Texas Agriculture Today

*There will be no more sugarcane grown in Texas.   *Orange production in Texas fell last year, while grapefruit production increased.   *BASF recognized 56 farmers in Lubbock for making the FiberMax One Ton Club.   *A change in the weather could a strategic consideration for Texas High Plains farmers.   *Agricultural trade was one of the many topics Texas farmers and ranchers addressed with their...

*A Texas ranch is suing power companies over the recent wildfires.   *Texas landowners have more time to apply for funding and technical assistance to improve water quality.   *A North Texas ranch won a national award for environmental stewardship. *The number of cattle in Texas feedlots remains high.  *Lawmakers from Texas are working to resolve the Rio Grande Valley’s water dispute with Mexico....

*Texas ranchers and landowners got a unanimous victory from the Supreme Court.   *A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about the lack of water payments from Mexico and the effect it’s having on the Rio Grande Valley. *Getting a Farm Bill passed this year won’t be easy.   *A groundwater conservation district in the Texas Panhandle is researching w...

*Texas has the best wheat crop in several years.   *USDA is now accepting nominations for farmers who would like to serve on the United Sorghum Checkoff Board.   *Cotton planting nationwide is 8% done.  *Students in the West Texas A&M Collegiate Farm Bureau chapter are preparing to hold a special event for students with disabilities.  *Texas farmers and ranchers are meeting with lawmakers in W...

*USDA is cutting several cattle reports, and that could cause a problem for the Texas cattle industry.   *Registration is now underway for the virtual South Texas Agriculture Symposium.   *Industrial hemp processing is underway in Wichita Falls. *West Texas A&M University is getting a boost in its effort to build new feedlot research facilities.  *Texas farmers and ranchers are heading to Wash...

*Texas Panhandle ranchers are recovering from the wildfires.   *National Sorghum Producers is accepting entries for the National Sorghum Yield Contest.    *The Texas NRCS announced an additional signup for the National Water Quality Initiative.   *Fed cattle prices remain strong, but Texas feedyards are finding it challenging to make a profit. *Agriculture cybersecurity was the topic of a recent H...

*Corn planting is getting underway in West Texas.   *Early registration is underway for the Texas A&M AgriLife Livestock Guardian Dog field day.   *Texas strawberry growers have enjoyed an early start to their season, and the crop looks excellent.   *Selling wheat as hay may be the most profitable option for wheat growers in the Texas Panhandle.   *USDA is cancelling the July Cattle Inventory...

*USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is cancelling the July Cattle Inventory report.   *Nominations are being sought for Texas representatives on the Cattlemen’s Research and Promotion Board.   *The likelihood of getting a Farm Bill passed this year is slim.  Another crop season is getting underway in the Texas Panhandle, and farmers will once again try to make the most out of limited...

*Texas farmers are suing USDA over disaster aid discrimination.    *Time is running out for Texas dairy farmers to enroll in the Dairy Margin Coverage program.   *The King Ranch has acquired a 50% stake in Cobalt Cattle, which is the nation’s 4th largest cattle feeder.  *Farmers can find both economic and agronomic benefits by diversifying their crop mix.   *Senate Ag Republicans say they are work...

*The American Association of Bovine Practitioners released a new name for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in cattle.    *Drought conditions continue to improve across Texas.   *Livestock producers should be careful when restocking drought stressed rangelands.   *We’re getting very close to spring planting time on the Texas High Plains.   *Rio Grande Valley farmers are preparing to harvest waterm...

*Dairy cattle are recovering from HPAI.   *There is more corn in storage now than at this same time last year.   *Texas is losing a livestock sale barn.   *When weather forecasters in the Texas High Plains are trying to assess the potential for severe weather, a key issue is determining where the dry line is.   *U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says we are focusing too much on our top fou...

*Agriculture is an integrity-based industry, but farmers and ranchers need to be careful about who they do business with.   *The weekly cash fed cattle price is very important to cattle marketing.   *Texas cotton growers are watching the Farm Bill debate closely.   *When severe weather situations develop, getting the earliest possible warning is critical.   *The American Farm Bureau Federation is...

