Texas Agriculture Today

*Texas ranchers should prepare for screw worms.   *The comment period for a proposal to list the Monarch butterfly as threatened is closing soon.   *Corn planting is ahead of schedule.   *Texas High Plains cotton farmers may need some additional strategies to deal with wire worms.   *Managing 13 million acres of state land is challenging.   *U.S. lawmakers from Texas have introduced legislation to...

*New World Screwworms are on their way to Texas.   *The U.S. and China have both agreed to temporarily lower tariffs.   *The Texas Senate Agriculture Committee has approved a bill that would ban lab grown meat.   *Wire worms are a big concern for Texas High Plains cotton growers.   *We now know more about planned cuts to Farm Bill programs through the budget reconciliation process. *The cotton ind...

*Texas corn planting is ahead of schedule.   *The application process for the disaster assistance portion of USDA’s Emergency Commodity Assistance Program is coming soon.   *There will be no closures of local Farm Service Agency offices.     *The Texas Southern Plains has received a lot of rain recently.   *USDA has shut down imports of Mexican livestock due to screw worm concerns.  *Should the U....

*The southern border is once again closed to Mexican livestock imports.   *Higher conception rates can make more money for cattle producers.  *Agricultural groups are weighing in on a new trade deal between the U.S. and the U.K. *The outlook for the U.S. cotton industry is challenging.   *Spring rains are a welcome sight on the Texas Rolling Plains.   *Equine herpes viruses are common pathogens.  

*Tight cattle supplies have given feedlots a lot of leverage over packers.  *Legislation relating to the right-to-farm and ranch heads to the governor.  *President Donald Trump announced a new trade agreement with the United Kingdom Thursday. *New harvesting equipment could make sorghum silage more useful to dairies. *The sheep and goat industries in the United States are close to eradicating scra...

*Retaining heifers to rebuild a cow herd is a hard thing to do.   *National Sorghum Producers is accepting applications for the 2025 National Sorghum Yield contest.   *Fifty-six cotton growers qualified for the BASF FiberMax One Ton Club. *A new technology is coming out that could reduce prussic acid poisoning in sorghum.  *The rewrite of the Waters of the U.S. rule is moving forward.   *Exception...

*Cotton planting is falling behind in the northern Texas Panhandle.   *The economic assistance package passed by Congress in December is getting into the hands of farmers.   *The condition of the Texas wheat crop is holding steady. *Recent rains on the Texas High Plains are good for sorghum producers.   *The budget reconciliation process could impact the Farm Bill.   *Bayer Crop Science has a new...

*Spring rain is falling in Texas, but most of the state is still struggling with drought.   *Recent rain is improving the overall drought picture in Texas.   *More than 15,000 USDA employees have voluntarily left the agency. *Two Trump administration cabinet members visited a farm in Central Texas last week.   *Texas senators gave farmers an update on the status of the 1944 water treaty with Mexic...

*Wheat disease pressure was light this year.   *Texas Farm Bureau is providing financial support to high school ag mechanics programs.   *President Trump’s nominee for USDA Undersecretary for Trade is defending the use of tariffs. *EPA administrator Lee Zeldin says he plans to address a backlog of pesticide registrations.   *Texas Panhandle ranchers are enjoying the record high cattle market.   *A...

*Mexico has committed to help the U.S. fight New World screw worms.    *USDA has issued a disaster declaration for Texas farmers along the Red River.   *Duties will be placed on imported 2,4-D. *Over three hundred Texas farmers and ranchers were in our nation’s capital last week.  *Water legislation is moving through the state legislature.   *Hundreds of people showed up for the Hemphill County Be...

*Texas farmers and ranchers are in Washington D.C. this week.   *Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin met with Texas farmers.   *Two U.S. cabinet secretaries visited a Central Texas farm.   *A good vaccination program is vital for a cattle operation.   *The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may get renewed soon. *Texas Congressman August Pfluger is asking the Department of the Interior to...

*Mexico is delivering more water to the Rio Grande Valley.    *The U.S. needs to build a sterile fly production facility to fight New World screwworms. *Texas Panhandle farmers are already facing a big battle with weeds.   *What do consumers think about cotton?   *House Democrats are expressing concerns over USDA layoffs.   *The TCU Ranch Management program has a long reputation of educating lives...

