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Abilene/Big CountryBusinessTexasOpinionLettersFeaturesOutdoors

abilene / big country

 
Weekend storms brought much-needed rain
... Soaking overnight rains rolled through much of the Big Country late Saturday and early Sunday, washing some of the hard edge off a months-long drought. Several locations reported amounts of 2 inches and up, including the Eastland County towns of Carbon, Cisco and Eastland. As much as 2.38 inches were ...
 
Cattlemen from nine states take Stewman cattle to far greener pastures
By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor MARYNEAL - When it comes to dry, Nolan County is about as powder dry as it gets after many months of devastating drought. This part of Texas remains in the tight grips of the worst drought in a century - and you might expect a cattle production sale to be a hopeless ...
 
South Texas floods while Abilene region still thirsty for more rain
... had received 10.6 inches of rain, less than half of the 21.3 inches average for the first 9-1/2 months. It will take some prolonged rain to end drought Being at less than half the average rainfall, it's clear that days of rain will be necessary to get out of the drought. "The rain will stop anything ...
 
Drought clearly affects Rehab sale
Wednesday, September 30, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor The 39th Annual Cattlemen's Round-Up for Rehab did well Tuesday in the face of one of the worst droughts in this century. But the Round-Up pace remains about 15 percent behind last year. Ranchers ...
 
Local water usage could break record in September because of drought
Tuesday, September 29, 1998 By LINDSAY TOZER Staff Writer Dwight Eisenhower had become president the last time the city of Abilene endured a drought with so little rainfall run-off into local reservoirs. More than 15 ...
 
Water district OKs smaller budget
... just more than $1.4 million, mainly to pay for outsized electricity consumption required to pump more water than projected because of the continuing drought. The four member cities, Abilene, Albany, Anson and Breckenridge, had been paying their shares of the higher power costs each month, said David ...
 
Government holds wild horse auction
... of Loop 322 to look at the animals to be offered at this morning's auction. Information specialist Debbie Harrington said the present prolonged drought that has visited widespread havoc on agriculture has hampered the Wild Horse and Burro Program as well. In a drought, she explained, many potential ...
 
Izzard says Clinton Administration has compromised agriculture
... offset the hefty cost, he would lower the caps in subsequent years when farm prices reached healthy levels. Izzard said he would seek tax relief for drought-stricken agriculture. He proposes no tax on assets sold because of a drought, as long as the proceeds are used to rebuild livestock herds or replace ...
 
Despite drought, there are doves to be found this year
Wednesday, September 2, 1998 By JERRY O'BRYANT Outdoors Editor There's nothing like watching the sunrise over a field of cut milo - especially on the opening day of the dove hunting season. Of course the real bonus to a dove hunter ...
 
Harold and Chera Hohhertz honored as Farm Family of the Year
Saturday, August 22, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor The unrelenting 1998 drought has been treacherous, but Harold and Chera Hohhertz vowed Friday it would not put them out of farming. They were honored as "Farm Family of the ...
 
Drought driving wild animals to search for water
Saturday, August 22, 1998 By DON KING Correspondent SWEETWATER -- Sweetwater residents reported a red fox standing just yards away from their apartment complex recently. Meanwhile, a Taylor County woman arrived home to find a coyote standing ...
 
Even if more rain comes, '98 drought surpasses 1996 in damage now
Thursday, August 20, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor It's official - the 1998 drought already has surpassed damage of the 1996 disaster - with a dozen days left in August. The '98 drought is now on record as the worst ...
 
Heat wave forcing wildlife closer to 'city water'
... summer, most city dwellers knew they'd be fine as long as they stuck to the air-conditioned indoors. And farmers, their livelihood threatened by drought, lobbied the government for special aid. But for area wildlife, not so well shielded from the sometimes cruel reality of life and death, surviving ...
 
TDA Drought Workshop brings discussion on tools for surviving drought
August 13, 1998 TDA By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor STAMFORD - Some estimates say the 1998 drought has been so treacherous Texas may lose up to one-third of its farmers and ranchers from its impact. But on Wednesday, the parking lot of the ...
 
Glickman sees drought devastation up close in region
Wednesday, August 12, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor COLORADO CITY - With his casual slacks, chambray shirt and work shoes, Dan Glickman could have been a local farmer in Woody Anderson's parched cotton field north of here Tuesday ...
 
Brown County drought damage assessed
Saturday, August 8, 1998 BROWNWOOD -- Keith Graf of Dallas, North Texas regional director for U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, visited Brown County Thursday to assess drought damage. Lewie Newman, vice president of the Brown County Farm Bureau, accompanied ...
 
State to sponsor drought relief workshop at Stamford
Wednesday, August 5, 1998 By Roy A. Jones II Regional Editor STAMFORD -- The Texas Department of Agriculture will have a workshop in Stamford on Aug. 12 to provide valuable information to drought-stricken farmers, Agriculture Commissioner ...
 
Cattle outlook not very bright
... , the auction's president and co-owner. "We are consistently seeing cattle that should be sold later this year or in January," he said. The drought is decimating the state's cattle industry. Thirty percent more cattle are seeing the auction houses around here this summer than last. "We ...
 
