Drought Forces Farmers to Sell Land

Posted: May 28, 2013 4:23 PM
Updated: May 28, 2013 5:02 PM

HIDALGO COUNTY - The drought affecting South Texas is forcing many farmers to sell their land.

Farmers said it's becoming nearly impossible to make a profit from their crops. They said high real estate prices are luring many away from agriculture.

"The water situation makes it a very, very difficult thing to think that we can count on that supply that we've had in the past," Arturo Ortega said. He owns farmland near Mercedes.

Ortega said the dry weather prompted his decision to sell.

Don Curl, a real estate broker, said many farmers are trying to sell their land. Curl specializes in the sale of agricultural land.

"Agriculture has gotten to be a tougher row to hoe than it used to be," Curl said.

"I've talked with some (farmers who) say they're thinking about selling out and putting the money in CDs (certificates of deposit), because they make about as much on the CD as they do on their farming," Curl said.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's kind of a sad thing from an agricultural point of view. It's part of the evolution of communities and growing," Ortega said.

Still, Ortega said it will be hard to say goodbye to the land he's long cultivated.

"We have that love for the land. That attachment that at some point will cease to become agricultural land," Ortega said.

http://www.krgv.com/news/drought-for...-to-sell-land/