Issue 12

Staff

Michelle Martin Owner/Editor michelle@theagmag.org (956) 330-8870

Al Benavides

Graphic Designer (956) 492-6407

In This Issue: Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

A Letter from the Editor

Patience.

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It’s something we all have but some of us are better at using it than others. With the summer well under way I am sure you moms are wondering when school is going to start again. I bet some - or much - of your patience is wearing thin. You are already tired of hearing “I’m bored,” “I’m hungry,” or “I’m not tired.” Snack TIME has turned into snack TIMES and have morphed into what seems like a 5-minute re-occurrence. I’ve learned as a new mom that my patience isn’t what I once thought it was. I’ve learned that it takes an hour to just to get everything ready to head out the door. I’ve learned that I need a little more practice in the patience department.

To the farmer’s wife during harvest time, I am sure you’ve learned patience with your husbands who are working late. To the farmer, I am sure you practice patience when a piece of equipment fails, or you are patiently waiting for rain. To the show kid, I bet you are patiently waiting for your next show animal, or next win. To the rest of us, there are several instances throughout the day that we practice patience, or should be at least.

Patience isn’t something that comes easily. I get impatient just sitting at a red light. I am constantly on the move - patience is a struggle for me. I’ve had the Ag Mag for nearly three years and what I can see looking back is how my patience has grown. I still, however, have a long road ahead of me, practicing patience.

We all go through growing pains in life. I’ve seen areas where I should have been maybe a little more patient and not jumped the gun, or areas where I should have graciously waited. God’s timing is perfect and sometimes we get so caught up In our daily struggles that we forget God knows what he is doing and WHEN he is doing it. I try to do things my way and have seen that my way is never as good as His and my timing is not nearly as prefect as His. I’ve learned that I need to slow down and enjoy life. Enjoy every day - even when the day isn’t going so well. We never know when it will be our last. Patience is all about waiting. Take a step back and enjoy. Life won’t always go as planned, things won’t always happen based on our schedule, but they will happen as they should. God never loses his cool - or patience - on His children.

I challenge to you take a step back and practice patience. Practice patience with your children, practice patience at the grocery store when the line is so long. Breathe. Enjoy the sunset, enjoy the summer - even if the kids are always hungry and bored.

Enjoy the bad days, take them for what they are worth. You never know when you will get another one.

Owner/Creator of AG MAG

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TXAOO Field Day Kickoff Ranchers for the Hungry Recipe: Blackened Shrimp Tacos

Featured Farmer Story

Johnson Strong!

Monitoring the potato psyllid and zebra chip disease Pests and diseases changing the Citrus industry Agriculture...Where the heart is What’s become of the cowboy?

Congrats to all farm bureau scholarship recipients RGVLS Redfish rodeo 2016 pictorial

Miracles of balanced plant nutrition Rio Farms, Inc. hosts field day Cowboy Church & Horses Calendar of Events Texas A&M Agrilife study shows insect costing millions John Deere named official on-field equipment of Texas Rangers Photo contest foster conservation Algodon 2016 pictorial Soybeans in South Texas Why it makes “CENTS” to provide cattle with good mineral program South Texas cattlemen’s roundup in the RGV

Volume 2, Issue 6. July/August 2016. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ag Mag reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse editorial materials and assumes no responsibility for accuracy, errors, omissions or consequence arising from it. All correspondence to the publication become the property of Ag Mag. Ag Mag is published bi-monthly ©2016.

To advertise in Ag Mag, call (956) 330-8870 or email michelle@theagmag.org

TXAOO FIELD DAY

KICKOFF The Texas Association of Olive Oil

(TXAOO)

had their first quarterly meeting on Saturday, June 4, in Victoria County

bY MACK BROWN

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vester in motion as well as talk to the operators of the Texas Mobile Mill, which can go to farms throughout the state and process olives on site. There is also an ongoing long-term Extension research project occurring on the Welch property regarding different varieties of olives and their response.

An olive mill under construction was also on site.

A

mong the speakers at the meeting was

Dan Hunter, Texas Department of Agri culture (TDA) Assistant Commissioner

for Water and Rural Affairs, and Kyle

Sawatzky, American Olive Oil Producers

Association Board Member. Other agen cies, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension were also present.

The meeting occurred at an orchard site operated by Jackie and JonAnn Welch, where participants could walk through the orchard and see how the Welches operated. Approximately 105 people attended the event, some from out of state, along with sponsors ranging from private to corporate.

After the meeting, participants were able to see an olive har-

Texas used to have two separate olive associations, but in early 2016 they combined to form the current association.

“We are really excited about being one association,” said Kerry Houston, a TXAOO board member. “Our goal is to provide olive growers the resources they need to get the information and assistance they require to be successful.”

Future meetings will be held quarterly, and will be rotated throughout the state. The next meeting’s date has yet to be set, but the location will be in Austin. “We want these meetings to be educational and informative, for both upcoming producers and current ones,” said Houston. “Once we decide on the day, we’ll post it to the website and send out an email.”