No drought contingency plan to be implemented this summer
Wednesday, July 22, 1998 By LINDSAY TOZER Staff Writer Little can make summer heat more unbearable than a dead lawn, a dirty car or, more importantly, a half-filled pool. This water-restriction scenario, which has been played ...
 
Rains flood parts of Brownwood, scattered showers elsewhere
... , he said. SCATTERED RAINFALL Portions of the Big Country received scattered rainfall but not enough to abate the danger of wildfires or end the drought plaguing farmers and ranchers. In Taylor County, the weather service reported nearly an inch of rain at the Abilene Regional Airport. The system dumped ...
 
Texas will lose $1.8 billion from lost cotton production
... Farm Editor The USDA announced its cotton planting figures Tuesday, which Texas A&M economists used as baseline numbers to calculate titanic drought losses to the state's dryland cotton. The numbers are scary. What's more, Abilene is in the very center of the region that makes up a hefty chunk of ...
 
Perry briefs Glickman and U.S. reps on drought conditions in Texas
Thursday, June 18, 1998 By J.T. SMITH / Abilene Reporter-News Like much of the Abilene region, much of Texas remain in the grips of an extended dry spell. Texas Ag Commissioner Rick Perry was in Washington on Wednesday ...
 
City pumps water from secondary supply
... might set a record for water use. "We've got plenty of water right now," he said. The city's supply, designed to last through a three-year drought, would withstand 12 months without a single drop of rain, he said. Under its drought contingency plan, the city begins to pump water from Hubbard ...
 
Perry: Valley farmers face fifth year of weather-related economic losses
Friday, June 5, 1998 WESLACO, Texas (AP) -- With a drought drying up water levels, Valley growers face another year of weather-related economic losses, predicts Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry. Perry said ...
 
Holt tells Oldtimers they should never lose their humor
... Farm Editor STAMFORD - Legendary farm newsman Harry Holt told the Texas Cowboy Oldtimers Association it can be easy to get down after months of drought and extreme heat. But he advised Oldtimers to keep their spirits up. "I am - by nature - very sentimental. I can cry at the drop of a hat, especially ...
 
Drought ruins prisoners' plans for growing vegetables for the Food Bank
Saturday, May 23, 1998 Drought ruins prisoners' plans for growing vegetables for the Food Bank By TANYA EISERER Staff Writer Drought-like conditions have reduced the much-expected crop of vegetables planted by Robertson Unit inmates for the Food Bank of Abilene to little nubs. The dire ...
 
Water war waged in state capitol
... made water transferred out of a basin "junior" to all other rights in the basin, meaning the water supply wouldn't be reliable in times of drought. Many smaller communities support the junior rights provision because, without it, they fear larger communities with more money and clout could ...

business

State program helps increase soybean yields
... yields STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — A program aimed at improving soybean yields in Mississippi helped farmers produce a 1998 crop that, despite a drought, averaged 20 bushels per acre more than the state average. The Soybean Management by Application of Research and Technology, or SMART, program links farmers ...
 
Drought takes toll on future Christmas tree crop
Tuesday, December 8, 1998 By KATIE FAIRBANK Associated Press GILMER -- This year's heat and drought have played havoc with the Christmas tree industry in Texas. Consumers likely will not notice this holiday season, although the impact ...
 
Drought takes long-term toll on Christmas tree crop
Sunday, December 6, 1998 By KATIE FAIRBANK Associated Press GILMER -- Consumers shouldn't expect to pay more for their evergreens this holiday season despite a drought that has wounded the Christmas tree industry. Many growers in the ...
 
USDA to consider extension requests for CRP emergency grazing
... the decision of the state committee on extensions," Hall said. "Given the hits our producers have taken this year as a result of the drought, I have been urging USDA to consider requests for extending emergency grazing on CRP," Stenholm said. "I am hopeful this will help provide ...
 
Farmers and ranchers struggle to survive drought even as fall arrives
Saturday, October 31, 1998 By SANDY WEST Associated Press ALTUS, Okla. -- Cattle in far southwest Oklahoma were so hot this summer that some ranchers built guards around water troughs to keep the cattle from leaping ...
 
Texas pumpkin crop survives drought year in flying colors
Sunday, October 18, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor Mack Hickerson has been raising pumpkins since 1964 at his Floyd County farm -- certainly no newcomer to the pumpkin patch. But this October, he is smack in the middle of his ...
 
Texas cotton crop might make 3 million bales tops
... sorghum is expected to be 2.3 million acres, down 27 percent from last year. Initially, grain sorghum replaced some failed cotton acreage during the Drought of '98. But as the drought continued, much of the late-planted sorghum acreage also failed. Of the grain sorghum that is expected to be harvested ...
 
R.A. Brown Ranch 24th Annual Bull and Quarter Horse Sale is Wednesday
... be in the ring at one time. The buyer gets choice, and R.A. Brown Ranch will keep the other filly." Yes, times are tough There's no denying the Drought of '98 has been a treacherous one along with record heat that scorched rangeland. But ranchers who have been in business for more than a century ...
 
