CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Just days ago we were in the middle of a severe drought. Many crops were starting to wilt and curl up because of the lack of rain, but then the rain hit and the question now is if it came in time.
Much of our farms throughout the Coastal Bend look saturated in the water right now. Some fields have turned into lakes, which is both good and bad news depending on the crop. Here in Nueces County, it usually leads the entire country in cotton production.
County Extension Agent Jason Ott said Nueces County has planted 40,000 odd acres of corn and it really felt the pressure of the lack of rain. The grain sorghum could've also used a shot in the arm.
"Now our cotton, because it's a little slower maturing and it is planted a little bit later, this was a really tremendously beneficial rainfall for our cotton crop and they should help boost our yields considerably," Ott said.
"There are some benefits that the rain is going to provide all the crops, but you know as far as a strong benefit towards increasing the yield, we're probably not gonna see that in some of those earlier crops."
San Patricio County is still cautiously optimistic after heavy rains hit the county.
"The rains over the past two weeks have kind of filled in the gap's and got most of the crops in really, really good shape," Bobby McCool, County Extension Agent in San Patricio said.
"We've got grain sorghum. It's already turning corn is probably already done the cotton and got a drink and really started to form, but with the excess amount that we've had this morning, we just hope it will go ahead and drain off."
Most of the farming in the Coastal Bend is dry land meaning they depend on mother nature to supply the water. In the business of agriculture timing is everything. Right now, everyone has their fingers crossed to see how things go over the next few weeks which will help to better tell the story about how good a year this will be out in the field.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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