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Sunday, Jul. 26, 1998
Drought aiding war on boll weevils
Cotton fields require less spraying since rain doesn't often wash chemicals away
By JEFFREY TOMICH
Staff WriterIt might seem ironic that a state program created to protect agriculture is benefiting from a situation that is costing the industry millions, but that's what's happening this year.
For farmers, the drought and triple-digit temperatures have dried up crops and profits across the state. Texas agricultural officials have already projected that the drought will cost the state's economy at least $4.6 billion.
But for the Texas boll weevil eradication program, dry conditions have meant a more effective and less costly campaign to wipe out the tiny brown beetles that have historically cost Texas cotton farmers millions of dollars.
``It's kind of lessened the intensity of the war on the boll weevil,'' said Osama El-Lissy, program director for the Abilene-based organization that administers the program. ``However, we don't welcome the drought by any means. I would rather have a wet crop and a good year any day.''
So far, El-Lissy said, the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation has been able to save money on chemicals and personnel because of the dry weather.
``We've hired fewer people than we anticipated and also we didn't have to re-spray many fields because of rainfall,'' El-Lissy said. ``Ultimately, that will reduce the cost to the producer.''
El-Lissy is hesitant to attach a dollar figure to the cost savings so far. But, if the dry spell lasts another eight weeks, the eradication program's 26-county South Texas/Winter Garden Zone alone could see cost savings of up to $1 million, he said.
At the same time, El-Lissy warns that any rain during the next two months could change things. ``And who knows what's going to happen over the next six to seven weeks?''
Any savings on eradication measures aren't likely to provide immediate financial help to farmers, but could lessen the time it takes them to pay off per-acre program assessments, El-Lissy said.
Besides saving the foundation money, the drought could also benefit eradication efforts from a biological standpoint. El-Lissy said the blistering heat and dry conditions baking Texas cotton fields could take away the food supply for maturing boll weevils.
The foundation had sprayed almost 640,000 acres in the South Texas/Winter Garden Zone, meaning that, on average, each of the area's 300,900 acres has been sprayed twice this season.
This year marks the first season-long program. In the past, fields have been sprayed only during a certain stage.
But despite its on-and-off status, and amid the controversy surrounding the program, the eradication program is paying dividends, El-Lissy said.
According to data from the foundation, the number of weevils captured in traps in the South Texas/Winter Garden zone is down 98 percent from 1996.
``Next year is likely the beginning of the end of the boll weevil in South Texas,'' El-Lissy said.
Native to Mexico, boll weevils showed up on the Texas-Mexico border near Brownsville in 1894. Since then, the cotton-eating pests have steadily spread into Texas and other states.
They are considered a major threat to the state's biggest cash crop. State officials have said the insects destroy between $25 million and $50 million work of Texas' cotton crop each year.
Legislation approved in 1993 initially set up the eradication program and established geographic zones in which cotton producers could vote on whether to form the program and pay for it.
Producers approved a program and began spraying the next year, only to be challenged in court.
In the spring of 1997, the Texas Supreme Court ruled the eradication program unconstitutional, saying the Legislature failed to give the foundation enough guidelines for operation and creating debt.
Lawmakers revamped and revised the program, giving the Texas Department of Agriculture oversight.
In October, nearly 70 percent of the South Texas/Winter Garden's 1,185 cotton producers voted to continue the systematic pesticide program. Farmers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, meanwhile, opted out of the program, blaming it for catastrophic damages to cotton crops.
The South Texas/Winter Garden zone includes Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Calhoun, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kinney, Kleberg, LaSalle, Lavaca, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Uvalde, Victoria, Wilson and Zavala counties.
Statewide, the eradication program covers about 1.2 million acres. Next year, it will add up to 1.5 million more acres with the addition of two more regions, El-Lissy said.
The foundation employs about 700 people, 90 percent of whom are seasonal. In the South Texas zone, it employs 52 full-time and 172 seasonal workers who drive around fields in white pickups checking weevil traps.
Fields are sprayed with the insecticide malathion, a household pesticide commonly used against mosquitoes, when numerous weevils are found in the traps.
The multiyear eradication program is projected to cost about $120 per acre, or about $36 million for all of the South Texas zone's cotton acreage. That cost will be spread out over a number of years, with a $23.14 maximum annual assessment per acre.
Despite the success so far, and the unanimous desire to wipe out boll weevils in South Texas, cotton producers are still divided by the way the program is administered and its cost.
Opponents contend the cost associated with the program is only compounding financial woes for cotton producers in this drought year.
``Producers, in most cases, are not going to be able to make a profit this year, the eradication program notwithstanding,'' said farmer Leon Bernsen Sr. ``This just puts them further in the hole.''
Bernsen, a cotton grower for more than half a century, decided not to plant any cotton this year. His decision was based partly on cotton prices at and before planting season and partly because of his objections to the way the eradication program is run, he said.
While Bernsen favors eliminating the pests, he thinks it could be done less bureaucratically and less expensively. ``It's a good program,'' he said. ``The only thing we were opposed to is the way it was set up under the foundation.
``There is no one I know that's against eradicating the boll weevil, but we don't need a bureaucracy to do it.''
The foundation's supporters tell a different story. They say eradication efforts have boosted cotton yields as much as 15 percent in an otherwise shabby year.
``What it has done is taken away the most disruptive insect that I have to deal with,'' said Nueces County cotton producer Rick Kocurek. ``With the absence of weevils, I'm getting a yield increase.''
Kocurek, a strong advocate of the eradication program, says the per-acre assessment more than pays for itself. ``The $23.14 is made back in increased yields. Now, if it had rained a time or two, we would have had a tremendous crop,'' he said.
Those feelings are echoed by Juan Landivar, an associate professor of agronomy with Texas A&M University's Research and Extension Center. He cautions, however, that there's no scientific evidence to prove yields will be up because of the program.
``I think growers are going to be pleasantly surprised to find that yields are going to be a little bit higher than they are expecting'' because of the eradication program, he said.
``We've had droughts before, but we've never had a drought without boll weevils.''Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web