On the topic of weather, my former boss, Gaylon Oehlke in Capital Farm Credit’s South Texas region, said it best: “It’s always raining somewhere, just not always here.”
Considering the size of Texas, it’s not surprising that average annual rainfall ranges from 8 inches in El Paso, to 60 inches in southeast Texas. The fact is that the 38-inch average annual rainfall in my part of central Texas is an average of years ranging from 8 to 60 inches. Is there a way to be proactive when you can’t control the clouds?
Stewardship
I’m one who believes water will be more valuable than oil some day. Don’t believe me? Check it out at the convenience store. You pay $8 a gallon for water in those 16-ounce bottles, and $2.50 for a gallon of gas. What are my suggestions? I think irrigating grass for grazing and pumping groundwater into an earthen pond in 100-degree heat is poor use of our natural resources. Building good humus for soil water holding capacity, surface water retention including rainwater collection from buildings, and mulching trees and landscape are sound practices to employ. What are your conservation practices? Take a look at what you are doing, and remember the bottom line — be good stewards of the gift.
Opportunities
Sometimes we get so depressed about the dry times that we forget about the opportunities we were not afforded in the rainy season. For example, my family has a ranch tract that has limited access during normal rain periods. With the drought of 2008 and 2009, we have accessed areas and built needed fencing, repaired water gaps, rebuilt ponds and built bridges across creeks that have never been traveled before. We have also had the unfortunate opportunity to cull down our cattle herd to manage through this drought. All of these forced changes, which I like to refer to as opportunities, come at an expense; but these practices all add value to our lands and quality to our cattle herds in the long run. As I remember from my childhood teachings — pruning of the tree yields fruit for the future.
Attitude
I don’t mean to make light of the devastation drought brings. The financial hardships are many. But, after 45 years of living, I believe the greatest misconception is that people believe tomorrow will bring them even more of what they have today. For example, if you have money today, you will have more tomorrow. If you are broke today, you’ll be broke for the rest of your life. And yes, if it is a drought today…well, you get my drift. The truth is this: Droughts are usually broken by a sudden flood followed by “more normal” rain patterns. So how does attitude affect drought? A positive attitude doesn’t change how long a drought will last or its severity. It just makes you sleep better at night. In Texas, it seems like we spend half our time in a drought. Therefore, worry about the things you can change, and seek wisdom to understand the things you can’t.
Today, we’re talking about the drought. But my advice will be the same for any situation, regardless of your hardship:
• Be good stewards and manage your gifts wisely.
• When times are wet, rejoice.
• Adversity presents its own opportunities, and we should take advantage when those opportunities come along.
• And most of all, work to find joy wherever life takes you.
I’ll end with a quote from a former Farm Credit director, Curtis Albrecht, who farmed around Nueces County near Corpus Christi — a place that has seen its share of dry times. To this day, he is one of the most jovial and optimistic farmers I have been privileged to know. When Curtis was asked about the South Texas droughts, he would always say, “Boys, we are one day closer to a good rain.” Curtis continues to live a long and productive life that has seen many droughts, but never one when he didn’t have a smile on his face.
