The recent cold and dry weather in many parts of the state led to stressed crops and the need to continue to provide supplemental feed to livestock.

Prolonged cold damaged water lines, and freezing rain and snow in many areas made it difficult to work fields. At the same time, for some areas of the state, the drier weather provided some relief by allowing farmers to continue or complete harvesting.

Farmers in West Texas and the Rolling Plains have either completed or nearly completed their cotton harvest. Some crops in extreme West Texas have gone dormant due to prolonged cold weather. In the Panhandle, wheat crops were stressed, with irrigated wheat reported to be in better condition than dryland wheat. Wheat pastures in both this region and in the Rolling Plains are in need of warmer weather and a greater amount of moisture.

In South Texas, growers were concerned over the possible effects of freezes on young/tender fields of cabbage and spinach crops. Farmers in Southwest Texas saw an interruption in spinach, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and carrot harvests during the reporting period.

Generally, the colder weather continues to plague pasture and rangeland areas, providing limited food for livestock. But in some locations recent rainfalls helped such areas rebound a little.

Throughout northern and western counties, cattle were stressed by the colder weather. In the South Plains producers were particularly worried about the possible stress effect the recent extreme cold temperatures and wind chill would have on livestock.

Throughout the state, producers continued to increase the amount of supplemental feeding to cattle, and some were concerned they may not have enough hay to last the winter.