MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Extreme weather is creating a challenging growing season in McLennan County, with some local farmers reporting significant crop losses as record heat and a dramatic swing from flooding rains to prolonged drought take hold across Central Texas.
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Our Meteorologist Thomas Patrick says Waco reached 100 degrees 50 times this year, including 31 consecutive days. Last year, the city saw only 6 days above 100 degrees. Rainfall totals tell a similarly stark story — 14 inches fell between April and June, but only a tenth of an inch has fallen in the past two months.
Texas A&M AgriLife economist Mark Welch said the pattern of weather extremes has been intense.
"One thing we are seeing is that when we do see extremes in our weather, they tend to be exacerbated. That when it's dry, it's really, really dry. And then when it rains, it can really, really rain."
Ana Sims, owner of Modern Hippie Life Farm, said the whiplash between wet and dry conditions has been overwhelming.
"This year, it's been incredibly insane. We got way too much water in the spring, and then once summer hit, and we got to July, there's been nothing, not a drop."
Taylor Huffman, owner of Western Belle Farm, said the combination of heat and drought has made growing fall crops especially difficult.
"So this has been an incredibly challenging year. Not only has it been so hot, but it's also been dry as well, so it has made growing fall crops incredibly hard."
Crops like melons and pumpkins have been wiped out at the farms I visited. However, Welch said one crop is actually thriving this year.
"Speaking more generally, it looks like corn was just able to handle the conditions this year. We've got some varieties of corn that are adapted very, very well to Central Texas now that 20, 30 years ago, you wouldn't expect corn to yield that well at all."
Beyond the weather, Welch said rising input costs are adding another layer of pressure on Central Texas farmers.
"If you think about the cost that it takes to run a farming operation with higher fertilizer prices, higher fuel prices, you know, general inflation across the whole farm input sector. Everything is just so expensive. The risk is so elevated, it is so high, and so, yeah, it's different."
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