As a cattle producer, Im becoming more concerned about the constant drought in my area. Now seeing it more around the state and even the lack of snowfall in Colorado for the river run off has me concerned. Here are a few articles for thought and advice..

...I'm not sure I'm all that opposed to a little cloud seeding intervention this summer.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/record-snow-drought-in-western-us-raises-concern-21344471.php

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Drought conditions persist across most of Texas
By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Drought conditions continue to expand across Texas, with warm temperatures and limited rainfall in the forecast.
The latest Water Weekly drought map from the Texas Water Development Board showed an increase in drought coverage for the eighth week in the last 10 weeks.
Drought coverage has now reached its largest extent since mid-November 2025, and dry conditions are expected to worsen in the coming weeks without significant rainfall.
In areas such as Bexar County, monthly Palmer Drought Severity Index values below zero occurred from 1949 to 1957 and again from 2010 to 2014. The current drought, which began in 2019, has nearly matched the intensity of the 2010 to 2014 drought and is approaching the duration of the 1949 to 1957 drought, raising concern among farmers and ranchers.
Without significant precipitation, a quarter of the state could succumb to drought conditions in the next few weeks.
The ongoing dry conditions are already creating challenges for agriculture across the state.
"Ranchers are having to supplement additional feed and hay because winter grazing is below average for this time of year," Tracy Tomascik, associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, said. "And with soil moisture already depleted, dry conditions going into spring planting raise real concerns for crop farmers trying to get a solid start to the season."
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor released Jan. 15, temperatures were above normal across most of Texas. Moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions expanded across much of the Panhandle, while moderate to severe drought intensified in East Texas and coastal southeast Texas. Deep south Texas continues to see worsening drought conditions.
Looking ahead, forecasts suggest little immediate relief for large portions of the state.
The seasonal drought outlook through the end of March anticipates drought expansion along the Texas coast, West and Central Texas and across much of the Panhandle. Portions of the northeast corner of the state are expected to remain drought free.

La Niña sucks but hopefully we will transition to enso neutral or El Niño this spring or this summer is going to be bad.

We need a good, strong El Nino this year and no high pressure systems. That killed our last shot at good rain during the last El Nino.

My dad's place in Frio County looks like the surface of the moon. It's a sad state of affairs in that area.

Plenty of left over round bales in East/ SE Tx from 24 and 25, including some barn hay. The 24 hay crop which was stacked outside should be pretty cheap now. Hauling it would be the main expense but for those willing/ able to haul, there are good deals available locally. Lots of it would depend on field loading being dry enough, which it is now. Good time to source for upcoming needs.

NOAA is showing a 50% chance of rain Friday night and an 80% chance of rain Saturday for the San Antonio area....here in the Eden area we have a 70% and 90% for the same time.

Sorry for the bold, but it's the only way my post shows up....

Quote:

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A transition from La Niña to ENSO-neutral is expected in February-April 2026 (60% chance), with ENSO-neutral likely persisting through the Northern Hemisphere summer (56% chance in June-August 2026).

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https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml