Early results from a research study about drought headed by a Texas Tech associate professor show Lubbock farmers and ranchers are fairly well prepared for a drought, but El Paso farmers are not.
The study is about the farmers, ranchers and agricultural installations in and near the Lubbock and El Paso areas and the preparations they have made to protect themselves from potential droughts.
Michael Farmer, associate professor and head of the study, said Lubbock looks well prepared, whereas El Paso's readiness and water reserves leave something to be desired.
The research is being conducted through the use of numerical data which is used to produce estimates of the severity of droughts in the next 50 years.
Farmer said he estimates there is a 25 to 50 percent chance of a drought that farmers and ranchers will not be able to handle.
"The study is still in its beginning stages," he said.
Steve Verett, executive vice president of Plains Cotton Growers Inc., a Lubbock-owned cotton-producing company, said it is "hard to take precautions, but you do what you can to minimize the effects."
Farmers can offset the negative effects of droughts if their fields are well irrigated, Verett said, though this generally is an expensive upgrade.
It is more of a problem with cattle that are dependent on water for their survival, he said, but crop farmers are affected as well.
"In the end, it's something you have to live with," Verett said.
John Welch, CEO of Spade Ranches, said both ranchers and farmers will say a drought affects them more.
"I don't know one could say one is worse than the other," he said, "though it affects dry land ranchers more than irrigated farmers."
Welch said ranchers can prepare for a drought by stocking ranches with cattle that are easily marketable.
Aside from effects such as damaging some plant and animal species because of sudden changes in their habitat, severe droughts also can ruin farmers' crops and cause a lack of available water for livestock, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center's Web site.
This leads to "high livestock mortality rates" and an increase in food prices in the affected area due to an increased need for the importation of food, negatively affecting everyone in the area, including the consumer.
Farmer said the results of the study are intended to raise awareness among farmers and ranchers in the area and make sure they have a management plan in order to protect themselves from potential severe droughts.
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