Categories: Farm & Ranch

Storm damage forces cancellation of wheat field day set for May 13 at Chillicothe

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Steven Sparkman, 940-663-6301, sdsparkman@ag.tamu.edu

VERNON – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Hardeman County Wheat Field Tour at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Chillicothe Station on May 13 has been cancelled due to storm damage.

Wheat plots at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station south of Chillicothe were mowed down by hail and high winds May 8. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo by Jimmy Barnett)

Steven Sparkman, AgriLife Extension agent for Hardeman County, said a storm May 8 laid the wheat plots down and did considerable damage to the guar and canola plots as well.

“We had hail, high winds and a tornado that caused tremendous crop damage in the area,” Sparkman said. “Producers will be assessing storm damage and doing cleanup for the next few days. For that reason, we’ve elected to cancel the field day.”

Sparkman said he estimated 10,000 acres of wheat in Hardeman County were lost to hail or high wind damage, starting along State Highway 6 about 5 miles south of Quanah and moving east to Harrold and Punkin Center in Wichita County. The Overstreet Dairy just south of the research station also received some damage, he said.

There are no plans to reschedule the field day at this time. For those producers needing Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units, Sparkman said another event will be held soon to provide those.

For more information, contact Sparkman at 940-663-6301 or sdsparkman@ag.tamu.edu .

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Kay Ledbetter

Kay Ledbetter is communications coordinator for Texas A&M AgriLife. Additionally, she is responsible for writing news releases and feature articles from science-based information generated by the agency across the state, as well as the associated media relations.