Drought continues to tighten its grip across the Plains, and it’s forcing farmers in west Texas to make some very difficult decisions this growing season. Depleted soils, along with bleak forecasts showing little chances for rain anytime soon, is a tough reality for farmers who struggled through a drought ravaged crop season in 2022.

It’s hard to forget the scenes from February. A dust storm tore through the southern plains, unlike anything most area farmers had ever seen.

“We had 90 mile an hour winds here,” says Brad Heffington, a farmer in Littlefield, Texas. “I had six center pivots that went down and it tore stuff up all around the farms. And it just turned sand loose that we hadn't had before.”

“I've been here my entire life and that was one of the worst ones I’ve seen,” says Travis Mires, who farms in O’Donnell, Texas.