YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Farmers’ Almanac predicts winter weather buffet

By Gene Hall

It’s a hot Texas summer, but I’m thinking about winter—longing for cooler temperatures and a rain shower or two.

The Farmers’ Almanac’s annual winter prediction came out last week, and it has some of that in the forecast.

It says Texas should be prepared for wild swings in the weather—from very cold to very warm. The forecast gurus also anticipate calm conditions mixed in with some turbulent spells.

If you ask me, that sounds a little like a winter weather buffet.

But farmers and ranchers won’t get to choose the weather they’ll face. Although, if they did have their way, they’d pick rain. To replenish soil moisture, fill reservoirs, give their crops a drink and top off the stock tanks.

The long-range forecast is one farmers have relied on for 200 years. Sometimes it’s on target. Other times it misses the mark.

But whatever the forecast, rain is always on a farmer’s wish list. And however the drops fall, they’ll play the hand they’re dealt from Mother Nature this winter.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

You may read this week’s editorial above or listen to the audio version.

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