Texas cattle ranchers whipsawed between drought and deluge

The drought finally broke for Texas ranchers late last year. The range and pasturelands on which cattle graze began to recover. Then came the spring. In Cameron, about 140 miles northwest of Houston, the rain began falling at the start of May — and didn’t stop all month. “People don’t give water enough credit for how much damage it can do,” James Burks says. He’s general manager of 44 Farms, a cattle ranch bounded by a tributary of the Brazos called the Little River. On Memorial Day, the Little River crested nearly 40 feet above flood stage. Read more or listen to the story from NPR’s Morning Edition…