West Texas farmers and ranchers fear the worst as drought, heat near 2011 records

Cotton fields near the town of Ralls, about 30 miles east of Lubbock, on June 22. (Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune)

RALLS — Lloyd Arthur can run his hand through the soil at his cotton farm and know what kind of year he’s going to have. His dry, cracked field is making him think this could be a repeat of one of the state’s worst years.

“We can’t outfox what Mother Nature sends us,” said Arthur, whose farm is about 30 miles outside of Lubbock. “2022 has been one for the record books. We’ve always compared years to 2011, as far as droughts and whatnot, but 2022 is worse. We don’t have any underground moisture.”