July’s torrential rainfall has made for healthier plants than this time in 2024, but rain is needed in the coming weeks for a decent harvest.
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Cotton is an essential product in the Concho Valley, and July’s torrential rainfall had a silver lining for farmers who have suffered consecutive years of harmful drought conditions. Still, the job is not finished.
Farmers say about two inches of rain in the coming week and a half would help this year’s crop continue growing into a respectable harvest. Last summer’s consistent triple-digit heat conditions haven’t repeated in 2025, and cotton planted early enough benefited from recent rains. Cotton planted too late struggled from the downpours- revealing just part of a balancing act farmers have become familiar with.
With low market prices, tariff talks and inflated expenses worsening the yearly uncertainty the weather ushers in, they’ve had to find ways not to have to rely on a solid cotton harvest to make a living.
“It’s called diversification,” Randy Gully, a farmer in Veribest, said. “I grow turf grass (and hay). I grow a lot of forage, because I run cattle… The beef price is phenomenal.”
Gully said he and many of his colleagues struggled to yield a harvest in the past few years. While a healthy August crop is a welcome change, he said the rain has to come sooner rather than later. A rain too late in the season can ruin the cotton fiber’s quality.