Drought Tightens In And Around Austin - Soil Moisture At Zero, At Least 1,000 Cattle Dead Of Thirst

[hatrack]

EDIT

At least 1,000 cattle in Bastrop County, just east of Travis County, have died due to lack of water or nourishment, McDonald said in an interview. "Seventy-five percent of ponds and stock tanks have dried up, and those that aren't dry are not adequate for consumption," McDonald said. Cattle have died from getting stuck in the mud of dry stock tanks as they try to drink from even the smallest puddles of water. In a window on the grislier side of the drought, the county judges' letters ask the task force to look into "appropriate methods and economic means for disposal of carcasses and offal." In Caldwell County, one livestock auction has shuttered in Luling, and farmers are seeing deep cuts in their production.

Winter crops like wheat and rye grasses are "90 to 100 percent complete failures," said Jim Parker, director of emergency management for Caldwell County, which is south of Bastrop County. The quality of hay is terrible, and with ground hard enough to defeat plows and soil moisture near zero, spring crops are in jeopardy, Parker said. McDonald said hay production in Bastrop County is at 20 percent of normal and "virtually no local hay has sufficient nutrients."

If the governor turns the request down, "we do the best we can then to deal with the situation," said Mike Fisher, the emergency management coordinator for Bastrop County.

The financial hit that farmers and ranchers have taken "is more related to the drought than anything else," including the economy, he said. "This started in October 2007 and has been slow-building."

EDIT

http://www.statesman.com/green/content/news/stories/local/02/18/0218bastrop.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild137_prod=QM1QJcPT8QFPfd2xfWNyLfhhBCWDs8jC5cwq3KHLhkKzKyCN4TzG!919085766&UrAuth=%60NcNUObN%5CUbTTUWUXU%60UZTU%60UZUcU%60UcTYWVVZV&urcm=y

[AndyA]

1. How awful for the Cattle. Poor things, what a horrible way to go.

Praying for rain in the area soon. No floods, just enough to get everything a good drink.

[aquart]

2. There was no way to get water to those animals? None?

[phantom power]

4. I'm not sure which option upsets me more. There was, or there wasn't.

[AlecBGreen]

8. cows drink A LOT of water

trucking it in isnt economic, and these ranchers aren't raising pets, theyre trying to generate income. if it dont pay, it dont fly.

[Tumbulu]

12. Well, they should truck them out of the area then.

These cattle guys behave criminally. I farmed next to a guy who would come to look at his cattle and check water troughs once a week on a 2000 acre parcel. ONCE A WEEK! Sick jerks. Now I farm in N. Calif and it is totally different here. People actually watch the cattle and move them around (to Oregon and back) so that they have plenty of grazing. They have solar water pumps and windmills that keep troughs full. It is a completely different mentality. And we have the same severity of drought here.

I think that these guys that just dump cows out in the middle of nowhere and do not feed them or provide water should be prosecuted.

[AlecBGreen]

13. no arguement here

"I think that these guys that just dump cows out in the middle of nowhere and do not feed them or provide water should be prosecuted."

[kestrel91316]

3. That map makes it obvious: God hates Texas.

[RedEarth]

5. California isn't it very good shape either... are they?

Global warming isn't being very nice to many parts of the US or the world for that matter. Just think what parts of the US will be like 30, 40, 50 years from now.

[kestrel91316]

6. God obviously favors Los Angeles over Austin. The proof is in

that there color coding.

[Terry in Austin]

7. Buddy, can you spare a pint?

Dustbowl 2.0...

[kestrel91316]

9. Sure. We had rain by the buckets a couple of days ago. Just let me know

where to mail it.

[Terry in Austin]

11. Water from the sky

...what a concept!

Anywhere in zip code 78722 will be fine, thankya.

[Javaman]

10. Well, god hates Austin because after all we are the only Blue city in the state.

and the is so totally deserving of gods wrath. LOL