Cheap cotton, rainy spring: 2015's biggest news from rural South Plains

Dec. 31--2015 brought good news and not-so-good news to South Plains small towns and crop fields.

1. Troubled crop market

Cotton prices reached a barely break-even point in 2015. Earning potential for growing alternative crops such as sorghum and corn isn't much higher either.

Yields are predicted as average or only slightly above, despite extra moisture early in the growing season. That means volume won't be heavy enough to offset tiny profit margins.

Potential good news is in the weather forecast. If El Niño continues as predicted, an extra-wet 2016 could certainly help the industry.

2. May flood

Heavy rains closed roads and damaged property in early May. Ground zero of the South Plains 2015 flood was in Seagraves, where Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster. The town received 4.93 inches of rain in a single evening, an amount higher than it received in all of 2011. The American Red Cross estimated about 40 homes -- roughly 25 percent of the town -- were damaged.

In Lynn County that night, flooding triggered the closure of part of U.S. 87. Stranded motorists spent the night in a Tahoka church.

The same rains that brought trouble for drivers and property owners brought smiles to area farmers. That is, until their fields refused to dry by planting time.

Insurance deadlines for planting vary by county. In Swisher County, for instance, dropping those seeds in wet ground by the May 31 deadline was nearly impossible. While some farmers chose to pay a late-planting penalty, others selected crops such as sorghum and corn with later deadlines.

Growth eventually caught up, with harvest arriving fairly on time.

3. Blizzard

2015 ended with another significant weather event.

Winter storm Goliath arrived just after Christmas, dumping as much as 11 inches of snow in certain parts of the South Plains and creating hazardous road conditions and power outages.

The amount of moisture could boost the soil profile in many fields, helping with the next crop season.

4. Plainview wind

Transportation Technology Services and Plainview business leaders broke ground in March on what is projected to be the world's largest wind farm.

Transportation Technology Services representatives said they studied a Texas map, then selected Hale County for the project for its open spaces, level ground and railroad tracks.

Turbines will eventually generate about 5,900 megawatts of wind energy within a 100-mile radius of Plainview, said Mike Fox, director of the Plainview and Hale County Economic Development Corp.

Plainview struggled economically after its largest employer, Cargill Meat Solutions, closed in early 2013. Hale County's unemployment rate lingered in double digits for months, but has been steadily dropping. City leaders view wind power as a boost with economic recovery.

5. Littlefield denim mill closes, dairy buys building

Until January, American Cotton Growers was Littlefield's largest employer.

But when the denim mill closed its doors that month, 340 Lamb Countians were suddenly without jobs. The county's unemployment rate more than doubled, from 4.5 percent in December to 9.1 percent in January.

The building remained vacant the next few months as city officials sought a buyer. By October, they announced Select Milk Producers was investing $250 million to upgrade and expand the facility.

The Artesia, New Mexico-based dairy foods company will bring about 150 jobs to the economically recovering town. It's aiming at a late-summer 2018 opening. The company will process about 4 million pounds of milk -- 80 truckloads worth -- each day. Staff will convert that raw product into milk powder, butter and certain other dairy products.

6. Littlefield sex offender housing

Another contributor to Littlefield's economic recovery came in the new use of an old building. The former Bill Clayton Detention Center had been vacant for several years until the city formed an agreement with Correct Care Recovery Solutions.

As a civil commitment center, the facility houses sex offenders who have completed prison terms but aren't deemed eligible for full, unsupervised release. The atmosphere is more relaxed than a prison, with a focus on rehabilitation over punishment.

Reaction in Littlefield is mixed. Some folks are apprehensive about their new neighbors, while others are confident about the building's security and optimistic about the jobs it created.

7. Sorghum jump

Hungry Chinese pigs and low cotton prices triggered a jump in planted acreage of an alternative grainy crop.

Last spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated planted sorghum acreage would be up 20 percent in Texas this spring and 11 percent nationwide.

Along with its farm bill coverage -- which cotton lacks -- some farmers were motivated by demand. China began importing sorghum for livestock feed as an alternative to its domestic corn.

Record yields could now be ahead, despite trouble from pesky sugarcane aphids.

8. Grape boom

BROWNFIELD -- 2015 brought another good year for grapes.

The High Plains Winegrowers Association reported record yields this fall. Late springtime brought a sigh of relief, after the fruits narrowly escaped chances of freezes that devastated crops three of the past five years before this one.

Terry County, recently proclaimed the Grape Capital of Texas, has ideal climate and soil for vineyard acreage. Many farmers also like their low water demands.

The craze is gradually spilling over into neighboring Hockley and Lynn counties.

9. Seminole superintendent's drunken-driving

arrest

SEMINOLE -- Seminole's school superintendent was at more than twice the legal limit for alcohol consumption when he was arrested during a Seagraves traffic stop in October, according to Seagraves police.

Gary Laramore, 42, was stopped for driving erratically in a white Chevrolet Suburban owned by the school district. Lab results indicated his blood alcohol concentration was .18. The legal limit in Texas is .08.

Laramore remains on the job following a school board vote. This decision has garnered both support and opposition in Seminole.

10. Gaines County capital murder convictions

Capital murder trials brought guilty verdicts and life sentences this year for two defendants from Hobbs, New Mexico.

Desirae Mata, 28, and Juan Castillo, 35, were convicted in Gaines County of the May 2012 murders of John Allen, 30, and Jay Doyal, 29.

Charges are pending against co-defendants Nicomedes Daniel "Dan-Dan" Sosa II, 37, and Bobby Ray Ruiz, 28.

According to testimony, Mata drove her three co-defendants to Allen's home in rural Gaines County, a couple miles from the New Mexico border. Mata knocked on the door, Doyal answered, Ruiz shot Doyal and Sosa shot Allen, witnesses said. Both victims died at the scene.

Friends and family of Allen and Doyal remember those victims as big-hearted and fun-loving.

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