Cattle: Now and Next Year workshop is Oct. 19 at Comanche
... mile west of Comanche on U.S. Highway 377. Well known speakers from throughout Texas will address topics that affect every cattle producer in this drought year and also will discuss the outlook for next year. The workshop will in inside the Dudley Bros. Sale Pavilion. That's same familiar arena and ...
 
Farm relief package is lean on relief for ranchers
Thursday, October 1, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor Although they've been hit as hard by the Drought of '98 as anyone, little meat for cattlemen was contained in the $3.9 billion farm relief package announced by Congress. It offers only $75 million ...
 
Perry unveils legislative proposals to assist farmers and ranchers
... Commissioner Rick Perry has put together a list of proposed federal measures that, if passed, would offer both short- and long-term relief to drought-stricken farmers and ranchers. The Perry proposals, which require action by the U.S. Congress and USDA, have been shared with members of the Texas Congressional ..
 
Drought, worms loom over state's fall crops
Sunday, September 27, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Recent tropical showers that have doused large sections of Texas haven't amounted to a puddle in the state's northwestern wheat-and-cattle belt. And crops that have gotten rain are prime ...
 
ECP assistance may be available for some area counties
Saturday, September 26, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor The ongoing drought has caused severe hurt throughout Taylor County, notes Tim Hall, executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency for Taylor County, Abilene. But farms ...
 
Drought's impact on range will be felt well into 1999
Wednesday, September 23, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor General rains - if they ever come - could still make it possible to plant some winter wheat pasture to provide some forage for livestock. But native rangeland has taken an ...
 
Drought has taken its toll on most Texas crops
Saturday, September 19, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor The 1998 drought has put the whammy on Texas crop production. That's especially true of cotton. The latest September estimate pegs the Texas Upland cotton crop at 3 million bales, some ...
 
Plains Cotton Cooperative announces record cash distribution
Thursday, September 17, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor Just when drought-stricken cotton farmers desperately needed some good news, they got some Wednesday afternoon. Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) announced ...
 
Drought is zapping the blood from some farm equipment dealers
Sunday, September 13, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor Abilene has received an official 9.8 inches of rainfall for the year -- or about half of average. With many surrounding areas in as bad -- or worse shape ...
 
Perry encourages farmers to get their stalk destruction rebates
Saturday, September 12, 1998 With the widespread devastation from the drought, every penny counts. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry is urging cotton growers in the South Texas-Winter Garden and Rolling Plains Central ...
 
Texas agriculture faced with both drought and low prices
Friday, September 4, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor The nation has been aware of the devastation Texas agricultural producers face from the 1998 drought. But beyond the drought, low commodity prices are causing ...
 
Stenholm announces extended emergency haying on CRP land
... extension has been granted for emergency haying on idled Conservation Reserve Program acreage. Emergency haying can continue through Sept. 15 in all drought-stricken Texas counties that were approved for emergency haying. Producers within approved counties must request approval to hay the eligible CRP ...
 
Weevil Foundation extends assessment due date because of drought
Sunday, August 30, 1998 By J.T. SMITH / Farm Editor The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation has extended the 1998 due date for assessments in the Rolling Plains Central and Southern Rolling Plains weevil ...
 
RR Ranch slates Drought Dispersal sale for Sept. 14 at West
Friday, August 28, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor The drought of 1998 has been horrible - but with it has come the opportunity for some to buy outstanding females that wouldn't be sold, otherwise. RR Ranch Drought ...
 
Cactus plant can be true friend on the range
August 26, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor South Texas finally has been getting some rain. But the 1998 drought already has taken a toll. And who knows what is in store for ranchers next year? Grand ranches like the King Ranch have long known the value of cactus ...
 
Ranchers will be years recovering from drought
Friday, August 21, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor Because of the cyclic nature of the cattle business - and the fact a cow is pregnant nine months - ranchers are not going to just bounce right back from the 1998 drought ...
 
Aspermont rancher N.L. "Boss" Winter honored as Texas Trail Blazer
... Boss was born. That half section became the family homestead and still remains in the family today. Boss has seen a lot of droughts The ongoing 1998 drought has wreaked havoc with ranchers. But Boss has seen droughts before -- having lived most of this century. He remembers when -- at the age of 13 ...
 
Clinton signs bill freeing $5.5 billion to farmers amid new evidence of downturn
... of downturn WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton signed legislation Wednesday speeding $5.5 billion to thousands of farmers amid new forecasts that drought is ravaging U.S. cotton while large harvests of other major crops will further drag down prices. The new law will ease the immediate cash crunch ...
 
Weather problems slash U.S. cotton crop by 24 percent
August 13, 1998 By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press WASHINGTON - The prolonged Southern drought and other weather problems will cut the U.S. cotton crop by 24 percent this year compared with 1997, the Agriculture Department projected today. Ideal ...
 
Local lender organizes hay exchange program
August 11, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News One of the tougher things during the ongoing drought is locating feed for hungry livestock. The Lone Star Federal Land Bank Association has joined with other Tenth Farm Credit District lending organizations ...
 
Farmers could get 1999 government checks early under Senate-passed bill
... Secretary Dan Glickman said the administration supports the move. "This will help my state, which is the most drastically affected by ... drought," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. The 1999 payments, which are guaranteed under the 1996 farm law, total $5.5 billion. Farmers would not ...
 
