The initial look at the cost to agriculture from last month's devastating winter storm is out. And it's enormous.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agricultural economists put the early losses to citrus, livestock, and horticultural crops in excess of $600 million.
The livestock losses alone were were put at $228 million.
Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he's never seen anything like it. "Dairymen took it pretty hard. Milk plants couldn't get natural gas, they couldn't get electricity so we ended up dumping about 14 million gallons of milk. That's a half gallon for every man woman and child in the state."
AgriLife Extension estimates of some of the state's biggest agricultural losses by commodity were: Citrus crops: At least $230 million, and an estimated $150 million in losses in vegetables were recorded.
