Texas Agriculture Today

*Planters continue to roll across Texas.   *The U.S. House Ag Committee wants to know more about the potential threat China poses to U.S. agriculture.   *The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory is asking ranchers in wildfire affected areas to watch livestock for respiratory issues.  *One way to fight trichomoniasis in cattle is to prevent it.   *The National Oceanic and Atmosphe...

*A National Ag Day celebration is hosted at the Ft. Worth Stockyards.   *Researchers are looking for ways to improve the diagnosis of trichomoniasis.   *A new report outlines way to improve the H2A guest worker program.   *USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is giving $24.7 million in grants for local agriculture.   *Warm season pastures and hay meadows are waking up.   *There is a lot of new in...

*Spring planting continues to move across Texas.   *A professor at Prairieview A&M has received a grant for an organic cotton project.   *Texas rice farmers aren’t very optimistic heading into the 2024 crop year.  *The cattle disease trichomoniasis, or trich, can cause significant losses for ranchers.   *Poultry production is expanding in East Texas.   *Future nutritionists are being instructe...

*Wildfire aid is pouring into the Texas Panhandle from all over the nation.   *Gary Joiner is in the Panhandle with an update on relief efforts in Gray County. *All of the donations for Texas Panhandle wildfire relief have been welcome, but more will be needed. *A quarter horse in Hood County has tested positive for equine piroplasmosis.   *Nominations are open for the National Golden Spur Award a...

*The Texas Panhandle wildfires may have a long-term effect on the cattle market.    *USDA has launched a new program designed to help landowners improve quail habitat.    *The latest Texas wheat crop ratings show 44% of the crop in good to excellent condition.   *The corn market needs stronger demand to push prices higher. *USDA is finalizing a rule on what products can bear a “Made in the USA” la...

*There will be no help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Texas Panhandle wildfires.   *Texas farmers have just a few more days to sign up for Farm Bill safety net coverage for the 2024 crop year.    *Walmart is planning to build a milk processing plant in Central Texas.   *What effects have the wildfires had on beef production in the region? *A shortage of farm labor has been a...

*Farm groups are pushing for a new Farm Bill to be passed this year, but the chances are low.   *There are more than 230,000 farms in Texas spanning more than 125 million acres.   *Texas Panhandle feedlots didn’t lose any cattle in the recent wildfires, but they may suffer some longer term effects. *A U.S. Senator is questioning foreign ownership of farmland in the United States.   *The Rio Grande...

Texans are working together to help those impacted by the wildfires that burned over a million acres in the Texas Panhandle.  The dairy and beef industries are benefitting from beef on dairy calf production.  Youth from across Texas and beyond are in Houston competing for scholarships at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  The SEC has removed a provision that could hurt farmers and ranchers.  R...

Although fire crews are making progress, wildfires continue to take their toll on farmers, ranchers and communities in the Texas Panhandle. Texas isn’t the only state seeing declining dairy production. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was one of the lawmakers who traveled to the Panhandle this week to see the devastation first-hand.  Experts say as farmers, ranchers and landowners begin to sift thro...

*A small Texas cow herd is now smaller following the largest wildfires in Texas history.   *The Joplin Regional Stockyards is raising money for Texas wildfire relief. *The Texas Panhandle will always be vulnerable to wildfires.  *As the wildfire recovery effort begins, it’s important to keep good records and document everything.   *The EPA has launched a new office focusing on agriculture and rura...

*Wildfires continue to burn in the Texas Panhandle while ranchers are evaluating their losses.   *The Texas Farm Bureau has established the Texas Panhandle Wildfire Relief Fund.   *Texas A&M AgriLife is organizing a major supply effort to help burned out ranchers.   *A U.S. Senator says a new Farm Bill and action by the administration could help ease farmers concerns.   *Corn planters are roll...

*We have more coverage of last week’s Commodity Classic in Houston. *The National Wheat Foundation honored the nation’s top wheat growers. *Timing could mean a lot of farmers looking for pricing opportunities for 2024 cotton.   *Leaders of the Senate Ag Committee are discussing their Farm Bill priorities.   *March means spring weather is near.   *Extreme South Texas is wet and cool.   *Coccidiosis...

