Texas Agriculture Today

*The Farm Bill has expired.   *The Trump Administration is expected to make an announcement regarding potential aid for farmers.   *The nation’s first bale of cotton raised over $24,000 for scholarships.   *Some parts of the Texas High Plains are getting dry.   *Cotton harvest continues across Texas.   *The FDA has approved a drug to prevent and treat screwworms.   *Fall is settling into East Texa...

*The government shutdown is underway.    *The shutdown poses a serious risk for the cattle industry.    *The FDA has given conditional approval for Dectomax injectable to be used to prevent and treat screwworms.   *Pumpkins are an important crop at this time of year.   *Fall weather is moving into many parts of Texas.   *A Texas congresswoman is asking the U.S. Trade Representatives office to help...

*Cotton harvest is picking up speed across the Cotton Belt.   *Senate Ag Committee republicans are asking for a meeting with the White House to discuss the farm economy.    *There is talk in Washington of another financial aid package for farmers.   *Some farmers in the Texas High Plains are trying a new crop. *An upcoming water summit will address Texas water availability for the future.   *The g...

*Grain storage is a challenge this year.   *The Rio Grande Valley sugar industry may make a comeback.   *President Trump wants to stop building windmills and solar panels on U.S. farmland.    *There are a wide variety of crops grown in the Texas High Plains.   *Texas Tech is hosting a national forum on water sustainability.   *More economic and disaster assistance for farmers is coming.   *Fall is...

*The One Big Beautiful Bill pumped billions of dollars into farm programs.   *Farm labor reform is needed.   *The sugar industry may be coming back to South Texas.     *It has been a good year for farming in the Northwest Panhandle.   *The State Fair of Texas is underway.    *We are facing a possible government shutdown this week.   *It’s time to plant wheat.   *The New World screwworm is getting...

*USDA does not plan to pay cattle producers to retain heifers.   *Texas bankers are concerned about farmers’ ability to repay loans this year.   *The Texas corn harvest is now three quarters done.   *It is harvest time in the Texas High Plains.   *Fall fairs and livestock shows are well underway across Texas.   *U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced new plans to help farmers.   *A...

*Sorghum growers are feeling the effects of tariffs and trade negotiations.   *An invasive pest is threatening thousands of acres of rice in Texas.   *We may have a record-breaking Texas peanut crop this year.   *This week is National Farm Safety and Health week.  *Weed pressure is a big problem for Texas High Plains farmers.   *USDA released a plan to boost ag exports.   *Cotton harvest is gettin...

*Texas feedlots are struggling to keep pens full.   *USDA officials are in Mexico this week following the detection of New World screwworms near the Texas border.   *The condition of the Texas cotton crop is going down.   *Texas Panhandle corn and sorghum farmers have had good growing conditions this year.   *Farm safety and health is getting attention this week.   *President Trump’s nominees for...

*How would a government shutdown affect the cattle industry?   *USDA has accepted 1.78 million acres into the Conservation Reserve Program.   *The latest Cattle on Feed report is out.   *This is shaping up to be a good year for cotton on the Texas High Plains.   *New World Screwworms have been detected very close to the Texas border.   *It’s fair and rodeo season in Texas.   *Fall is officially he...

*Screwworms are getting close to Texas.   *The corn leafhopper has become a problem for corn growers across Texas.   *This is looking like a good fall season for livestock producers in most of Texas.   *The U.S. is preparing for the upcoming review of the U.S. Mexico Canada agreement.  *A group of senators has called for legislation to study the fertilizer market.  *The 2025 Coastal Bend cotton ha...

*Cattle futures have been very volatile.   *Drought is creeping back into Texas.   *McDonalds plans to invest $200 million to promote regenerative agriculture on cattle ranches.   *Texas cotton farmers are preparing for the end of the growing season.   *An agricultural barnstorming tour is coming to Texas.   *USDA’s office of Rural Development was the focus of a congressional subcommittee hearing....

*Screwworm educational events continue across Texas.   *The chances of La Nina returning are high.   *The condition of the Texas cotton crop has declined slightly.   *The cotton crop in the Texas High Plains is much better than it has been over the past two or three years.   *Fair and rodeo season is underway.   *The Farm Bill expires at the end of this month, and the deadline to fund the governme...