*The political environment in Washington D.C. is getting tougher for agriculture.   *The Texas Bankers Association held its Agriculture and Rural Affairs conference last week in Ft. Worth.   *What was behind the recent run up of old crop cotton to over one dollar a pound? *Texas High Plains will be getting the new crop season underway very soon.   *Cotton acreage is projected to be higher this yea...

*A Texas ranch is on the cutting edge of gene editing.   *A group of Texas lawmakers has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State asking for enforcement of the 1944 U.S.-Mexican water treaty.   *Texas corn planting has passed the halfway mark. *Most are quick to point to Avian Influenza when it comes to the mysterious disease affecting Texas Panhandle dairy cattle, but there’s still more to b...

*Preserving the Livestock Risk Protection program is a top priority for cattle feeders.   *There are fewer hogs and pigs in Texas right now.   *A poultry facility in the Texas Panhandle has contracted Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.   *The Texas wheat crop is now in the home stretch.   *Texas cotton farmers are looking forward to another growing season.   *The United States is losing farmers an...

*A new vaccine for bovine respiratory disease has been developed at Louisiana State University.   *Texas ranchers who use traps may have to check them every 36 hours for mountain lions.   *USDA’s Prospective Plantings report released last week shows a big drop in possible corn acreage this year.   *The Texas Panhandle wheat crop has very good potential this year.   *A U.S. Senator says California’...

*Cotton has a demand problem.   *Our time with El Nino is coming to an end.   *There are new tools to help Texas ranchers control mesquite.   *The condition of the Texas wheat crop is improving. *Forage sorghum is proving to be a good fit for the Texas High Plains.   *The chances for getting a new Farm Bill are going down by the day.   *April is expected to bring higher temperatures and more rainf...

*Texas cow-calf producers have a positive future ahead.   *The recent cases of HPAI in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas are not the only cases of the disease crossing over into mammals.   *Corn planting is nearing the half-way point in Texas. *Spring planting is getting close in the Texas Panhandle.   *Farm organizations are asking the EPA to allow E-15 use in the summer.   *There are some interne...

*Lufkin cattleman Carl Ray Polk was elected as president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association at their recent annual convention.   *USDA recently authorized landowners enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program to donate their grazing or haying rights to help ranchers impacted by wildfires.   *Cotton may be a profitable crop in Texas this year. *There is a lot of good looking...

*We are seeing record cattle prices in 2024, thanks to a shrinking cattle herd and strong demand. *Helena AgriEnterprises has an update from the TSCRA convention in Ft. Worth. *The Texas Panhandle wildfires are out, but the need for relief will continue for a long time. *USDA is forecasting lower net farm income this year.   *A donation of cotton blankets to a Texas children’s hospital emphasizes...

*Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was discovered in milk samples from two Texas dairies.   *This year's first case of HPAI in birds was detected a few weeks ago.   *The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association has a new president.   *Prescribed burning may help prevent future wildfires.  *U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack clarified comments he made recently on use of the Commodity C...

*Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been found in Texas dairy cows. *Cattle traceability is a hot topic in the cattle industry right now.    *Texas High Plains feedlots are staying full.  *USDA is looking to increase its budget by over $2 billion.   *Farmers are busy with field preparation on the Texas Southern Plains.   *Coastal Bend farmers are experiencing a great start to the 2024 crop year...

*Cotton traders are watching Texas closely.   *Texas honey production fell last year.   *Farmers in the Texas Panhandle are preparing to roll the planters. *There are many stories about ranchers who survived the wildfires.   *China’s threat to U.S. agriculture was the topic of a recent hearing in Congress.   *The deadline for agricultural water conservation grant applications is coming up soon.  *...

*There could be a long-term benefit following the tragic Panhandle wildfires.    *Burned out ranchers have some important decisions to make.   *Cattle producers may be thinking of a herd rebuild.   *The House Ag Committee heard about the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to U.S. agriculture.  *Corn is looking very good in South Central Texas.   *Extreme South Texas is cool and dry has sprin...

*Texas Teachers and students are celebrating agriculture this week.   *The area of Texas impacted by drought has risen slightly.   *Texas corn and sorghum planting are on right on pace this year.   *Cattle feeders are getting very strong prices for their animals, but that doesn’t translate into big profits. *Letting a tax cut expire could hurt American farm families.   *Winter wheat in the Texas R...