If you are interested in more information about TXAOO or becoming a member or sponsor, visit their website at http://www. txaoo.org, email them at info@txaoo. org, or call (361) 412-7677.

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Workshop attendees in front of the seasonal high tunnel.

bY Melissa Blair, NRCS Zone 3 Public Affairs Specialist

Workshop helps valley residents gain knowledge on starting their own farm or ranch For the 25 attendees at the Hope House at the Yaweh’s All Natural Farm and Ranch workshop in Harlingen in April, it was an exciting time of learning what resources are available to assist in achieving their goal of farming, ranching or even large scale gardening. Some came because they were already working with Yaweh owners Diana and Saul Padilla, and wanted to learn more about the programs the Padilla’s use to accomplish their successes. Others came because they had agricultural land and wanted to know what resources were available to help them start farming or ranching.

“In fact, the next day I already had the ball rolling by making visits to the USDA-NRCS and Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices in Edinburg, where I ran into a rancher friend who was working with both agencies,” said Sanchez. “I was able to gather more helpful information for my endeavor and learn about more benefits of working with USDA agencies to help me accomplish my goals.”

Diana Padilla opened the workshop by sharing how she and her husband, Saul, have worked with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to improve their agricultural production and water usage through land leveling, a drip irrigation system, a rain water harvester, seasonal high tunnel and grass planting.

The free event was hosted by the Texas/Mexico Border Coalition and the NRCS through USDA’s StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative, of which Texas is one of 21 states within the initiative. NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, Melissa Blair, shared with the group how through StrikeForce, NRCS is working with more farmers and ranchers than ever in communities that face persistent poverty. As a result, these producers are seeing their operations become more sustainable while their conservation practices help promote clean air and water, healthy soils and wildlife habitat.

NRCS Agronomist, Bruce Henderson, enlightened the audience about the importance of soil health in a productive and sustainable farm or ranch, as well as how birds, bees and pollinators also help improve vegetable and crop production. Cameron County District Conservationist, Oz Longoria, shared how NRCS can provide technical and financial assistance for conservation planning to improve the natural resources, soil health, help develop pollinator habitat or for installing seasonal higher tunnels. Henderson and Longoria also shared how NRCS can help with organic and transitioning to organic production. The workshop wrapped up with a tour of the Padilla’s seasonal high tunnel which featured tomatoes, peppers and an assortment of vegetables that attendees were able to enjoy as appetizers during the workshop.

One attendee, Jesse Sanchez Jr. from Mission, came to learn what he could do to put his grandfather’s dormant agricultural land back into production He was excited to make contacts and learn about the resources available to help him prevent costly mistakes and lost time.

Workshop attendees were able to enjoy the vegetables from the Padilla’s seasonal high tunnel.

Diana Padilla talks about installing the seasonal high tunnel themselves and about the vegetables grown.

Agronomist Bruce Henderson shares about NRCS pollinator initiative and soil health at workshop.

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bY PAMELA GUERRA

Ranchers for the Hungry: an award winning initiative “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” Mother Teresa

Chronic hunger is a persistent and insidious condition that can affect cycles of generations of people; those living with chronic hunger face a host of problems that go beyond lack of food or money. According to Feeding America, Texas has over 1.3 million food insecure households (more than 3 million people), the third highest in the Nation... in south Texas, approximately 82,330 men, women, and children are experiencing food insecurity. This means there is a widespread reliance on cheap, processed foods, resulting in rates of diabetes and obesity that double the national average.

Although the local food banks administer help from the federal government with supplemental nutrition food programs, the South Texas Food Bank’s (STFB) award winning initiative, Ranchers for the Hungry is giving the opportunity to farmers and ranchers to be able to step up to the plate by providing fresh steer and deer meat to the Food Bank in their mission of feeding the hungry.

Since its inception, this donation initiative has been a success with ranchers and hunters alike.

Ranchers for the Hungry, started in 2009 when Laredo cousins Robert Laurel and Oscar M. Laurel Jr. harvested

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121 deer on the Zapata ranch. Pancho Farias, an avid outdoorsman and resident artist at the food bank, persistently urged landowners to donate livestock, including deer, to assist in the STFB mission of feeding the hungry.

“And the ranchers came through,” Farias beamed.

Close to 30 steer, 10 hogs and 22 lamb and goats were processed with the meat going to several of STFB’s Kids Cafes and Adopt-a-Family programs, where children and their families get to enjoy fresh, nutrition-rich hamburgers thanks to the generosity of several local south Texas ranchers. More than 100 deer were donated in 2011.

Fifteen Kids Cafes in Webb County serve an after school meal to almost 1,000 children, Monday through Friday and Adopt-A-Family distributes a bag of groceries per month to close to 500 families. Ranchers for the Hungry becomes Hunters for the Hungry during the deer season.