*The cotton jassid is making its way to Texas.    *The FDA has approved a generic injectable solution to treat Bovine Respiratory Disease.   *The Texas crop harvest continues to move forward.   *Cash cattle prices have been running higher than futures prices.   *The Cattlemen’s Beef Board has set ambitious goals for the next five years.   *Congress and the Trump Administration are looking for ways...

*The Mexican border remains closed to livestock imports.    *The State Fair of Texas is just around the corner.   *The Texas Farm Bureau’s annual meeting is coming up on December 4th-6th in Arlington.   *Profit margins are good for Texas cattle feeders.   *Texas Tech is hosting the 2nd annual agricultural water sustainability summit next month.  *The number of screwworm cases in Mexico is rising....

*U.S. farmers will produce a record corn crop this year.   *The Supreme Court will hear President Trump’s tariff case.   *Texas Farm Bureau’s “Doorways to Agriculture” exhibit is traveling to several stock shows and fairs this fall.   *Texas peanuts will be promoted in Europe.   *There can be strategic advantages to knowing your grasses and when to use them.   *There is additional disaster assista...

*The Texas Panhandle cotton crop is looking good.   *A Texan is now the press secretary for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.   *U.S. lamb sales are seeing significant growth.   *Livestock Risk Protection coverage may help with the current volatility in the cattle markets.  *The Beef Industry Long Range Plan has several goals.   *A Texas congressman recently visited an East Texas ranch.   *Cor...

*Strong cattle prices should hold for the rest of the year.    *Texas A&M is building a new research center in the Rio Grande Valley.   *The Texas corn crop is shaping up to be a very good one this year.   *A new winter wheat season is getting underway.   *A new beef industry long range plan has been released.   *The Make America Healthy Again report is out.   *Foliar fertilizers are becoming...

*The Texas harvest season is moving forward.   *USDA is forecasting a decline in cash crop receipts this year.   *The National Cotton Council is holding three Farm Bill information meeting in Texas next week.   *The corn leaf hopper has returned to the Texas High Plains.   *There are some forward-thinking valuation options that Texas rural landowners can consider.   *Key provisions of the U.S. Gra...

*There are signs that beef cow herd rebuilding is underway. *Texas hunters will have fewer days to hunt teal this season. *The Texas New World Screwworm Response Team held its first meeting last week in Austin.   *Less corn being grown for grain has contributed to a decline in the number of grain elevators in the Texas High Plains.    *Texas farmers and ranchers continue to share their concerns wi...

Opinions are split over opening the Mexican border for livestock imports.   U.S. farmers are less optimistic about the future.   The Texas Wheat Producers Board approved new research funding.   Another crop insurance deadline is approaching.   The sesame crop on the Rolling Plains of Texas is looking very good.  A Texas congressman has introduced a bill to prevent foreign adversaries from buying f...

*Beef is winning the battle for consumers’ money.   *Texas citrus production fell this season.   *The Texas sorghum harvest is right on schedule this year.   *Hail storms in the Texas High Plains have been kept to a minimum this season.  *Football season is here, and tailgate parties are back.   *USDA has released a new farm income forecast for 2025.   *Coastal Bend farmers are wrapping up the 202...

*Cheap corn helps boost cattle prices.    *A court has ruled against President Trump’s tariffs.   *U.S. cotton crop ratings have dropped.   *Corn harvest is underway in the Texas High Plains.   *A long-time beef industry leader from Texas was honored recently in San Diego.    *USDA is ending its farm labor survey.   *Several reports have reinforced that farmers are facing economic challenges.  *Ch...

*Independent feedlots are dealing with high cattle prices.    *USDA says the farm trade deficit is expected to fall this fiscal year.   *There’s a new head lawman for the Texas Special Rangers.   *The weather in the Texas Panhandle has been kind to corn and sorghum this year.   *Twenty years ago, hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast.   *New technology can help in the fight against...

*Is the cost of beef really that expensive?   *Mexico is reporting a big increase in screwworm cases.   *The Texas Panhandle wheat crop was a good one this year.   *Crops and pastures have benefitted from good moisture this year in the Texas High Plains.   *USDA is encouraging more veterinarians to practice in rural areas.   *September marks the peak of hurricane season.   *South Texas is seeing t...

*Sorghum in the Northeast Panhandle is looking great.     *Export programs are a big reason farm groups continue to push for a new Farm Bill.  *A new month is underway, and that brings a new weather forecast.   *Texas lawmakers have introduced several bills in Washington that would benefit farmers and ranchers.   *A forage analysis can help you focus on quality instead of quantity in your winter h...