Almost any rain, any amount, and at anytime is looked upon with favor. So ranchers are naturally pleased that some rain has fallen over the area in the past three weeks, but they say there has to be more. Fast approaching the point of too little too late, ranchers seem to be staring into the fall and winter season once more with nothing in the pastures except hungry cows. The herds that still remain on the land cannot survive without the regular feeding of range cubes or liquid protein supplements. There is no way we can winter our herd without more moisture, and soon enough to give the grass a chance to gain some growth.
Cattle are skinny .
The Fernandes Ranches, which cover areas of Ector, Ward, and Winkler Counties, are in about the same shape as the others, according to Doug Fernandes of Pecos. In Winkler County, even the shinnery is dying, and in Ward County, in areas where we have had a little rain, it is very slow coming back. The problem is, we have gotten from three niches down to .70 inches. There's nothing consistent. It's very spotted.