stock tanks were very low and ponds were drying up.

Most corn and grain was harvested, with yields for both crops reported as average or slightly above. Grain sorghum that was planted on time did well, but late-planted sorghum was struggling.

A few soybean fields were harvested during the past couple of days, but most was being cut for hay. Cotton looked terrible and peanuts were in poor condition. Skunks and armadillos were reportedly digging under houses to escape the heat and find moisture.

West Central

Hot, dry conditions continued. Most areas reported some rain, but not enough to break long-term drought conditions.

Normally, producers would be preparing fields for fall planting at this time, but no work was being done because of the extremely dry soils. Rangeland and pastures continue to deteriorate. Wildlife was suffering from drought and moving into towns looking for food and water.

Producers continued to sell off livestock from a lack of forage and water. Some producers were in “survival mode,” trying to hold onto a small number of cattle with which they can rebuild herds when conditions improve.