Drought, low production mean hard times for Eddy County farmers and ranchers

For some Eddy County farmers, 2011 has been an extension of the hard times in 2010.  Prolonged drought, small water allotments, low alfalfa production and a drop in cotton prices this week have been tough things for local agriculture industry to deal with, said Woods Houghton, County Extension Service agriculture agent. Ranchers have not fared any better. They have had to cull their herds because of the lack of forage due to the drought, and the price of hay has gone sky-high because of its scarcity in the county. On top of that, he said ranchers have reported a loss of about $1 million in dead cattle, killed accidently as a result of the high activity in the oil and gas fields in the county.  For Houghton, in his role as county agriculture agent, 2011 has been an extremely difficult year - one of the hardest he has endured in his 32 years in the profession, he said...more