Donna, TX (KRGV) — A Donna corn farmer says drought is cutting into the corn he grows to feed his livestock.

Walking through his field in Donna, John Billman said the drought damage is clear.

“Due to being in a drought, this corn is not quality; it is not there. It should be this long and round, full of kernels,” Billman said.

Billman said his crops are shorter than they should be.

“My corn is not there — it's not producing an ear of corn. It is very short, and should be seven feet tall,” Billman said.

Because ears of corn are not developing, Billman said he will have less feed on hand.

“So this will get them by and give them maybe two months of feed, but if it was tall like it should be, I probably could sustain six months of feed,” Billman said.

Billman said that loss forces him to buy food for his livestock.

Experts say farmers across the Rio Grande Valley are facing the same challenge.

“All of those areas pretty much were dealing with drought throughout the growing season. We did see a lot shorter corn, and the plants are smaller. We did see yields reduced in some areas more than 50%,” Texas A&M extension cropping system specialist Ronnie Schnell said.

Schnell said the drought can also affect businesses that take grain and resell it to buyers along with feeding operations and food supplies.

“It also affects everybody downstream too. So the elevators take the grain, and then they resell it to buyers, and that grain gets moved, let's say, whether it's feeding operations or into food supplies,” Schnell said.

Until the drought eases, Billman said he will keep pushing ahead and hopes other farmers do too.

“We are all in this together. The entire Rio Grande Valley is in this together,” Billman said.

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