There are some signs of optimism among local farmers, but they are cautiously optimistic and rightly so. Everyone was happy to have 2022 in the rear-view mirror, now we are looking forward to and praying for a change from the La Nina weather pattern that has caused us so much grief this past year.
The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center has moved the potential month for getting into a more favorable system around quite a bit, but things are now looking a little better for the March-April-May time frame to get to at least an equal chance for dry or wet.
That does not sound great, but it is better than a below average rainfall prediction. While we are far from being out of drought and having good soil moisture, we do have more soil moisture than we have had in well over a year.
The drought has devastated many agriculture commodities in the county, the beef herd was one of the hardest hit commodities.
It was estimated that we had 40,500 head of mature female beef cattle in the county going into the drought, best estimates indicate ½ of the herd was liquidated during this past year.
I am hoping we can squeak through the rest of the winter and spring without an extended cold spell or that number will go up. It is going to be a long uphill and costly journey to get the beef herds built back up. The sheep and goat herds were hit equally hard.
No crops were spared, pecan production was very poor and in irrigated orchards where water was short, we can expect to see some die-back and slow dying trees the next couple of years. Dryland bermudagrass fields were also hammered by no rainfall, high temperatures and hard grazing.
The bit of rainfall we received late last summer early fall helped many fields recover somewhat, hopefully enough that they will respond once we get some rainfall. Across the board I know of no dryland crops that made a crop last year.
On the bright side fertilizer while still being very high appears to be coming off the crazy high prices of last year. However, with the still elevated prices and the poor shape many of our fields are in soil test are going to be probably your best spent money this year. I really want to encourage folks to get out and pull soil test to get ready for the upcoming season.
This is without a doubt one of the most economical viable management tools available to any farmer. The only way to know what your soils need for either high yields or just maintenance is through soil testing.
Knowing what your soil needs, can not only save you money, but it also allows you to improve the health and vigor of your grass stand more effectively. All disease issues I see in bermudagrass are caused by low nutrient issues. I do understand that the fertilizer budget can be limited, if you cannot fertilize for maximum production, with a soil test you have the option of putting out lower amounts of the nutrients that are more representative of what your soil needs.
This approach will not get you maximum production, but it will help to maintain plant health and survivability much better than just putting out 100 lbs. of nitrogen. If it is maximum production you want, then you will need a soil test to indicate exactly what combination and amounts of nutrients your soil will require to meet those maximum production goals.
The only way to find out what your soil really needs is with a soil test. These tests are cheap $12.00 from the Texas A&M Soils Lab, and even free from many of the local fertilizer dealers in the area.
Who can say for sure what the year will provide for moisture, knowing your soils needs will help you make informed decisions on how to help your fields recover and produce. If you would like the A&M soil test form, please come by, or give us a call we will be happy to send it to you. Do continue to be cautiously optimistic but have the tools in place to make the most of whatever the season brings.