Drought at least making weevil eradication easier
Friday, July 24, 1998 By SCOTT SCHOLTEN Staff Writer As rotten as the drought may be for farmers, there is some consolation. It's making boll weevil eradication easier. Many boll weevils will go hungry this summer because ...
 
Perry wants relief program for livestock producers' feed dilemma
... Rick Perry has urged U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to fund a disaster relief program for livestock producers being hammered by the ongoing drought. Perry said the program would help with additional feed costs. Texas farmers and ranchers expect to pay an additional $136 million in feed costs ...
 
Concern over drought impact on poisoning in Texas livestock
Thursday, July 16, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News Ranchers have had many questions regarding the months of drought and its impact on nitrate and prussic acid poisoning from hay fed to cattle. &quot ...
 
Corn and cotton droop in drought; vineyards valorous
Wednesday, July 8, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - While most agricultural producers in Texas are suffering from the second drought in three years, the state's 4,000-acre wine industry is not wilting away, the Texas ...
 
Drought damage in billions now even if it rains
Friday, July 3, 1998 By J.T. SMITH Farm Editor Even if some rain falls on your Fourth of July weekend, the drought is far from over. The damage from months without rain and a long string of triple-digit degree days already have done billions ...
 
Farmers Union president urges Congress to provide disaster relief
... ;Some people in Texas are mistaken when they claim that Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman is not doing enough to assist famrers and ranchers in drought-stricken areas," Sims said. "It is Congress, not Agriculture Secretary Glickman, that is responsible for the lack of disaster assistance ...
 
Texas suffers through second drought in three years
Saturday, June 20, 1998 By MADELINE BARO / Associated Press Writer MONTE ALTO, Texas (AP) -- The fields are so parched they're catching on fire. Cornfields are yellowing. Soil is turning to dust, casting a pall over highways ...
 
Perry initiates drought preparedness efforts at TDA
Sunday, June 7, 1998 Every passing day without a big, general rain is taking a toll on Texas and its enormous agricultural economy. With drought-like conditions continuing across the state, Texas Agriculture Commissioner ...
 
Drought puts crop insurance in the spotlight for farmers
Sunday, June 7, 1998 By J.T. SMITH / Abilene Reporter-News Cotton is rapidly running out of days left in the growing season to make a crop since dry ground prevented timely planting in May for the majority of growers ...
 
Perry says Valley losses alone could reach $97 million from drought
Thursday, June 4, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News Texas Ag Commissioner Rick Perry says that ag producers in the Rio Grande Valley are facing the fifth straight year of weather-related economic ...
 
Drought in Mexico is affecting cattle ranchers
Thursday, May 28, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News Problems in Mexico go beyond the haze from the many fires that have been burning there. Mexico's spring rainy season has failed to materialize, and severe drought ...
 
Abilene region mostly dry with haze relief days away
... rolled through wheat fields well before noon Tuesday between the two towns, all the wheat, chaff and dust from the machines gave testimony that the drought continues over most of Jones County. Todd Vineyard, Jones County ag agent, said Lueders, on the east edge of the county, caught .60 of an inch. ...
 
Hay crops show signs of drought
Sunday, May 24, 1998 COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Without a good rain in the next few days, Texas hay producers will end up cutting profits instead of their hay fields, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports. Dry weather conditions ...
 
Drought and foreign markets have attention of peanut growers
Wednesday, May 20, 1998 By J.T. SMITH / Abilene Reporter-News Mary Webb had both good and bad news at the Texas Peanut Producers Board meeting at the Embassy Suites in Abilene Tuesday. The executive director of ...
 
Two months of drought has left pastures parched and planting behind
Sunday, May 17, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News Lots of lightning. Little rain. But the few drops in the storm passing through parts of the Abilene region early Friday were still appreciated ...
 
Low wheat prices renew interest in government loan program
... year in the spring, the statewide average price to Texas wheat growers was $4.18 per bushel. With wheat prices at a five-year low, and two months of drought having already taken its toll on the crop, wheat producers are mighty depressed. Rather than sell their wheat, many may opt to put it in the government ...
 
Emergency farm loan applications being taken at Anson
... cracks in the ground. USDA is aware of the critical situation facing area agriculture. Applications for emergency farm loans for losses caused by drought are being accepted at the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Anson. Marilyn S. Richer, FSA ag credit manager, said Taylor, Jones, Shackelford ...
 
Runnels County Wheat Tour
... , Ballinger. "The last April so dry here was in 1920." Trouble is -- almost a week of May also is now history and with no rain. "The drought is becoming extremely bad -- especially west and south of here," Mauldin reported. "Every passing day without rainfall is moving farmers ...

Drought's over? That's news to Valley farmers
Sunday, April 5, 1998 By MADELINE BARO / Associated Press Writer EDINBURG, Texas (AP) -- Last year, farmers and agriculture experts were cheering the wetter-than-usual year that finally pulled Texas out of a devastating three ...

texas

Capital Briefs
... by using it more efficiently. "Although Texans cannot alter the weather or its cycles, we can change our own behaviors and how we respond to drought and dry conditions, both for our personal economic well-being and for the benefit of future generations," Bush said in a statement. The conservation ...
 
