Adding insult to injury, the high risk of wildfire would last through April for most of the state, according Texas Forest Service and Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel. The problem remains lack of moisture, combined with a heavy fuel load of dry grasses and high winds.
On Feb. 22 these conditions contributed to the outbreak of 20 major wildfires from Amarillo to Ozona and Midland east to Matador, an area with a “footprint of about 45,000 square miles,” said Mark Stanford, Forest Service operations chief.
Stanford said the winds spread the fires at 4 to 5 miles per hour, creating the equivalent of a football-field size area burning every minute. At least 80 homes burned and hundreds of families evacuated.
Stanford and other forecasters feared that, without rain, the same conditions that fueled the Feb. 22 fires will continue to raise the risk of wildfires big and small.
2-minute MP3 Texas crop and weather report for March 8, 2011[audio:http://agtoday.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/0308-crop-weather-AUDIO.mp3|titles=2-minute MP3 Texas crop and weather report for March 8, 2011]
We continue to have grass fires popping up all over the county,” said Tommy Yeater, AgriLife Extension agent for Howard County, west of Abiliene. “We are in desperate need of a good rain. Farmers don’t have any moisture to go into planting season. Ranchers continue to doze firebreaks around their pastures. ”
“Childress County is in need of more moisture,” said Lonnie Jenschke, AgriLife Extension agent for the county, which is northwest of Wichita Falls. “The county saw some 50 mph winds early in the week. There was one small fire and some small fires this week. Small-grain fields are in definite need of moisture.”
“A total of 32,294 acres burnt and left some ranchers without any grazing,” said Ryan Martin, AgriLife Extension agent for Motley County, northeast of Lubbock. “Some producers were fortunate enough to have other pastures to move cattle to, but several had just pulled cattle off these pastures due to lack of moisture and grazing becoming sparse. Some producers were even forced to sell off cattle due to all of their grazing acres and hay supply being destroyed.”
Other parts of the state were spared the wildfires, but conditions in many areas could favor similar burns, according to the Forest Service.
More information on current Texas drought and wildfire alerts can be found on the the AgriLife Extension Agricultural Drought Task Force webpage at http://agrilife.tamu.edu/drought/ .
AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summaries:
Central: The region remained very dry. Winter wheat greened up, but will not last long without a rain soon. Corn planting was ongoing. Producers were pruning peach trees and preparing for vegetable planting.Coastal Bend: Soil moisture was low, but farmers were planting row crops anyway.
Temperatures were above normal, with very light rainfall in some areas. Pastures began to green up, but rain was needed to jump start warm-season grasses.
East: Mild temperatures helped winter forages. Ryegrass and clover were growing well but needed rain to really take off. Warm-season grasses began to emerge. Livestock producers reduced supplemental feeding of livestock with the spring green-up. Fruit trees started to break buds and bloom. Feral hog problems continued. Tyler County reported Dallis grass — a clumpy, grassy weed– in pastures and wood-boring insects in trees.
Far West: The region was unseasonably warm and dry, with winds of 60 mph, and high fire danger. Grassfires continued to be reported throughout the district. Farmers were in desperate need of rain, lacking enough moisture to plant. Ranchers continue to doze firebreaks around their pastures. Pecan trees remained dormant. Fall-planted onions were recovering from earlier freeze damage. Alfalfa had already come back, but the first harvest was estimated to have been delayed at least three weeks. Hoping for rain, farmers continued to prepare land for cotton, chile and corn planting.
North: The region had good weather with mild daytime temperatures and some precipitation. Soil moisture was adequate. Winter pastures responded to warmer soil temperatures. Producers applied fertilizer and sprayed herbicides on wheat and winter annual pastures. Farmers began to plant corn and grain sorghum. Small grains looked good, and winter wheat was in fair to good condition. In some counties, grazing forages were lush. Bermudagrass started to come out of dormancy. Sporadic rains kept ryegrass pastures in optimal condition. Ryegrass was everywhere, and most producers had plenty of hay. Dairy operators were green-chopping small grains and ryegrass for silage. Fruit trees were trying to bloom, which may be a bad thing if there is a late freeze. Feral hogs continued to be a problem. The condition of rangeland and pastures ranged from poor to good.
