Cotton producers in West Texas have struggled the past three years due to drought. But a potential new piece of technology could help them with stability and earning more profit. Members of Texas Tech, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and many other groups came together Thursday at Ram Manufacturing. The focus was this prototype, known as Bravo, spearheaded by Terra Nova Research. Its owner, Jim Franz, says its water conservation technology could impact our area in a significant way.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor issued July 24 saw improvement in drought-related conditions across areas of the Southeast, South, Midwest, central and northern Plains, Intermountain West, and Desert Southwest, where short-term precipitation accumulations (past 30-day period) have helped to improve drought-related conditions. For the week, the most significant rainfall accumulations were observed across northern Kansas and areas of the Midwest including Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana where accumulations ranged from 3 to 10+ inches, with the highest accumulations observed in northeastern Kansas.

Across a wide swath of Texas, the inundated rivers that ravaged communities also tore through farms and ranches. In the town of Bend, about two hours north of Austin, Boyd Clark waded into rising waters to help one of his stranded ostrich hens. Matthew Ketterman spent several agonizing hours trapped on top of his truck amid coursing rapids after driving out to check the fences on his exotic game ranch outside Burnet, about an hour south of Bend. And the overflowing San Gabriel River knocked Christmas trees sideways and staff had to get petting zoo animals into a temporary pen at Sweet Eats Adventure Farm in Georgetown, about 65 miles east of Ketterman’s ranch.