Maggie Parks sat on her porch and talked about the 80 years she's lived on her pecan farm in Socorro, Texas.

"For a long time we had watermelons and sweet potatoes," Maggie said.

She said her dad grew grapes and made his own wine. She said the farm has been in her family for over 100 years and in all of that time, she's never seen a drought like the one the borderland is in right now.

Looking at a dry and dusty canal on the front of her property, Parks remembered when it was filled with water.

"That's where we bathed and that's where my mother washed her clothes," Parks said.

The Parks family said it has 60 or 70 pecan trees. Their livelihood doesn't depend of the crop, but it brings in extra money and a sense of tradition.

The Parks have dug trenches around a few of their trees, which they plan to fill with water to insure the trees' survival.

Across the street from the Parks, Suzie Brown and her family own a 400-acre pecan farm. Their livelihood does depend on the crop.

"Farming is very expensive," Brown said. "Equipment is expensive and labor's expensive."

Brown said her family is prepared to survive during dry years, but if the weather trend continues in the next few years, they may have to shut down the farm.

"You start going into the future and the drought lasts too many years, then yes," Brown said. "That's our life. I am a farmer's daughter. I married a farmer, who's a farmer's son. So that's all we know."

On Sunday, irrigation water will be released from the Caballo Dam. It should arrive in the borderland by Thursday.

"This will be very welcome because we have only irrigated partially with wells," Brown said.

However, smaller farms like the Parks' don't have access to wells.

"The little guys, they have to wait and see what New Mexico (rain fall-off) can offer for them," said Ken Parks, Maggie's son.

Most in the farming community agree that the water coming into town from the Caballo Lake will be less than half of what is needed.

If you have a story that you feel deserves media attention, contact Ric Dupont at ric.dupont@kfoxtv.com.