Panhandle: The region remained extremely dry and under high threat of wildfire. There were of 25,000 acres lost to wildfires in Hutchinson County, and 15,000 acres lost in Potter and Randall Counties. From 25 to 30 homes were completely destroyed. There were reports livestock losses, but not major ones. Soil moisture was very short. Wheat and rangeland was mostly in poor condition. Some farmers were preparing land for spring planting. Cattle were in fair condition, with continued supplemental feeding.
Rolling Plains: High, dry winds and very little moisture favored conditions for scattered grass fires. With the low rainfall, many producers had to cultivate and lay rows in dry soil, which made fields prone to wind erosion. Winter wheat continued to hold on, and some fields that saw light rain in the past two weeks were coming on. Stocker cattle producers were shipping some cattle off of dual-purpose (grown for winter grazing and grain) wheat. Cattle on pasture were doing fairly well as perennial grasses were growing again. Stock-tank water levels were critically low. In Parker County peaches began to bloom, elsewhere were mostly in the pink bud stage.
South: As spring approached, farmers and rangers were greatly concerned with the lack of any significant rainfall. Soil moisture levels were short to very short throughout the entire region, except for the southern parts of the region, where they were adequate. Even in that area, if there is no rainfall soon, soil moisture levels were expected to quickly decline because of constant high winds. Wildfires were also a major concern in most of the region. Ranchers had to increase supplemental feed, and many could not release cattle onto native range and pastures because of a lack of spring forage. Some producers were selling cattle in order to reduce their feed costs. Frio County corn growers began planting. Zavala County producers were pre-watering fields for corn, sorghum and cotton plantings. Also in that area, cabbage and spinach harvesting was active, carrots and onions progressed well. Dryland oat and wheat producers gave up on producing a crop this year due to the drought. In the southern part of the region, farmers were planting corn and sorghum, actively harvesting vegetable, citrus and sugarcane, and had nearly finished planting sorghum. Cotton planting also began in that area.
South Plains: The region was dry and windy with burn bans in effect. There was minimal precipitation in some areas; none in most. Some field activities, such as applications of fertilizer and pre-emergent herbicides, and pre-watering for spring plantings, were ongoing. Winter wheat was suffering, and pastures and rangeland were dry. Several thousand acres burned around the area, destroying property and killing livestock.
Southeast: Most of the region did not receive rain and remained extremely dry. Winter annual grasses were wilting. Despite limited moisture, farmers in Brazoria and Fort Bend counties continued planting corn and sorghum. Elsewhere, farmers continued preparing land for spring plantings, though doing so was difficult due to the extremely dry conditions. Cattle producers continued to feed hay.
Southwest: The region remained very dry. Cumulative rainfall measured in Uvalde since Aug. 1 remained at about 35 percent of the long-term average for the same period and the second- driest on record. High winds continued to aggravate the dry spell and increased the incidence of roadside fires. Farmers planted irrigated corn and sorghum. Some corn had already emerged. Rain was needed to make dryland crop planting possible. Pastures and rangeland grasses remained in winter dormancy. Forage availability was below average. Ranchers remained busy with the calving/lambing/kidding season and were still repairing damage to livestock water facility pipes from last month’s hard freezes.
West Central: Lack of rain, warm temperatures and dry, windy conditions continued to deplete soil-moisture levels and reduce forage quality. Land preparation for cotton and grain sorghum progressed slowly. Wildfires were prevalent in many counties, and burn bans remained in effect. There was little to no grass growth in rangeland and pastures. Stock-tank water levels continued to drop. Livestock producers continued supplemental feeding of cattle. Livestock were in fair condition.
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