Texas has gotten into the habit of record breaking during the past couple of years. A record drought is now being followed by record rainfall making a mess of operations on the farm. However farmers here in the Panhandle are certainly not complaining, as the water is certainly needed in order to replenish the aquifers in this region.

Despite the rainfall farmers have continued to irrigate their crops in order to provide a steady supply of water to the crops, especially corn. However the rainfall causes problems for the center pivots as the excess mud causes the to get stuck and break down. As a result I spent many days pulling these sprinklers out of the slippery clay mud and replacing the broken parts that move them along the 1.5 circumference of the circle.

The additional rainfall for the year also contributed to a welcomed surplus of feed provided by unusual regrowth by their winter tricale crop. The grass was swathed, raked and balled in order to store for a predicted return drought. As a result throughout the past two weeks I have moved nearly 700 round bales from the field helping me further develop my operating skills in the field.

Of course during the rainy days I have working on the mapping project they have assigned, obtaining well locations and determining where the water lines run throughout the field. This will be essential information when adding additional water lines, tilling the field and maintaining irrigation systems.