![]() “I remember thinking that if this goes on for any longer, we are going to have to sell our cows off.” But that drought lifted, and the Taylors started what became a thriving farm, raising cattle, pigs and lots of vegetables, enough to feed several hundred families. “Our first year here, our pastures were blowing dust and dirt, and we couldn’t find hay anywhere for the cows,” Ward said. They came to the Bluebonnet area to join the wave of new farmers who were setting up shop in Central Texas during the beginning of the locavore, or “eat local” movement of the 2000s. Ward worked in programming and design there for nine years, and Jill worked in finance for 20 years. Despite the struggles, the couple do not regret leaving their jobs as Boeing employees in Washington state. They’ve been farming here since 2010, starting just before the state’s last historic drought in 2011. This isn’t the Taylors’ first brush with drought. Others relatively new to farming have slowed or shut down operations. Those with more experience often diversify their operations to maintain their livelihood. Many of them are doing what they can to keep going. Rising prices, unstable supply chains and labor shortages are adding to farmers’ problems. Weather-related disasters, from a prolonged freeze to this year’s record-breaking heat and drought, have caused severe damage to many small farms. On the heels of a two-decade boom, many small farms in the Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative service area and across the state – often run by farmers with less than a decade of experience – are facing serious troubles. The reality, especially in the last few months, has been closer to a nightmare. Twelve years ago, Ward and Jill bought the land because they shared a dream of farming - growing squash and tomatoes during Texas’ typically long growing seasons. “It’s been brutal,” Ward, 61, said of the damage that this summer of 2022 has brought to the couple’s 40-acre Taylor’s Farm. ![]() ![]() ![]() Now they are eating the bark off the trees,” Ward Taylor said. Then they came and ate the peaches and left the pits. “They left the peaches dangling off like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The insects came in droves a few months ago, stripping the leaves off peach trees at Ward and Jill Taylor’s farm outside Lexington in Lee County. The couple have been operating their 40-acre farm since 2010, and this is not their first battle with drought. Then extreme heat and a lack of rain made conditions worse. Photos by Laura Skelding Grasshoppers were the first problem to hit the crops at Ward and Jill Taylor's farm near Lexington. ![]()
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