Texas Agriculture Today

*Rain and warm weather across Texas may bring on the weeds.   *Texas leads the nation in organic peanut production.   *NCBA is seeking more funding for the foot and mouth disease vaccine bank.   *The Senate Agriculture committee is working hard on the 2023 Farm Bill.   *Prewatering fields for spring planting can be helpful in areas still dealing with drought.   *Central Texas was hit with some big...

*Texas voters will decide the fate of a Right to Farm constitutional amendment.   *Wheat farmers may want to consider cutting their crop for hay this year.   *A listening session will be held in Texas on the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program.   *Farmers in the Dumas area have been contracted to grow hemp this year.   *Extreme South Texas has been hit with massive storms.   *Hardware disease is...

*Texas farmers spoke to lawmakers this week in Washington, giving their views on proposed improvements to the 2023 Farm Bill.   *A freshman Texas congressman weighs in on issues important to agriculture.   *The effort to bring a hemp processing plant to the Texas panhandle is continuing.   *Coastal bend farmers and ranchers are looking forward to a great growing season.   *Horses can develop aller...

*Right to Farm legislation is making progress at the State Capitol.   *Another state gets relief from the Waters of the U.S. rule.   *Texas A&M AgriLife is planning a youth sheep and goat tour next month.   *The cotton industry in Texas is still feeling the effects of last year’s crop failures.   *Spring planting is moving forward across Texas.   *Non-dairy products should not be labeled as mi...

*A Texas cotton grower addresses Congress.   *Texas A&M researchers are working to develop a type of cotton seed that is edible by humans.   *A group of Texas farmers and ranchers visited with their elected officials in Washington D.C. recently.   *A Texas High Plains rancher has come up with a new way to deal with some pesky trees.   *Gardening is in full swing in Texas.   *Livestock guard do...

*There is a big push in the state legislature to strengthen Texas Right to Farm laws.   *Applications are begin taken for the Texas Family Land Heritage Program.   *Cattle numbers are decreasing but the beef production forecast is going up.   *The Producer Owned Beef plant project in Amarillo is moving forward.   *A new month, a new weather forecast.   *Balloon releases are costing Texas livestock...

A better year is ahead for Texas hay production.   Over half the states in America have made moves to restrict foreign ownership of land in their state.  Legislation has passed in the state legislature that would require electric vehicle owners to pay a fee.   The state of the beef packing business was a big topic at the recent Hemphill County Beef Conference.   The industrial hemp processing plan...

Texas feedlot inventories drop while placements climb.   There have been two sides of Texas this year when it comes to rainfall.   The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee visited with Texas farmers and ranchers recently in Washington D.C.   Farmers in the Texas High Plains are transitioning from one crop season to the next.   How do you create more meat packing capacity at local and region...

*Many areas of Texas are getting welcome rain this week.   *A new bill in Congress would monitor the Fever Tick Eradication Program.   *Texas wheat conditions continue to get worse.   *This week’s rain was a blessing to farmers and ranchers on the Texas High Plains.   *International trade is very important for Texas agriculture.   *Springtime is bringing a lot of activity for farmers and ranchers...

*The latest Cattle on Feed report shows less cattle in feedlots.   *The American Lamb Board released another video.   *We are still waiting to see if more money will be available for the 2023 Farm Bill.   *Senator Ted Cruz met with a group of Texas farmers and ranchers last week in Washington.   *What do this week’s rains mean for the weeks ahead for farmers and ranchers on the Texas High Plains?...

*The Oklahoma and Kansas wheat crops are just as bad as ours.   *Farm groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to drop their proposed rule on reporting farm emissions.   *When it comes to making money in the cattle business, it’s important to have high grading cattle.  *Texas cotton producers in the Southern Plains are optimistic about the new growing season.   *With springtime her...

*The Texas dairy industry continues to grow.   *WOTUS veto override fails.   *We are expecting to see more acres going to sorghum on the Texas High Plains this year.   *A Dallas congresswoman who is a member of the House Agriculture Committee discusses her outlook for the 2023 Farm Bill.   *The Texas Coastal Bend has received the best rainfall in more than six months.   *Many young calves may need...

*Cotton planting is wrapping up in South Texas, but the crop is a few weeks behind in the Coastal Bend.   *U.S. Transportation Secretary addresses the AM radio issue.   *Farmers on the Texas High Plains are still waiting for rain as spring planting time has arrived.   *South Texas farmer and rancher Russell Boening testified before Congress this week.   *Extreme South Texas is getting scattered sh...

