State of Texas declared a natural disaster

[C5SilverBullet]

More than 200 Texan counties have been designated drought disasters by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and all remaining counties now qualify for federal aid.

KCBD in Lubbock reports that 213 counties have lost at least 30 percent of their pasture or crops to wildfires and drought.

The natural disaster designation allows farmers and ranchers to qualify for low-rate emergency loans.

South Plains farmer Scott Harmon told KCBD, "This is a disaster. This is a train wreck. We've never seen anything like this before. People are scared, they don't know what to do and what's going to happen to them next."

Harmon's family have been farming their small piece of Texas since the 1920's.

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples told 103.5 things are bad and they will probably get worse:

“We are currently ranked as the third-worst drought on record in Texas. But each passing day moves us closer to the number one year. It is a true calamity. The impact is heartbreaking,” says Staples. “We’ve had over two million acres of dry land cotton being declared 100% abandoned. We have livestock producers that are liquidating their herds, something they’ve spent their entire lifetime building up. It’s just a dreadful set of circumstances.”

Agricultural losses may exceed the 2006 record of $4.1 billion. More than 70 percent of the state is in a full blown drought and three million acres have been burned by wildfires.

Read more: The Entire State Of Texas Has Been Declared A Natural Disaster

[VatorMan]

Hmmmm.....Didn't have a drought till you moved there. Coincidence ?

[MrPeabody]

Can anyone here from Texas recommend some good local charities that are aiding the agricultural community?

[Uncle Pervey]

Originally Posted by VatorMan

Hmmmm.....Didn't have a drought till you moved there. Coincidence ?

You've seen the size of that mofo, I imagine he drinks up enough moisture to have caused the drought. Plus since he moved down here the whole middle part of the country has been flooded...

I think he need to take some water pills and get rid of some of that water he's absorbed!

[Stangkiller]

Man it's crispy out here..that one day of rain last week really brought my yard back from the brink. Fortunately I'm not under watering restrictions as of yet.

[Montehall]

Originally Posted by Stangkiller

Man it's crispy out here..that one day of rain last week really brought my yard back from the brink. Fortunately I'm not under watering restrictions as of yet.

joys of having my own well. no water restrictions.
but the sulfur smell makes it horrible to drink.

Never lived anywhere where I've had pasture and still have to rolls hay bales out in the middle of summer.

[Uncle Pervey]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

Can anyone here from Texas recommend some good local charities that are aiding the agricultural community?

Yes, the Uncle Pervey home for retired muff-divers and cat wranglers... I'll PM you the Pay Pal address to wire the money to!



















Seriously if any of your area peeps, farmers or ranchers has any hay that they want to donate, I know that the agricultural extension offices in any county will help arrange ways of getting it down here.
During the last drought we had some peeps in Tennessee and Kansas ship freight cars full of round bales down here. It helps some people from going bankrupt by having to short sell their cattle.

[onedef92]

Man ya'll gettin' it bad down there. A co-worker is scheduled to take his vacation to see his daughter in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area starting July 14th. I'm sure he'll have some interesting stories to tell.

[Uncle Pervey]

Originally Posted by onedef92

Man ya'll gettin' it bad down there. A co-worker is scheduled to take his vacation to see his daughter in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area starting July 14th. I'm sure he'll have some interesting stories to tell.

Tell him to swab hisself down with bar-b-que sauce before he comes down, that way when he's cooked the meat will taste good enough for the cormorants to eat it right off the bone

[onedef92]

Originally Posted by Uncle Pervey

Tell him to swab hisself down with bar-b-que sauce before he comes down, that way when he's cooked the meat will taste good enough for the cormorants to eat it right off the bone

Now there's a visual for a mofo!

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by Uncle Pervey

Yes, the Uncle Pervey home for retired muff-divers and cat wranglers... I'll PM you the Pay Pal address to wire the money to!




Seriously if any of your area peeps, farmers or ranchers has any hay that they want to donate, I know that the agricultural extension offices in any county will help arrange ways of getting it down here.
During the last drought we had some peeps in Tennessee and Kansas ship freight cars full of round bales down here. It helps some people from going bankrupt by having to short sell their cattle.

Last I checked we had a few dozen bails of Hay up at the inlaws ranch...not sure if they've figured out what to do with it yet actually. If you have any info on where to donate, I'll be happy to forward it along.

[Montehall]

Originally Posted by Stangkiller

Last I checked we had a few dozen bails of Hay up at the inlaws ranch...not sure if they've figured out what to do with it yet actually. If you have any info on where to donate, I'll be happy to forward it along.

I need some. only have one left.

[syf350]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

Can anyone here from Texas recommend some good local charities that are aiding the agricultural community?

i'm sure .gov is handing out plenty, and you have made plenty of contributions

[Montehall]

Originally Posted by syf350

i'm sure .gov is handing out plenty

not yet.

[Stangkiller]

Originally Posted by Montehall

I need some. only have one left.

You'll probably spend more diesel driving up to Marlin, Tx to pick it up than it's worth. <unless you're actually having a hard time finding the bales elsewhere?>

[Scissors]

[HurricaneKatrina]Don't like wildfires? Don't live in areas prone to them. And if you do, don't go crying to other tax payers to pay for fixing your problems when things go bad.[/HurricaneKatrina]