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<br />IV-42 <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />of the planted acreage is not harvested due to such commonly exper- <br />ienced vagaries of the Texas South Plains as windstorms, hail, <br />flood, frost, drought, plant disease, and a host of insect infes- <br />tations. Two rather matter-of-fact accounts of such conditions in <br />1980, the first for Garza County and the second for Hale County, <br />attest to some of the uncertainties faced by the South Plains <br />farmer: <br />"Planting and early season soil moisture was generally good <br />from rainfall. Most crops were in very good condition until <br />the night of June 17th when a severe dust storm moved across <br />the north half of the County and destroyed approximately <br />10,000 acres of cotton. This left the ground baked and <br />crusted to the point that most replanted cotton didn't get <br />up to an established stand. Most cotton that came up was <br />plowed up later in the summer. This was due to the lack of <br />rainfall during the growing season. <br />"The 100 degree days were prevalent from late June through <br />most of August causing considerable plant moisture stress <br />during July and August. The abrupt ending of rainfall after <br />mid-June slowed cotton growth and development for the entire <br />summer, causing extremely low yields and poor seed qualities. <br />"The short crop wouldn't economically support harvest and <br />chemical application on many acres causing the farmers to <br />wait for frost to allow harvest. Two 10 to 11 inch snows <br />in November stopped harvest before it really got started <br /> <br />Arthur D Little, Inl <br />