PLAINVIEW HERALD | MYPLAINVIEW.COM
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2026 B1
Agricultural outlook much of the same for 2026 By Teresa Young SP E C I A L T O T H E H E R A L D
Area agricultural producers are heading into 2026 cautiously optimistic as prices stay low and threats loom from various angles. According to the experts from the local Texas A&M AgriLife extension office, there is good news and bad news for the industry. “The cotton harvest was great. The yield was actually there, and it wasn’t a bumper crop year but it was good,” said Kristie Keys, extension agent in agronomy covering Hale, Lamb and Castro counties. “What really surprised people was the quality. It was better than previous years, and that was a surprise because our weather is so variable. So there’s been a lot of excitement.” Keys focuses her work more on small grains such as wheat, barley, triticale and sorghum and she said those are picking up speed due to the current water situation that doesn’t see the likelihood of much improvement in the near future. “We still have corn being planted, but that is very intensive for water. There are pockets of the area that have good water in both quality and quantity, and that’s where it’s being grown. We’re making sure we’re being wise with our water,” she noted. “In 2025 it was grown a lot, but I’m not sure it will hold true for 2026. Castro County has some pockets of good water, so they grow more corn there typically, and there is also some in Petersburg.” Keys said the forecast across the state is looking like a repeat of 2025. She said more growers took advantage of the early planting rainfall in September and planted small grains. But the weather since then has been “exceptionally warm and dry, and that’s not good for that crop,” Keys said. At this point, the harvest response on those crops is unsure, but the ongoing lack of precipitation does pose a concern. Keys said cover crops are becoming more and more prevalent to counter the pesky West Texas winds and dryness. She said the native grasses also are good to maintain soil health. Testing is ongoing, she said, about how these cover crops will hold the soil and replace essential nutrients, and all are vital to water conservation. She said most growers do a cover crop between harvesting cotton, corn or sorghum and planting again to protect the soil during the windy season. Some do alternating crops and cover crops to conserve soil health. One crop finding some traction in the area of late is extra long staple cotton, which brings a higher premium. Unfortunately, Keys said, not all varieties were approved for that class after planting had already occurred. Still, she believes it could be an option for more and more
Special to the Herald
Blayne Reed scouting for corn.
growers this coming season. “It’s so new so they are still in the process of adding new varieties,” she said. “It’s going to take some time, and there are some growing pains in that right now.” Keys also said growers should lean more into water quality testing as water in the region declines, since salinity can become an issue. Test results will be critical to combatting that challenge for the coming growing season, she said. Pests on the horizon As growers prepare for the next season, integrated pest management special-
ist III Blayne Reed said keeping an eye on pests will be crucial as well. Last year’s nemesis, the corn leafhopper, was not as severe a threat as in 2024, thanks in large part to control efforts in other cornproducing areas. Lateplanted corn, however, did see some impact. “They need a living corn plant, so if it comes back in 2026 they’ll have to migrate up. If they do, it will impact corn at the critical stages, and the diseases could cause a 67 percent yield loss,” said Reed, who covers Hale, Swisher and Floyd Counties primarily and the entire region north to Oklahomas. “The earli-
er we plant corn after the last freeze date, the less likely it is to impact that crop. Whether for commercial use or private, that early date will be best. Do not plant late. If it shows up, that late-planted corn is a disaster.” In the cotton fields, Reed said they are keeping vigilant for a new invasive called the cotton jassid, a leafhopper with a distinctive wing pattern. Native of India, the jassid is not spreading disease per se but “sucking the life out of the plant,” said Reed. “It came to Florida 5-6 years ago, and now is spreading across the U.S., mostly through cotton or
horticultural plants that were shipping out of big box stores,” he said. “Everywhere that was positive in the store, within a few weeks the late cotton was impacted. They do not over winter, and it will only take two per leaf to be threshold. The plant will be dead within two weeks.” Reed noted that treatment trials are ongoing in Georgia and Alabama, but products are incredibly expensive currently. The lower-priced products, he noted, are ineffective. To keep growers in the know, Reed said the High Plains IPM Audio updates will air weekly during the summer growing season.
Varying by regions, the podcast covers disease, pests and more in an easy 8-12 minute listen. Signups for the audio updates can be found here online: https://www.texasinsects.org/agriculture-audio-updates-home.html. The office also offers an alert signup for both pests by texting the following number: 833-717-0325. Jassid updates are available by texting COTTON to the number, while CORN will get updates on the leafhopper. On the four-footed front Extension agent Andy Hart said the biggest change in the coming year is a predicted growth in livestock for area operations. “We are starting to see more livestock added to our farming and ranching operations in Hale County. Seeing that cattle prices are very high, people are adding cattle, sheep and goats to add diversity,” Hart said. “They are trying to keep things rolling with cotton prices being so low and the irrigation getting worse.” Hart said while the cattle market is high and will likely begin to go back down, the current high is making it awfully appealing to many producers. The hesitation, he said, is the high price of heifers, so some are leaning more to sheep and goats that can be raised faster with less investment. “It takes several calves to pay off a cow, but with sheep you can raise 2-3 heads per year and pay those off more quickly,” Hart said. “Most producers create a market for lambs and goats like to San Angelo or Muleshoe. Most around here are raising more to wean and then sell off.” Hart did note that another pest is causing concern in the livestock arena. The new world screwworm that became a big issue in the 1950s has been controlled in past decades. But it has been located more recently near the U.S./Mexico border so it is being monitored. “Mexican cattle have not been selling in the U.S. due to the screwworm. We’re educating producers on what to look for and eradicate it if you can see them. A sterile fly is what they’re using to breed them as an attack plan,” Hart said. “I do think the Mexican cattle border will be opened in the coming months, and that may affect the cattle market in the U.S.” Hart said the screwworm can impact cattle and other livestock as well as wildlife or even domesticated pets by attacking untreated wounds unnoticed until larvae appears. “Right now we’re making sure producers are walking through the livestock more regularly and keeping a close eye on them,” he said. “We haven’t had a really hard freeze but that would stop them for now. It won’t be completely eliminated this winter, but it will slow it down.”