The driest year in Texas history caused a record $7.62 billion in agriculture losses, billions more than previously estimated, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service said Wednesday.

The new total for 2011, provided to The Associated Press before its public release, is about $2.42 billion more than an August estimate, which had already topped the 2006 record of $4.1 billion in drought-related losses.

Texas is the nation's No. 3 producer of agricultural products behind California and Iowa, so when crops and cattle fail here, prices can be expected to rise nationally, said David Anderson, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University.

The state also has a long history with drought, which has cost it more than $14 billion in agriculture losses since 1998.

"When you are one of the biggest agricultural producing states in the nation, a monumental drought causes enormous losses," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said in a statement Wednesday. "While the pain and damage caused by this drought cannot be overstated, our state's farmers and ranchers are determined in their commitment and fierce in their resolve. We will rebuild and continue delivering the safest, most reliable and most affordable food supply in the world."

The latest drought has been accompanied by historic triple-digit heat and unprecedented winds that further parched the land and destroyed crops. Many ranchers sold off or slaughtered cattle after rangeland dried up and the price of hay skyrocketed. The state has its smallest herd since the 1950s after losing about 660,000 head during the drought.

Cattle account for about half of Texas agricultural production, which makes up 9 percent of its economy, Anderson said. It remains the nation's leading beef producer, but the estimated loss to the livestock industry from drought is $3.23 billion, up from the $2.06 billion estimated in August.

Cotton losses are estimated at $2.2 billion, up from $1.8 billion in August, and corn farmers lost about $736 million, up from the previous estimate of $409 million. The remaining losses were largely in hay production, wheat and sorghum.

With rain, crops such as wheat, cotton and sorghum can quickly recover, Anderson said.

But rebuilding the state's cattle herd will take longer because it can take years for pastures and grazing lands destroyed by drought to come back. Also, animals must be bought or bred.

"We don't know how that's going to recover," Anderson said.

Lower Colorado River Authority meteorologist Bob Rose said Central and North Texas have seen "appreciable rains" over the winter and into the spring.

"The drought has improved significantly," Rose said.

He noted that the extension service's estimate included dry-land ranchers and farmers dependent on rainfall.

"But most stock ponds in our area are full, and there's plenty of soil moisture," Rose said. "Things have improved considerably from last year.

"The other part that hasn't recovered is the surface water in the lakes," he said. "They're not even half-full yet. We're not out of this drought, but we have seen significant improvements, especially on the agricultural side."

Rose said another 15 to 20 inches of rain will be needed to fill the Highland lakes.

"We've got to have several more events like the one we saw the other night or an event like the Marble Falls rain bomb of 2007," Rose said.

Reporting by American-Statesman staff writer Patrick Beach and The Associated Press

Drought losses in Texas

Drought losses from 1998 through 2011, as compiled by AgriLife Extension economists:

2011 $7.62 billion

2009 $3.6 billion

2008 $1.4 billion

2006 $4.1 billion

2002 $316 million

2000 $1.1 billion

1999 $223 million

1998 $2.4 billion