More than $150 million goes up in smoke this year in agriculture

The Riley Road fire that started in early September 2011 left tens of thousands of forested acres burned. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo by Kathleen Phillips)

Over 95% of Texas suffers from severe or exceptional drought, and other states such as Oklahoma and Louisiana have been suffering as well.  The record drought is to blame for the record wildfire season.  Since January, Texas agriculture has seen more than $150 million in agricultural losses due to wildfire, and experts say those figures are expected to continue to roll upward like the smoke pillars that dot the blackened landscape.

To read more about the damage so far, read this AgriLife Today news release.