According to Texas A&M University agricultural economist – Travis Miller, “No one alive has seen single-year drought damage to this extent,”
“2011 was the driest year on record and certainly an infamous year of distinction for the state’s farmers and ranchers,” said Dr. David Anderson, AgriLife Extension livestock economist
Texas agriculture lost $7.62 billion to the 2011 drought. Experts say it’s the costliest drought in the state’s history and probably the most expensive drought ever suffered by any state.
The new figures released Wednesday by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are greater than the previous estimates of $5.2 billion in losses.
Livestock ranchers were hardest hit, followed by cotton producers. Texas is the largest producer of both commodities in the United States, producing about 15 percent of the beef cattle and 25 percent of the cotton in the US, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures. Cattle Ranchers lost $3.23 billion, and cotton farmers lost $2.2 billion.
The following are updated drought losses for 2011 by commodity with previously reported loss estimates from August in parenthesis:
Livestock: $3.23 billion (up from $2.06 billion);
Lost hay production value: $750 million (no change);
Cotton: $2.2 billion (up from $1.8 billion);
Corn: $736 million (up from $409 million);
Wheat: $314 million (up from $243 million);
Sorghum: $385 million (up from $63 million);
Read More from Texas A&M: http://agrilife.org/today/2012/03/21/updated-2011-texas-agricultural-drought-losses-total-7-62-billion/
