Drought brings hard times for local farmers and ranchers

(9/06/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- It's a crisis for farmers and ranchers in Waller County. They haven't seen a good amount of rain in a good while, and right now, business is bad.

Many in Waller County say they aren't making money and their businesses may be in jeopardy because of the lack of rain. They say it's a desperate situation.

As farmer/rancher Tom Paben walks his Waller County property, he worries.

He told Eyewitness News, "We're making our payments, and that's about the extent of it. No, we're not making any money."

The skies above his land contain only sunlight and puffy white clouds. Rain has been scarce here.

Paben waters about a third of his 600 acres, trying to grow enough grass to produce 5,000 bales of hay per year. It's a goal he says is likely unattainable this year.

"We've made just about half of what we were anticipating making," Paben said.

He isn't alone. According to the Texas Cooperative Extension, the drought has cost the agricultural industry $4.1 billion so far this year. That's $2.5 billion in crop loss and $1.6 billion in livestock.

Cody Dennison with the Texas Cooperative Extension explained, "We can't deal with this drought much longer and still have, you know, people in the business."

Paben also raises cattle, and the lack of rain and pasture it would have produced forced him to sell off about 20% of his stock this spring. He plans to cull more, too. The drought will leave him with about a third of the herd he had at the start of the year.

Despite all this, Paben says his 30 years in farming and ranching help him maintain an optimistic spirit.

"This will come to pass, if we can just sustain it long enough," he said.

All this, meantime, means higher prices for consumers at the grocery store.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

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