Texas Agriculture Today

*Cattle futures have been melting down thanks to recession fears. *The National FFA Organization has hit a million-member milestone.   *Texas corn and sorghum harvest is ahead of schedule this year. *This past season offered mixed results for wheat producers in the Texas Panhandle.   *USDA is investing another $300 million to help promote trade.   *August is bringing miserable heat across Texas.  ...

*Will wheat be a profitable crop for Texas farmers this year?    *The Congressional Budge Office has released its estimate for the House Ag Committee’s version of the Farm Bill.   *Fall armyworms are on the march in Texas. *Debt load will be a key factor in Texas farmers’ success this year.   *A South Texas congressman says Mexico will deliver the water it owes the Rio Grande Valley.   *There is a...

*The corn crop looks good in the northern Texas Panhandle.   *Two lawmakers from Texas are working to provide some additional relief for victims of the wildfires that burned more than a million acres earlier this year.   *Three Central Texas school districts will be serving locally raised beef this year. *Some timely rains have fallen in the Texas High Plains this summer.  *Farm groups and lawmake...

*The Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course is here.   *The EPA is accepting nominations for its Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee.   *The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is attempting to expand the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in the Texas Panhandle. *Texas farmers are getting ready for a new winter wheat season.   *One of the leaders of the Senate Ag Committee is headed to...

*The Texas wheat harvest is almost done.    *Registration is underway for Beef 706 hosted by Texas A&M.   *More drought is coming, so make as much hay as possible this summer. *Texas Panhandle crops are looking promising this year.   *Now is a good time to reach out to your member of Congress.   *There is the potential for another tropical system to enter the Gulf of Mexico soon.   *The Texas...

*The transition from El Nino to La Nina continues.    *The amount Texas farmers pay for inputs continues to climb.    *Texas farmers continue to make progress on summer crop harvest. *Things are looking good for crops in the Texas Panhandle. *A representative of a banking association says a new Farm Bill is needed to help farmers and ranchers.   *National legislation for new and improved bridges w...

*Cattle feedlot inventories are expected to drop in the coming months.    *State and national milk production fell last quarter.    *The Texas Animal Health Commission is requiring H5N1 testing for lactating dairy cattle moving to fairs, shows and exhibitions.    *More and more small grains crops are grown for silage in the Texas High Plains.  *Hundreds of agricultural and conservation organizatio...

*Texas wheat farmers should plan now to deal with potential hessian fly infestations.   *The state’s largest farm organization is accepting applications for up to $20,000 in grants for county 4-H programs.   *Corn and milo harvest are picking up speed around Texas.  *Texas farmers will soon be planting their winter crops. *The EPA has released another strategy it plans to use when reviewing pestic...

*Texas wheat growers should plan now to avoid hessian fly problem later.   *The state’s largest farm organization is accepting applications for up to $20,000 in grants for county 4-H programs.   *Corn and sorghum harvest are picking up speed across Texas. *Some educational opportunities offered by Texas A&M AgriLife are coming up soon in the Texas High Plains.   *It’s unlikely that we will hav...

*Signup is underway for the National Water Quality Initiative.    *Fertilizer prices remain unseasonably high.   *A new state-of-the art grain facility is planned for the Texas Panhandle.  *In recent years there has been a major upswing in the number of people who want to buy locally grown food.   *Both Texas Senators are taking action to get Mexico to deliver the water it owes the Rio Grande Vall...

*Preparation is underway for the new Texas wheat crop.   *The market for U.S. dairy products continues to grow.   *The Texas citrus industry is calling on Congress to take action now before the industry collapses.    *Is irrigation necessary to grow potatoes on the Texas High Plains?   *The lack of movement on a new Farm Bill is not going unnoticed.   *Crop conditions in Gaines County in West Texa...

*USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report was somewhat positive for the cattle market.   *Texas citrus growers are expected to produce more grapefruit and oranges this season.    *TSCRA Special Rangers uncovered a complex livestock theft scheme in South Texas. *Potatoes grown in the Texas High Plains find their way to customers well outside of Texas.   *USDA is encouraging comments on the proposed cha...

*Cattle prices are at historic highs.   *East Texas will see an increase in horseflies soon thanks to Hurricane Beryl.   *The comment period is now open for proposed changes to federal milk marketing orders.  *Corn, cotton and sorghum are the main summer crops in the Texas High Plains, but some farmers grow potatoes.   *The Environmental Protection Agency has announced changes to how it reviews an...

