The unabated climatic change within and outside South Texas inflicts serious suffering on farmers and ranchers as the region grapples with unreliable rainfall and severe water shortage. South Texas experiences varied climatic conditions with the zone along the Mexican border majorly witnessing semi-arid weather and the west of San Antonio exhibiting humid subtropical characteristics. Since the region has recently received depressed rainfall, the diminished water supply resulted in parched fields with little to nil vegetation or fodder. These drought-driven adversities gravely hurt the agricultural sector and perilously endanger the livelihood of citizens in South Texas.
Rainfall crucially impacts the agricultural industry since precipitation increases crop yield and facilitates the production of livestock feeds. Specifically, the water from rain-wetted soil dissolves a wide range of micro- and macro-nutrients that enters into the plant through roots so that crops and other vegetation may undertake photosynthesis, which involves the use of carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to produce energy and oxygen.
The uninterrupted supply of resources that are required to undertake photosynthesis enables plants and other vegetation to grow flourishingly so that humans and livestock may obtain sufficient food and animal feeds, respectively.
Ranchers in South Texas depend on rainfall to produce grasses and other types of fodder on which this region’s cattle and other livestock survive. Access to healthy and adequate grass enables the South Taxa community to rear livestock from which high-quality dairy products and meat are obtained.
Without rainfall, residents would struggle to acquire dairy products, meat, vegetables, fresh fruits and fodder. Thus, rain constitutes a vital component of the region’s food supply chain as well-watered grass grows in abundance to sustain cattle and other livestock from which different consumer products such as hamburgers are produced.
The ongoing climatic change in South Texas and beyond increasingly impels people to recognize the significance of rainfall in (1) agriculture and (2) the survival of both humans and animals. Rainfall sustains the South Texas food supply chain by moistening grounds on which crops and livestock fodder are grown.
To safeguard this crucial resource for food production, residents within and outside South Texas are implored to conserve water and reverse the degradation of the ecosystem as a way of building a sustainable future.
