CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The dry air from the Texas drought isn't doing any favors for farmers who are struggling to maintain vegetation on their farms, not only for themselves, but for the animals who depend on those plants too.
Business owners at the Southside Farmers’ Market say the retail side of operation is good, but the production side is having difficulty.
Danny Weaver is a member of the family business, From the Garden and Bakery. He said he knew one vendor who is spending over $300 a month for water to just water his crops.
It’s no secret that farmers are at the mercy of the weather. Droughts like these can cause a huge drain on company profits, and conditions haven’t been ideal for vegetation or animals.
Daniel Graves, owner of Mother Clucker Farms, explained what he and others are experiencing. “We're having to spend more money on feed, which has also increased in price because those manufacturers are having a hard time growing what we need for their product."
He pastures, raises, and grass-feeds chickens, ducks, and pigs. Due to the lack of water, if there's no grass for the animals to eat, farms run into more issues. “And then it's also affecting the bugs because all of our chickens and ducks, they eat bugs and things throughout the grass,” Graves said. “And if there's no grass for them to live in, there's nothing to protect them, they leave, and they go other places."
No Bull Beef owner Bryan Horadam said, “My product is grass-fed, grass finished cows and without the rain, I don't have as much grass.”
Horadam relies on cutting his own hay during the winter and dry summertime for times like these where there's a lack of rain. “That's where the hay comes in and that's the importance of the rainfall on the pastures, for them to have the grass. And also for my hay to grow, so I can cut the grass to produce the hay and round bales.”
Business owners are finding it difficult to work around the stubborn weather. Woody Riley with Riley Family Farm is all too familiar with this.
“It pushes you up against the wall with vegetables because, come July, it’s too hot and everything dies,” Riley said. They are doing what they can, though. “That's been the biggest thing, is keeping the ground mulched and conserving the water we do have in the soil."
Luckily for Weaver, he is able to rely on a water well built in 1980. “The water well has saved us because I'm watering almost everyday, and I don't just water, I turn the water on and I flood it so it'll last a few days,” he said. "We all are praying for rain, hoping!”
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