Farm Bureau holds convention; plans to discuss farmer insurance and drought
Monday, November 30, 1998 By CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press LUBBOCK - Recovering from this year's devastating drought, eliminating the estate tax and restructuring farm insurance are the top agenda items at the ...
 
Cotton farmers welcome rainfall, but ...
Tuesday, November 10, 1998 SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) - Rainfall in a drought year should seem like an early Christmas to West Texas farmers, but recent rainfall in the Concho Valley has been holding up cotton harvesting. Nevertheless, few farmers ...
 
Fed: Texas economy loses steam because of global turmoil, drought conditions
Friday, November 6, 1998 DALLAS (AP) - The state economy is slowing down this fall because of global economic turmoil and weather extremes across Texas, according to the Federal Reserve. Manufacturing and energy ...
 
High plains cotton farmers hoping for dry weather to complete harvest
... a record low for rain from April until July, coming in two inches below the previous record set during the Dust Bowl in 1934. " In spite of the drought, quality is not as low as could be expected," Boman said. "The color is exceptionally good and fibers have little stain. When compared ...
 
Texas' latest weather nightmare sweeps away everyday life for thousands
... the latest in a series of recurring weather nightmares in Texas. Last summer, weeks of triple-digit heat killed at least 131 people and a punishing drought destroyed about $2.1 billion in crops and livestock. Nine people died in flooding in Del Rio and the nearby Hill Country in August, and hundreds ...
 
McAllen turns to effluent reuse to fight water shortage
... a plant like the one the city is considering could cost up to $25 million to build and from $500,000 to $1 million per year to operate. The six-year drought that has plagued the Rio Grande Valley has withered water supplies in Falcon Lake and Lake Amistad. Those are two reservoirs that supply the area ...
 
When heat appeared in Texas, smoke disappeared
... August 8, 1998 When heat appeared in Texas, smoke disappeared By C. BRYSON HULL Associated Press Writer DALLAS (AP) -- In a Texas summer blighted by drought, heat and fire, the suffocating smoke sent northward from Mexican wildfires is now all but forgotten in the distant haze of memory. But U.S. and ...
 
Pumpkin crop survives drought
Wednesday, October 7, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Get your carving knives and pie plates ready because this year's pumpkin crop has survived the drought with flying colors, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports. Experts say the pumpkin ...
 
Xeriscape saves water, money, enthusiasts say
... the St. Augustine grass? Xeriscape and "native"-scape enthusiasts say native Texas plants and grasses are more likely to survive the drought and heat while demanding less water and cash. And no, the experts say, it's not all rocks, cactuses and sand. While parts of the state continue to wilt ...
 
Slim pickings for animals after drought
Sunday, September 27, 1998 DALLAS (AP) -- The hot, dry summer left fields scorched across North Texas, and that means animals will have less to eat this winter. Berries aren't bountiful, seeds might be short and there's a lack of acorns. &quot ...
 
Drought, worms loom over state's fall crop
Saturday, September 26, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Recent tropical showers that have doused large sections of Texas haven't amounted to a puddle in the state's northwestern wheat-and-cattle belt. And crops that have gotten rain are prime ...
 
Good side of bad weather is rejuvenated fishing
... from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing wet weather and high tides to saturated areas. This abundance of water stands in sharp contrast to the low-tide drought of spring and early summer. But one advantage of being "flush" with water is that fish are fond of the stuff. Fresh or salt, north or south ...
 
Despite rain, drought losses still called devastating
Thursday, September 17, 1998 By MICHAEL HOLMES Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) - Recent rains have helped, but they can't restore the $2.1 billion in losses suffered by Texas farmers and ranchers in this year's drought, Agriculture ...
 
Rain douses most of state except drought ravaged West Texas
Monday, September 14, 1998 By CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press LUBBOCK - Over the past month, almost every region of Texas has seen drought-relieving rain. Far North Texas gotten showers from storm systems that evolved over the ...
 
Farmers in Midwest and Mississippi donate hay to Texas
... Farmersville loaded his truck with 20 free bales of hay Tuesday as part of "Project Haylift," an emergency relief program designed to help drought-stricken farmers. "This will help me a lot," the Collin County farmer said. "My cattle are basically walking around on dust right ...
 
Valley reservoirs up 14 percent, but drought drags on
Saturday, September 5, 1998 By MADELINE BARO Associated Press Writer HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) -- Water from deadly South Texas floods also has had a positive impact, pushing Rio Grande Valley reservoir levels up 14 percent. According ...
 
Rain brings hope of bumper fall vegetable crop
... water to plant the same amount we planted last spring." In the Rolling Plains, district Extension Director Galen Chandler in Vernon, said drought continues across the region. Area farmers and ranchers continue to hope and pray for rain to break the drought conditions, Chandler said. He said the ...
 
Border cotton farmers face losses due to heavy rain
Border cotton farmers face losses due to heavy rain COLLEGE STATION (AP) - When it rains, it pours. And if this year's blistering drought did not wipe out Texas cotton, torrential rains did. Parts of Uvalde County received more than 15 inches of rain in 10 days and their hopes of a salvageable ...
 
