Conditions are drying around much of Texas, and forecasts are calling for winter weather to be warmer and drier than average.
Commodity producers in much of the state, including the High Plains, experienced a banner year in 2021 due to high commodity prices and above-average precipitation that started in May and delivered timely moisture throughout the growing season. But soil moisture levels are declining in parts of the state, and the 2022 growing season could hinge on winter weather replenishing topsoil and subsoils or another round of timely summer rains to save the day.
Jourdan Bell, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist in Amarillo, said drought conditions are expanding throughout the High Plains. The region has not received significant precipitation since September while above-average temperatures were exacerbating soil moisture level declines.
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