*Texas farmers were hard at work at the Commodity Classic in Houston.   *The largest wildfire in Texas history has burned a massive swath through the Texas Panhandle.   *A final rule from USDA could put the U.S. cattle herd at risk for foot and mouth disease.   *Cotton prices have once again hit a dollar a pound on old crop contracts.   *Using antibiotics to help improve conception rates in horses...

*The Commodity Classic is underway in Houston.   *The Texas winter wheat crop is showing improvement.   *There are fewer sheep and lambs in Texas compared to a year ago.   *A group of Polish farmers is touring Texas this week. *We could be headed for an active tornado season in the Texas High Plains.   *A Texas congressman is fighting a rule that would allow fresh beef imports from Paraguay. *The...

*Wildfires are burning in the Texas Panhandle.   *Obtaining an agricultural guest worker visa will cost more in a few weeks.   *The Commodity Classic is back in Texas. *The month of February will go down as a warm one for the Texas High Plains.   *Interest rates have risen, but how has that affected rural land sales?   *Several members of Congress recently took a trip to Mexico City to discuss sev...

*Placements took a drop in Friday’s Cattle on Feed Report.    *Texas sheep producers sheered more than 200,000 sheep and lambs last year.    *Texas dairy farmers can sign up for the Dairy Margin Coverage program this week.  *A big change in the weather is coming for farmers and ranchers in the Texas High Plains.  *Mexico’s failure to comply with a water treaty has caused Texas’ only sugar mill to...

*The only sugar mill in Texas is closing.    *There are fewer goats in Texas than one year ago.    *Texas Congressman Ronnie Jackson is opposing USDA’s decision to import fresh beef from Paraguay. *Rising cattle prices are good for a lot of cattle producers, but the rise in beef prices for consumers can be a concern. *The state’s largest farm organization is working with lawmakers on a state and n...

*The Texas winter wheat crop is looking good.   *Texas horse owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity to protect their horses against Equine Infectious Anemia.   *Rice production in Texas is declining due to two years of severe drought.   *Farmers in the Texas High Plains are getting ready to plant sorghum.   *Several lawmakers are concerned with USDA allowing imports of fresh beef from...

*Texas cattle producers are getting record prices for calves and yearlings.   *The Texas mohair industry brought in more than 2.8 million dollars last year. *Five Texas farmers are suing a manufacturer of biosolid fertilizer made from sewage sludge. *Forage production is increasing in the Texas High Plains thanks to the growth of the dairy industry.  *California’s new rule on pork production could...

*Two Texans were honored at the recent National Cotton Council annual meeting in Orlando.    *Texas A&M broke ground on a new facility dedicated to veterinary research and outreach in the Rio Grande Valley.    *Texas corn farmers will soon have another herbicide to fight resistant weeds.   *Male sterile sorghum is becoming more popular in the Texas High Plains.   *We’re moving closer to a vacc...

*Texas cattle producers are getting cow herds through the winter.   *Registration is underway for the Hill Country Land Stewardship Conference.   *Texas farmers and ranchers will have access to Kaput feral hog bait this spring.   *We’ve seen some big swings in the fed cattle market lately.   *Democrats in Congress have released their Farm Bill priorities.   *Livestock show season rolls on.   *The...

*Texas rice farmers face a water shortage again this year.  *Over half of Texas is now drought free.   *This is National FFA Week.   *Cattle prices are at historic highs, but there are still opportunities to add value to calves. *Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are stressing the need for a Farm Bill.   *Vertical tillage can pay off in higher yields.   *Cattle producers on the Southern Plains...

*Texas crawfish are in short supply due to the summer drought.   *Cotton and soybean growers across the country will be able to use existing supplies of over-the-top dicamba formulations this growing season.   *The Texas Panhandle wheat crop is one of the best in the past two decades. *To implant or not to implant?  That can be a big question for Texas cattle producers. *Members of the House Agric...

*The number of farmers and ranchers in Texas is dropping.   *USDA farm loan borrowers will now be able to make payments online.   *More lambs are hitting the market early this year.  *Texas High Plains ranchers are encouraged to boost the profitability of their cattle sales through value-added programs. *The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accused of picking winners and losers in the most recent...

*Corn planting is underway in Texas.   *A bumblebee found in Texas could be granted protection under the Endangered Species Act.   *The U.S. trade dispute with Mexico over genetically modified corn is expected to be resolved by the end of the year. *The Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo has been in operation for about two and a half years. *Four Texas congressmen have co-sponsor...