Despite some floods, Charley brings much-needed rain to Texas
... season left some flooded streets, fallen trees and power outages across southeast Texas Saturday, but it also brought desperately needed rain to drought-stricken ranches and farms. Tropical storm Charley roared into Texas at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, making landfall in the coastal town of Port Aransas, just ...
 
Drought driving wild animals to search for water
Saturday, August 22, 1998 By DON KING Correspondent SWEETWATER -- Sweetwater residents reported a red fox standing just yards away from their apartment complex recently. Meanwhile, a Taylor County woman arrived home to find a coyote standing ...
 
Gulf of Mexico's first tropical storm of the year bearing down on Texas
... By MARK BABINECK Associated Press Writer Quickly developing Tropical Storm Charley bore down on South Texas shores Friday, promising to give the drought-stricken region much hoped-for wet relief even as coastal residents braced for potential strong winds, high tides and flooding. The system dumped heavy ...
 
This year's rainless spell the worst since the '50s, researchers say
By CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - The drought of 1998 on Wednesday officially became the worst since the legendary seven-year dry stretch of the 1950s, with university researchers estimating agricultural ...
 
Agriculture Commissioner vows to push for farmers' drought aid
The Associated Press: WESLACO, Texas (AP) - Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry says he's pushing federal officials to quickly send aid that would help farmers deal with what has become a disastrous drought ...
 
Drought likely to severely damage Christmas tree crop in Texas
August 18, 1998 BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Weeks of sweltering temperatures are one thing. When it starts messing up Christmas, now that's serious. Some operators of Christmas tree farms across Texas say they may be unable to do business in December ...
 
Texas drought has severe after-effects
August 17, 1998 DALLAS (AP) - Although much of Texas got a break Saturday from the heat, farmers and low-income residents are still trying to deal with the damage caused so far. Texas farmers statewide have suffered nearly $2 billion in direct losses, and the drought ...
 
Young FFA members help send hay to drought-stricken Texas
August 14, 1998 ASHLAND, Mo. (AP) - Teen-age volunteers from Future Farmers of America are helping out Texas ranchers by loading donated hay bales onto trucks bound for the drought-stricken Lone Star State. "It makes me feel good to help ...
 
Bush thanks firefighters; hay shipments begin
... , Bush and the Texas Agriculture Department announced that several private companies will haul donated hay elsewhere to Texas at no charge as the drought and heat wave continue to bake the state. "This volunteer effort epitomizes the Texas tradition of neighbor helping neighbor in time of need, ...
 
New estimates reflect drought's toll on crops
August 13, 1998 By CHIP BROWN Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) - The Texas cotton crop is expected to be one of the worst in 20 years. Corn, sorghum and hay aren't far behind, according to estimates released Wednesday by Agriculture Commissioner Rick ...
 
Sharp recommends using National Guard to haul hay
... legislators Friday that Texas follow Oklahoma's lead and use the National Guard to transport hay to ranchers whose cattle herds are starving in the drought. Sharp's proposal was one of many offered to a joint hearing of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee as lawmakers ...
 
Wildlife also suffering from drought
Wednesday, August 5, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- As cattle producers are wondering how to feed their livestock because of drought, wildlife throughout the state are having a difficult time feeding themselves, the Texas Agricultural Extension ...
 
Perry says more companies join effort to get hay to Texas
... Browning-Ferris Industries, Union Pacific Railroad and Roadway Express have joined a growing list of companies that are hauling hay to drought-stricken areas of the state. The Texas Department of Agriculture has worked throughout the summer to secure transportation services from the private ...
 
Farmers say they need help after double whammy
... By PEGGY FIKAC Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) - Farmers reeling from the one-two punch of a devastating drought and low commodity prices came to the Texas Capitol Wednesday to draw attention to their plight, saying they must have help or face going out of ...
 
Disasters show holes in 'Freedom to Farm' law
Sunday, August 2, 1998 By CURT ANDERSON AP Farm Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- When drought or harsh winter weather struck in the past, a federal program stood ready to help cattle producers buy feed and keep their herds together. Like so much ...
 
Thirsty rodents seek relief from drought
Sunday, August 2, 1998 FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- They've been spotted scurrying and squeaking in flower beds, swimming pools and water bowls. They're rats, looking for the same thing the rest of us crave after a month of dry, 100-degree days ...
 
Economists say drought costs limited to ag industries, death toll rises
Sunday, August 2, 1998 AUSTIN (AP) -- The drought griping Texas doesn't have a stranglehold on the state's economy, according to financial experts. Texas Comptroller John Sharp last month estimated the state will ...
 
Hot July is over, but August probably won't bring relief from heat and drought
Saturday, August 1, 1998 By DAVID KOENIG / Associated Press Writer DALLAS (AP) -- Good riddance, July. The temperature soared beyond 100 degrees all across North Central Texas on Friday, the 26th straight ...
 
Texans whining about the heat might later turn to wining
... being rationed in many Texas cities this summer, wine will be flowing freely at the Lone Star State's wineries. Now, there's a reason to toast the drought. "We are expecting this to be one of the best harvests we've ever had in quantity and quality," said Merrill Bonarrigo, an owner of Messina ...
 
Emergency farm aid package now expected to top $1 billion
... top $1 billion By CURT ANDERSON / AP Farm Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The emergency aid package for farmers suffering from such natural disasters as drought in the South and too much rain in the upper Midwest is now expected to top $1 billion, a key Republican House member said Thursday. The Senate earlier ...
 
Some of Texas' best humor has pertained to heat
... ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs. - It was so hot that the birds had to use potholders to pull the worms out of the ground. "The drought in Texas is so intense," a Kentucky newspaper wrote in 1886, "that potatoes are cooked in the ground, and all the people have to do is ...
 
Senator proposes $400 million for farm reimbursements
... (AP) - A state legislator Monday proposed spending up to $400 million to help Texas farmers and ranchers cover some losses caused by the withering drought. Sen. Steve Ogden said he would introduce a bill in the next Legislature to offer grants for up to 30 percent of 1999 feed, seed, seedling and fertilizer ...
 
No break in heat wave; Forecaster says record 1980 summer could be exceeded
... (AP) - Temperatures in North Texas reached triple digits for the 22nd consecutive day Monday, and a top forecaster speculated the heat wave and drought could surpass the scorching summer of 1980 as the hottest ever in Texas. "This heat wave still ranks second to 1980 but that doesn't mean it doesn ...
 
Urging all Texans to help neighbors, Bush donates $500
By MICHAEL HOLMES Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) - Gov. George W. Bush hopes all Texans will help their neighbors as heat and drought scorch the state. He's pitched in $500 himself. Bush on Thursday donated $500 to Energy AID, a utility company program that helps pay electric ...
 
Federal help coming to Texas, where heat-related death toll reaches 88
... to Texas, where heat-related death toll reaches 88 By MICHAEL HOLMES Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) - The blistering temperatures and parching drought baking Texas brought federal help Thursday, along with pleas from state leaders for Texans to save water and check on their neighbors. The heat ...
 
Drought's painful toll continues
Friday, July 24, 1998 By CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Few words can console West Texas ranchers watching cattle die in the sweltering heat. Hearing that the drought's fallout is not as bad as 1996 doesn't help. But researchers ...
 
Drought leaves farm workers without jobs, turning to Valley food bank
Thursday, July 23, 1998 McALLEN, Texas (AP) - With the drought drying up job opportunities in agriculture, the Rio Grande Valley's largest food bank is seeing an all-time high in demand for its services. In the last ...
 
Heat wreaks havoc with hay; cattle being culled
Thursday, July 23, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - As the drought drags on, hay supplies dwindle and prices rise. Texas cattle raisers are being told to start looking beyond the current crisis and plan for winter, the Texas Agricultural ...
 
Before they put out a wildfire, fighters must give it a name
... The Wall Street Journal's Texas Journal You could call it this summer's burning question: What to name all the wildfires raging across Texas? With drought conditions common in practically every corner of the state and wildfires breaking out like, well, wildfire, the heat is on for firefighters to come ...
 
Bacteria in lakes can prove dangerous because of hot conditions
... often lethal and rare amoeba he inhaled while swimming has public health officials warning swimmers to beware of stagnant water during the current drought. "Swimming in lakes and ponds in drought conditions and triple-digit temperatures can be risky," David Bergmire-Sweat, an epidemiologist ...
 
Governor seeks disaster declaration for whole state
Saturday, July 18, 1998 AUSTIN (AP) -- The whole state will be under a drought disaster declaration if the federal government grants Gov. George W. Bush's request for disaster status for an additional 176 counties. Texas farmers and ...
 
Texas drought losses at staggering $4.6 billion now
Wednesday, July 15, 1998 By J.T. SMITH / Abilene Reporter-News Texas farmers and ranchers already have lost $1.5 billion to the 1998 drought. That will translate to $4.6 billion in economic loss to the Texas economy over ...
 
USDA, FEMA announce new Texas wildfire, drought aid
Wednesday, July 15, 1998 WASHINGTON (AP) -- As Texas continues to struggle with wildfires and drought, the Agriculture Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency have approved new initiatives to assist the state ...
 
Much forage already consumed during drought
Sunday, July 12, 1998 By J.T. Smith / Farm Editor "Not a lot of forage has been grown - but a whole lot has been eaten already." That's how Ricky Linex, U.S. Department of Agriculture range conservationist, describes ...
 
Texas News
... Venso ruled Friday that Galveston County commissioners overstepped their regulatory powers by imposing a ban on the use of aerial fireworks when drought conditions do not prevail in the county. Commissioners adopted the ban June 12, three days before the deadline for enacting a ban that would cover ...
 
Rancher offers place to legally shoot off fireworks
... to legally shoot off fireworks By SUSAN MONTOYA Associated Press Writer DALLAS (AP) - With fireworks banned across much of the state because of a drought that has left much of Texas dry as a tinderbox, one rancher is inviting folks to his land to light up the sky. Gary Turley has turned 16 acres of ...
 