It is a great opportunity for local community leaders to get involved; for instance, Webb County Judge, Tano Tijerina helps to transport livestock from area ranches to be processed. One of the top deer and livestock donors is the Joe B. Finley Family at the Callaghan Ranch.

Others like J.J. Haynes, David Dodier and Ricky Muñoz have also chipped in. Some of the deer is processed by students of the J. W.Nixon High School meat processing class. The Laredo International Fair and Exposition (LIFE) is also huge source of livestock from the buyers.

Additionally, young participants like Bonnie Tijerina and Caye Tijerina donate their prize winning money to help with processing. “The bottom line is that Ranchers for the Hungry is helping feed people,” Leo De La Garza says, Interim- Program Coordinator at STFB. “Hunger exists in our own backyard. The key ingredients to alleviate hunger is that we are blessed with a hard-working staff and committed community for a daunting mission. We must continue to bring that hunger awareness to our people” De La Garza adds.

The South Texas Food Bank‘s Ranchers for the Hungry program was named Food Sourcing Program of the Year for 2012 by Feeding America. The Food Sourcing Program of the Year award is given to the food bank that develops a new or innovative approach to increasing pounds of food and grocery products to their community while maintaining efficiency in staff and financial resources.

In the fiscal year 2013-14, 8,617 lbs. of meat were donated to the Ranchers for the Hungry Program. All donations are tax deductible. Donations to help cover meat processing fees (in USDA-licensed meat processors) are also welcome. This program gives the local and regional ranchers the opportunity to fight hunger by donating deer, steer and/or other livestock. “Our goal is to have at least one deer, steer, and/or livestock animal donated each

month”, says De La Garza. The program currently has three regional chapters: Webb County, Zapata County, and Jim Hogg County.

If you are a hunter or rancher and are interested in donating deer, steer and/or other livestock, want to help cover meat processing fees, or simply want to learn more about the Ranchers for the Hungry program, please call Leo De La Garza, Interim- Program Coordinator at Tel: (956) 726-3120 or E-Mail: ldelagarza@southtexasfoodbank.org.

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State-Federal Agreement will provide timely Crop Estimates for Texas Agriculture (6/15/2016) REPRINT FROM DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced a new cooperative agreement between the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Services (USDA-NASS) to provide in-season district-level estimates on acreage, yield and production for Texas wheat, corn, cotton and sorghum crops. The agreement was signed at TDA’s Austin headquarters by Commissioner Miller and USDA-NASS Southern Plains Regional Field Office Director Wilbert Hundl, Jr. “This partnership is an important step forward in providing timely and accurate statistics to agricultural interests throughout Texas, including groups like Plains Cotton Growers,” Commissioner Miller said. “I am very appreciative to Plains Cotton Growers for facilitating meetings between the Texas Department of Agriculture and directors of the USDA agricultural statistics Texas field office.

These meetings ultimately lead to the creation of this new agreement, and I couldn’t be more pleased to see this partnership come to life.”

in season. These estimates are used throughout the agriculture industry for resource management planning, transport decisions and marketing strategies. The availability of in-season reporting is highly advantageous to Texas agricultural producers as it strengthens the reliability and availability of current crop data and trends.

The electronic report will be posted to the Texas and Oklahoma USDA-NASS websites and provided to TDA as part of a monthly Crop Production Report.

“Texas is a large and diverse agricultural state,” Johnie Reed, president of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. said. “The ability to obtain district and county wide information derived from state data through this cooperative agreement is important to the agriculture industry. It provides the agriculture industry with more accurate information on planted and harvested acres, in addition to production and yield, which in many instances is utilized in federal farm programs and marketing and decision aid tools for producers. Plains Cotton Growers greatly appreciates this effort by TDA and USDA-NASS.”

The terms of the agreement stipulate that USDANASS wheat, corn, cotton and sorghum estimates will be provided for each crop when it is

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Blackened Shrimp Tacos

with Charred Corn Tomatillo Salsa 14

Ag Mag THEAGMAG.ORG

Makes 8 tacos Blackening can kick up a lot of smoke, so it is best to do this outside on a grill unless you have a really good exhaust fan over your kitchen range.

INGREDIENTS 1 pound Texas wild caught shrimp, peeled and de-veined 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 1 ½ Tablespoons Cajun seasoning (see recipe) 8 corn tortillas 4 pieces leaf lettuce, torn in half charred corn salsa (see recipe) sour cream

Preparation

• Heat a heavy medium size cast iron skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke a bit.

• In a small bowl, toss the shrimp with the vegetable oil first and then with the Cajun seasoning to coat evenly.

• Using a pair of tongs lay the shrimp in a single layer in the cast iron pan and cook for about one minute on the first side until they obtain a blackened crust, then turn the shrimp and cook for one to two minutes on the other side or until the shrimp have curled and are no longer translucent in the center. Do not overcook the shrimp or they will be tough.

• Remove the shrimp from the pan and keep warm.

• Heat the corn tortillas in the same pan for about thirty seconds on each side or until soft and pliable.

• