Texas Drought
2011 was the driest year ever recorded in Texas. The state suffered through an extreme drought that dried up its lakes and creeks. Crops and trees withered and died. Ranchers were forced to slaughter their hungry and thirsty cattle. Agriculture and livestock losses alone were more than $5 billion.
On July 27, 20211, a cow looks for a piece of green grass in the bottom of an empty stock tank near Manor.
Terry Hash pauses after searching in the cracked soil for cotton seeds in his 175-acre cotton field in Garfield, Texas, on August 18, 2011. Hash planted 800 acres of cotton, corn, wheat and sorghum, and almost all of it was destroyed by the drought. Despite having insurance, Hash said he worries about how he is going to pay his farm loans and borrow more money for next season's crops. 'Lots of sleepless nights,' Hash said. 'You lay in bed wondering what the hell you're going to do.'
The bones of a cow lay on the ground next to a dry stock tank in Bastrop on Sept. 25, 2011. Some climatologists believe Texas is in the first year of a mega-drought that could last ten years.
On July 27, 20211, a cow looks for a piece of green grass in the bottom of an empty stock tank near Manor.