During Drought, Once-Mighty Texas Rice Belt Fades Away
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/dentonfracking/20141023044542im_/http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/files/2014/08/Colorado-River-at-Wharton-100x100.jpg)
In 2012, some farming districts on the Lower Colorado River were cut off from water for irrigation for the first time. Reservoirs were too low to flood tens of thousands of rice fields. Some asked, “Why would anyone be farming rice in Texas in the first place?” The answer is long, and it begins with the fact [...]