*Mexico is not cooperating in the fight against screw worms.   *Bayer may stop producing Roundup. *Spring planting is underway in the Texas Panhandle.   *A new bill is under consideration in Congress to make it easier for ranchers to protect their livestock from black vultures.   *Angus genetics make up a vast majority of the U.S. cow herd.   *Chicken litter is a popular source of pasture fertiliz...

*Feeder cattle prices are at record highs.   *The trade war with China is affecting U.S. pork sales.   *Five wheat farmers were reelected to the Texas Wheat Producers Board. *Texas Panhandle wheat farmers have been getting some rain to finish off the crop.  *The Trump Administration will attempt to address unfairness affecting U.S. rice exports.  *Recent tornadoes touched down in North Central Tex...

*Texas has some good wheat and some bad wheat.   *Texas milk production topped 1.5 billion pounds last month.   *Cow herd rebuilding will be a very slow process. *One half of the Texas legislature has passed a financial assistance bill for farmers and ranchers.   *Artificial intelligence may have something to offer the beef industry.   *Cuts to food stamps in the budget process could impact the pr...

*Cotton planting is underway across the cotton belt.   *The latest seasonal drought outlook has both good and bad news for Texas.   *Mexico has committed to deliver water to the Rio Grande Valley. *Southwest Texas got some well needed rainfall.   *The cattle markets could be in for a rocky ride in the months ahead.   *Work is underway to once again to rewrite the controversial Waters of the U.S. r...

*A Texas Panhandle farmer is focusing less on cotton and more on cattle.    *Drought continues to worsen across parts of Texas.   *Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller hopes trade negotiations will get resolved quickly.  *Texas High Plains ranchers are dealing with volatile markets.   *The U.S. Trade Representatives office has released changes to its port service fees on ships.   *The agricul...

*The farm labor crisis is on President Trump’s radar.   *Avian influenza is being detected in the Texas Panhandle.   *Texas corn producers are preparing to deal with the corn leafhopper again this year. *Texas High Plains ranches are having a pretty good year so far.   *OSHA will hold a virtual public hearing on its proposed heat injury rule.   *The water infrastructure in our state will require a...

*The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture was in Texas twice last week.   *Texas citrus production is expected to go down this year.   *The latest Cattle on Feed report was released Friday. *Feedlot inventories are dropping in the Texas High Plains. *The Trump Administration is reportedly willing to work with farm workers who are in the country illegally.   *Expanding our water supply is a challenge in o...

*Texas animal health officials are working to keep the New World screw worm out of the state.   *U.S. Agriculture Secretary was back in Texas for the second time in a week.   *USDA is raising its fed steer price forecast. *State legislators are concerned about the high speed rail project.   *The expected drop in cotton acreage this year could create opportunities.   *Mexico is trying to reach a ne...

*The cattle markets are nervous about the Trump tariff wars.   *USDA is allocating money for animal health research in Texas.   *Corn and sorghum planting is ahead of schedule, but cotton planting is lagging behind. *The winter wheat crop in Moore County is the best it has been in years.   *President Trump is calling on Congress to stop the annual time changes.   *2025 is another good year for the...

*The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association met last weekend in Fort Worth.   *Mexico is delivering some of the water it owes to the Rio Grande Valley.    *Texas cattle feeders are seeing good times right now, but there could be troubles ahead.   *The U.S. is preparing to levy new duties on tomatoes from Mexico, while China has raised it tariffs on U.S. goods.  *The Houston Livestock Sh...

*The American Lamb Board’s “Lamb Jam” is coming to Texas.   *Strawberry harvest is underway in Texas.   *Spring planting is moving forward across the state. *The fight over the right to farm continues in the Texas legislature.   *A pest concern is altering the planting timeline for some Texas High Plains farmers.  *The tariff situation seems to change every day.   *A Central Texas small grains fie...

*New World screw worms are a real threat to Texas livestock producers.   *U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says the Trump administration will protect U.S. farmers and ranchers when negotiating tariffs. *The economic situation for Texas High Plains feedlots is pretty good right now.   *Mexico is sending water to South Texas.   *The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo raised a record amount...

*Fed cattle weights are bigger than ever.   *A Texas farm and a cattle company are both being recognized for their efforts to preserve and protect the environment.   *The American Farm Bureau Federation weighs in on the tariff situation. *President Trump is taking on the issue of Mexico not delivering water to the Rio Grande Valley.   *This was a record breaking year for the Houston Livestock Show...