Texas economy may lose $1.8 billion because of cotton crop disaster
... CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Texas agriculture researchers and economists updated their estimate of what this year's drought will cost the cotton industry, using USDA figures calculate a $1.8 billion loss for the state's economy. Texas Agricultural Extension Service economist ...
 
Rains bring some drought relief but mainly along the immediate Gulf Coast
Tuesday, June 30, 1998 HOUSTON (AP) - Some areas of parched Southeast Texas looked for a second straight day of rain Monday, but it was south-central Texas' turn for a respite from drought conditions. A thunderstorm ...
 
Present heat, dry spell no threat yet to wildlife
... rain, and not much prospect of anything appreciable unless something ugly boils out of the Gulf. For some people, 1998 is dredging up ghosts of the drought year of 1996, or, worse, 1980, the hottest, driest summer most living Texans ever experienced. And while hunters living in Houston watch their lawns ...
 
Heat, dry weather prompt fires across state
Tuesday, June 23, 1998 By CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer Drought-fueled fires raged in three counties across the state Monday as the first week of summer brought more triple-digit temperatures and turned thousands of acres of grassland ...
 
Fires spreading; Austin asks residents to save water
... teams have helped fight 22 fires that scorched about 2,000 acres, said agency spokeswoman Jo Schweikhard Moss. Blame the hot weather and the drought. "Basically, the drier the fuels, the more readily they ignite and the hotter they burn," said Bob Irvine of the Texas Forest Service. ...
 
Most crops suffering from drought
Wednesday, June 17, 1998 COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Most of Texas is suffering from a drought, but ask several farmers if they need rain and you will likely get different responses, reports the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Dr. Travis Miller ...
 
Texas facing $1.7 billion in drought-related costs, ag officials say
Wednesday, June 17, 1998 By JUAN B. ELIZONDO Jr. / Associated Press Writer THRALL, Texas (AP) -- The drought of 1998 has dried up $517 million in crops so far, a cost of $1.7 billion to the overall state economy, according ...
 
Bush issues drought proclamation for 207 counties
Tuesday, June 9, 1998 By MICHAEL HOLMES Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) - An emergency proclamation was announced Monday for 207 of the state's 254 counties due to an early drought and extreme danger of wildfires. Gov. George W. Bush ...
 
River businesses hoping for big holiday weekend
... for a busy Memorial Day weekend -- and are hoping for the same all summer. Tubing and rafting were disrupted the past two summers first because of drought then because of flooding. So for many river businesses, a good season this year is a must. Low river flows caused by the 1996 drought devastated ...
 
Valley citrus industry drying up
By GILLIAN SWANSON / The Monitor (McAllen) MISSION, Texas -- "For Sale" signs on drought-parched orchards and fields have become the beacons of expansion and economic growth in the Rio Grande Valley. But before the freezes of 1983 and 1989, ...
 
Falcon Dam reports lowest level since 1957 drought
May 14, 1998 McALLEN, Texas (AP) -- Drought conditions in South Texas have Falcon Dam at its lowest point since 1957, forcing farmers to pick and choose which crops they can afford to irrigate. "We are lower than we've ever been," said ...
 
Lower Colorado River Authority buys water rights
... of this region that water will not be a restriction to population and industrial growth in the 21st century, even during a repeat of the worst drought on record." The LCRA provides water to customers in 33 counties stretching from near Abilene southeast to Bay City on the Gulf Coast. Garwood Irrigation ...
 
Wetter was better in 1997; above-average rainfall busts mid-90s drought
Monday, January 5, 1998 By MARK BABINECK Associated Press Writer LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - The 1990s won't join the 30s and 50s in Texas drought lore thanks to because of a wetter-than-normal 1997 that refilled reservoirs ...
 

opinion

Global warming and the heat wave
August 17, 1998 By Molly Ivins AUSTIN - As Texas endures the slow, agonizing death of our entire agricultural sector by drought, a check of our media and political leaders shows we are also suffering from a bizarre silence on a topic that could be described as "the cause ...

letters to the editor

Letters to the Editor
... seniority is essential to keeping Dyess AFB operational in Abilene. Rural America can't afford to lose his voice in Washington, given the current drought and its impact on agriculture and rural small businesses. Charlie played a key role in bringing the federal budget into balance. He has a proven track ...

features

Buddhist monk doesn't have his head in the sand (Bill Whitaker)... Abilene last week, he found local folks trying to come to grips with comatose oil prices, widespread agricultural devastation caused by a terrible drought and nervous uncertainty about the nation's economy. While no miracles were forthcoming during the monk's visit (but then none was ever promised) ...

outdoors

Successful waterfowl hunting possible in Abilene area
... For more information on hunting at Stanfield Hunting Outfitters near Knox City (yes, that Knox City just north of Abilene) telephone (940) 658-3172. Drought hasn't decreased wildlife populations I don't know why we ever thought a little thing like a drought would have a negative impact on our deer and ...
 
Quail season good despite lack of rain
... conditions aside, north Texas quail hunters are embarking on a much better season than many thought possible after a lengthy late spring and summer drought. Quail generally start nesting in the spring, and while game biologists tell us the fiesty little game birds need appreciable moisture during their ...

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