*Renewable energy projects may face more oversight and regulation in the future.   *Winter wheat conditions are poor across the country.   *JBS pays $25 million in a price fixing lawsuit.   *Tighter beef supplies can create challenges.   *Rural land sales in Texas are still fetching premium prices.   *Liver flukes are common in cattle across many areas of Texas.   *East Texas turkey season begins...

*The massive explosion at a Texas Panhandle dairy last week has been ruled an accident.   *Energy prices are increasing again.   *The Hemphill County Beef Conference is next week in Canadian.   *Texas cattle feeders are getting some record prices right now for fed cattle, but staying in the black continues to be a big challenge.   *Central Texas is still experiencing water deficits.   *There are s...

*Severe drought continues in some parts of Texas.   *The deadline is fast approaching for public comment on USDAs proposed new regulations for animal disease traceability.   *New markets are emerging for US grains.   *Now that Easter has passed, it’s time to plant home gardens in Texas.   *Some mares can be difficult to train at a certain time of the reproductive cycle.    *Registering early for t...

There is still time to turn in your Census of Agriculture forms.   Right to Farm Legislation is halfway through the legislative process.   Farmers planning to plant sorghum on the Texas High Plains can afford to be patient.   The Texas Rolling Plains has a pretty good wheat crop right now, but the challenge will be finishing it out.   Parasites in beef cattle costs the industry more than three bil...

*A judge in North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction preventing the new Waters of the U.S. rule from being enforced in 24 states.   *Cotton planting is Texas is right on schedule, but other states are getting a slow start.   *Watch soil temperatures closely before planting spring crops.   *Weather conditions in the Texas Panhandle have been exceptionally dry and windy.  Severe weather season i...

*Right to Farm protections are moving forward in the Texas legislature.   *Corn planting is right on schedule in Texas.   *Springtime in Texas usually brings severe weather.  *Rainfall has been spotty around Central Texas.   *Most agricultural producers in the Texas High Plains are involved in raising crops or cattle, but there are exceptions.   *What should you do if you get bitten by a snake?   ...

*More money is needed to strengthen Farm Bill safety net programs.   *Vehicle manufacturers are leaving AM radios out of new model cars and trucks.   *Texas cattle feeders are concerned about the Albertsons-Kroger grocery chain merger.   *An explosion at a Texas panhandle dairy Monday evening remains under investigation.   *The year is winding down for the Texas FFA State Officer team.   *Extreme...

*Texas is weighing in again on the listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as threatened or endangered.   *The Texas Soybean Board is looking for nominees for a position on the United Soybean Board.   *The American Lamb Board has released a video highlighting the sustainability of the sheep and lamb industry.  The video features a Texas sheep producer.   *A delegation of Texas farmers and ranchers i...

*The cattle cycle is alive and well with cattle prices hitting record levels. *Planter performance in the spring will have a big effect on the fall harvest. *Texas High Plains farmers are having a hard time deciding what to plant. *A bill affecting the state’s water supply is making its way through the Texas legislature.   *Coastal Bend cotton farmers are having to make some difficult planting dec...

*The 2023 cotton crop is going in the ground.   *Disease pressure has been light this year in Texas wheat fields, but insects have been an issue in some spots. *Brutal winds on the Texas High Plains are making drought conditions worse.   *The Texas citrus industry is making its concerns known in the ongoing Farm Bill debate.   *Soil pH is critical for forage production.   *Pinkeye is a major cause...

*The Texas pork industry is growing.   *We'll check out the Texas acreage estimates in Friday's Prospective Plantings Report.   *The annual Hemphill County Beef Conference in Canadian is coming up soon.   *Plains Cotton Growers held their annual meeting last week in Lubbock.   *Texas farmers have had several opportunities over the past couple of months to make their voices heard.   *Lameness of th...

U.S. cotton acreage is expected to drop this year while wheat acreage is expected to go up.   We’ll get a Texas wheat crop update from John Fenderson of Westbred Wheat.  Cattle numbers have come down substantially in the last couple of years.   Cotton farmers gathered in Lubbock last week to hear the latest in the cotton industry.   This is a good time of year to fertilize Texas gardens and landsc...