Drought in Texas Cotton Country Worsens

A satellite image captured by the NASA/USGS Landsat 8 satellite on September 9, 2026, shows the parched landscape of Lubbock County in Texas, with brown, parched crops and vacant plots dominating the landscape. This is in contrast to a more typical year with a relatively healthy harvest, as seen in the image captured on September 22, 2025. The drought has left many farmers in the region struggling, with some reporting that their dryland cotton has completely died. Lacy Cotter-Vardeman, a farmer based in Lubbock County, said that roughly 90 percent of her dryland cotton was dead. The drought has also highlighted the importance of playa lakes, which are critical in this water-stressed region. However, many of these lakes are no longer functioning due to tilling or sedimentation. The drought remains severe across many parts of the Texas High Plains, despite some recent rainfall.