AUSTIN, Texas—This August was one of the wettest Central Texas has ever seen, and now farmers are starting to see the effects of all the rain on their fall crops.
Larry Butler, Owner of Boggy Creek Farm, has worked the land for 25 years. He said he has seen late summer rain before, but nothing like that fell in August. This August was Austin's second wettest on record, with more than eight inches of rain.
"Well, I’ve been trying to plant turnips for two weeks, and I can’t get in the field to do it,” Butler said.
And more complicated ones.
"They can just come in and take out a crop so fast, by the time you see the infection, the damage is done,” Butler said.
A flood of tiny bugs called aphids are killing Butler's crops.
“They suck all the sap out of the leaves,” he said.
Between pests and fungal diseases, Butler says the rain has cost him up to $20,000 and 50 percent of his crops, including his melons.
"I’ve lost them all, you just cut one open and the water runs out of it,” Butler said.
Summer squash, and most of his cucumbers.
"I’ve even started doing pickles and things like that just to get something out of them,” said Butler.
It's loss Butler says farmers across the region are experiencing
"And we’re definitely feeling it, we’re definitely feeling it here,” he said.
Damage that may continue to pour in.
"Another two weeks down the road, we’ll really know what we’re up against. Right now it doesn’t look really good,” Butler said.
The only year Austin has received more rainfall in the month of August was 1966.