The recent blast of freezing weather in the U.S. reached deep into Texas, even affecting citrus in the Rio Grande Valley.
Photo by Dale Murden
The extreme cold wave making headlines across the U.S. for the last week put a bullseye on the state of Texas. Farmers there know this all too well. The wide-ranging deep freeze is impacting all facets of ag in the Lone Star State and is likely to have disastrous effects on the Rio Grande Valley citrus crop, reports the Texas Farm Bureau.
“The wind was so strong that a lot of the irrigation freezing methods that we do with microsprinklers and sprinkler systems just weren’t that effective because of the wind was blowing so hard,” Dale Murden, Texas Citrus Mutual President, says. “But then the other side of it is you get down to 21°, and you’re only going to warm the tree up a few degrees anyway.”
Murden estimated the citrus harvest was about 55% complete when the cold weather hit, rendering the remaining fruit on the trees frozen and useless.
“This year has been an unusual year to begin with,” he said. “We’ve been in a drought for several years now. Then we had Hurricane Hannah, and we estimate we lost 10% to 20% of the crop at that time. But all things considered, we were having a pretty good year. Prices were good. Quality was good, and the remaining fruit on the trees after the hurricane was good. Then, the ‘St. Valentine’s Day massacre’ hit, so you never know.”
In addition, trees were beginning to bloom. So, the current weather will have a hand in next season’s crop as well.
Programs and resources are available from USDA for farmers, ranchers, and others affected by the recent winter storms. Folks are being encouraged to visit farmers.gov to inquire about assistance.
For more on the winter storm situation in Texas and resources, visit TexasFarmBureau.org.