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County crops in good shape -- for now
Submitted Photo - Corn crops in Collin County are still doing well despite drought conditions. They have now turned brown, but area agriculturalists still expect a good harvest.
By Dan Eakin, deakin@starlocalnews.com
Although crops are suffering due to drought conditions in much of the nation and parts of Texas, Collin County crops continue to be in good shape, at least for now.
"It seems that we are more fortunate than other parts of the state and nation," said Dr. Rick Maxwell, Collin County extension agent for agriculture and natural resources.
Maxwell said that wheat crops recently harvested were the best in several years, and that corn crops, soon to be harvested, also appear on the right track. He said hay yields are also doing well this year.
He said heavy rains this spring and earlier this summer soaked the ground and provided a great deal of runoff, filling ponds in the county.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the McKinney reporting station recorded 2.12 inches in May and 2.57 inches in June. So far in July, only an inch and a half of rain has been recorded in McKinney.
The McKinney area received the heaviest rainfall in March, with 6.23 inches recorded, most of which fell in a two-day period, a NWS spokesperson said.
On the negative side, Maxwell said standing water caused by the heavy rains has created a large mosquito problem, and that there are more grasshoppers than usual in the county this summer.
"Grasshoppers are actually more of a problem right now than the heat," he said. Grasshoppers could also create issues for upcoming fall crops, because they often feed on small plants.
Mosquitoes are not a threat to plants so much as they are to animals and humans, Maxwell explained. They can carry the West Nile virus, which has received much attention in the area in recent weeks, and can also carry encephalitis and other diseases.
Maxwell said horses are often a target for mosquitoes. At least one horse in Collin County has developed West Nile virus, likely from a mosquito, Maxwell said.
He said vaccines against the virus and other diseases are available for horses and other animals, and he encouraged animal owners to get their animals vaccinated against such diseases.
While some of Texas is experiencing exceptionally dry weather, Maxwell said much of the state is as green, or greener, than usual. He said he attended meetings in Abilene earlier this week and noticed crops were also doing well there.
The biggest drought problems in the nation are now in the Midwest. Although the Midwest recently received rainfall, agriculture experts there have stated it was not enough to end the drought.
Northern parts of Arkansas are also in severe drought conditions.
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