Drought effects in Texas

[EweSheep]

I just don't understand why cattle would drink to their deaths? Are you sure it is not "crazy water"?

 

[WingingIt]

Everyone we know down there is having to sell off cattle to try and make it this winter with any remaining surviving in good condition. My Mom's pond went completely dry, too, first time in my lifetime that's happened. It's bad.

 

[LindsayB]

Quote:
I just saw it on the news and they didn't go into detail about how they die from it. Maybe its something like bloat in dogs, but with cows? I don't know.

 

[tball]

far east texas here..... its horrible! i keep a half a dozen juice bottles frozen with water and put one or too in chicken coop every morning. The girls run over and stand on it or lay next to it!

 

[bt03]

I have a close friend that runs a cotton gin where we live.... He is going to work in Australia for a year because the gin will only be open for a month this season from the lack of cotton. Even the weeds are dead around here (Lubbock area) and it takes a lot to kill our weeds!

 

[Katy]

We're in much the same boat here in my area of Kansas. I looked at a drought map yesterday and we're on the line between extreme drought area and the exceptional drought. The oldtimes around here are saying it's worse here than it was in the 30s and early 50s. Some areas of the state have been getting rain, but not us. The ponds in our pastures are all dry.....we do have windmills as a water source so we aren't having to haul water like some of the neighbors.....and the grass is about gone. We're going to have to start feeding in the one pasture this coming week.....or haul them to the sale barn. Our winter feed that we planted is not growing so we may end up having to sell off a large portion of our herd which we've spent the last almost 40 years building up.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I've been watering my trees. I've never had to water trees before. I have live oaks and cedar elms; and they are showing stress. The trees in the yards of the foreclosed homes look horrible.

The paper had something on the cows drinking too much. I think that the ranchers are trucking in water because all the tanks are dry, the cows drink to much, and then die. I don't know if it is bloat or something else. Maybe they are dehydrated enough that they can't handle the amount of water they are drinking.

Texas has very strange water laws, especially for ground water. Basically it is perfectly legal to suck someone else's well dry, because no one can say where under ground water comes from...and idea from the early 1800s. They also haven't done mandatory watering restrictions in many places. It will be along time until it is over. The recent population growth in Texas has come in a high rainfall period. The longest historic drought in Texas is about 9 years; if this happens again, life as we know it in Texas will change dramatically.

 

[Okie Amazon]

We just went to the Jones, OK livestock auction last night. Anything that eats grass was for sale CHEAP! Back earlier this spring we bought a couple of nice bottle-feeder calves and gave $275. for an Angus/Simmental cross bull calf and $300. for a pure Angus heifer calf. Last night bottle babies were going for FIFTY BUCKS!!! At that price we might pick up a couple more next week. We have plenty of grass, but only because we water every week.

Earlier in spring, bred heifers were going for $1200 and $1500; now they are running around 500-600. Our next-door neighbor is going to sell us some of her hay. Her supplier had to restrict his sales to only his most long-time customers. Normally they would be on a third cutting of alfalfa by now; most people are having trouble getting a second!

 

[Imp]

Wish there was some way to share with you all. Here in the PNW we are having our second year without a summer. Been raining for 2 years.
It's not funny when everything is suffering.

Good luck,

Imp

 

[EweSheep]

Do you all think you might end up in a dust bowl? I sure hope not!