*There is very little chance of a new Farm Bill getting passed before the November election.   *Registration is underway for the 7th annual Texas A&M Ranch Horse Program.   *A South Texas congressman says Mexico will begin paying its water debt to the Rio Grande Valley soon. *The Texas High Plains is among the top regions in the country for agricultural research. *EPA’s Waters of the U.S. defi...

*A new study shows a big return on the beef checkoff.  *The U.S. agricultural trade deficit is getting higher.   *Cattle feeders in the Texas High Plains are making good profits.   *The new Producer Owned Beef plant in Amarillo received a $10 million grant from USDA.  *Texas farmers are active with mid-summer crops.   *Hurricane Beryl brushed by the Rio Grande Valley.   *Anemia is common in small...

Cotton prices have been dropping and the outlook is bleak. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack dismisses claims made about the Environmental Protection Agency during a recent House Ag hearing.  High prices are impacting beef imports and exports.   Post-breeding management of heifers after artificial insemination can have an impact on the number of cows that calve.  We’ll have those stories a...

*As hundreds of FFA students from across the state gathered in Houston, Hurricane Beryl made landfall, brining with it 100-mile-an-hour winds and massive flooding. *A U.S. Congresswoman from Texas recently shared with the House Ag Committee how EPA’s slow pesticide approval process is impacting Texas farmers. *What are record high cattle prices telling producers? *Texas pork producers are benefitt...

*The Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association’s annual convention is this weekend. *Cattle prices are at record highs, and the outlook is very positive.   *Pork prices are low right now.   *EPA’s pesticide registration and review process came under fire in a House Ag Committee hearing.   *Farmers in the Coastal Bend dodged a bullet with Hurricane Beryl.  *Nutrition can impact a horse’s hooves.  

*Cotton demand is dropping, and that means there is a poor outlook for U.S. cotton exports.   *Angus Convention 2024 is headed to Cowtown.   *Is it time for Texas High Plains wheat farmers to try something new?   *Farmers and ranchers recently testified in front of Congress about the impact EPA’s new regulations have had on their operations.   *Biosecurity on farms is an important part of combatti...

*Cotton may not be a profitable crop this year.   *It’s time for Texas High Plains cotton farmers to do a good examination of what’s happening in their fields.   *The American Farm Bureau is asking the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture to address the shortage of farm labor.   *The Farm Bill hasn’t gone anywhere in the United States Senate.  *It’s another hot summer in Texa...

*The remnants of Beryl are beneficial for farmers outside of Texas.   *The economy continues to weigh on farmer sentiment.   *Harvest season is well underway in South and Central Texas.   *Cattle prices are very high right now.   *Political sparring over the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the Farm Bill may be getting in the way of any Farm Bill action.   *HPAI or Avian Influenza in dairy...

*Texas farmers and ranchers are assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl.    *The Texas A&M AgriLife’s annual sheep and goat field day and expo is coming up in a few weeks.   *Texas cowboy Joe “Buzz” Thorpe is this year’s winner of the Ranching Heritage Association’s Working Cowboy Award. *The weather in other parts of the country is helping create a tough market situation for Texas corn...

*Hurricane Beryl is plowing through Texas agriculture.   *The Texas Animal Health Commission is now accepting applications for its Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program.   *McDonalds is giving up on meatless burgers. *Cotton prices are very low right now.   *USDA is proposing changes to the federal milk marketing order.   *Texas pecan growers are preparing for their annual conference.   *Wheat harv...

*Farmers and ranchers in South Texas and the Coastal Bend worked non-stop over the weekend to prepare for Hurricane Beryl.   *Texas farmers have more wheat and corn in storage this year.   *The Texas FFA convention kicks off this week in Houston. *The recent droughts have made things tough on Texas High Plains farmers and ranchers.   *There was a recent hearing on the Mexican ban on GMO corn. *Tex...

*The battle against the boll weevil continues on the Mexican border.   *The winter wheat season is wrapping up on the Texas High Plains. *Financial assistance is available for dairy farmers impacted by avian influenza.  *Williamson County just north of Austin is a high growth area of the state.   *This is the time of year to watch for pinkeye in cattle.