As officials in Texas are just beginning to tally the damage to farms and ranches from Hurricane Harvey, producers from across the country are doing what they always do, help their neighbors.
The winds and rains struck during cotton and rice harvest. Gene Hall of the Texas Farm Bureau estimates that maybe 10 to 20 percent of the crop was still in the field. “Extension has estimated that there could be as many as 400,000 bales lost from what was expected to be a very good 2 million bail crop,” Hall told AgriTalk Radio host Mike Adams.
On the cattle side, the picture is still as murky as the receding flood waters. Many ranchers were able to move herds to higher ground before the storm hit, but flooding has made reaching many of those cattle impossible so far. “The flood waters are receding,” Hall said, “but they haven’t receded to the point yet where they can get to all of the cattle (so it’s) real hard to put a number on it.”
The Texas Farm Bureau is raising funds to assist farmers and ranchers harmed by the storms. Hall said Farm Bureau is focusing on the financial needs of farmers and ranchers at this time while other organizations are assisting with fencing, labor and other needs. More information is available at TexasFarmBureau.org.
Listen to the entire AgriTalk conversation with Texas Farm Bureau’s Gene Hall in the player below.
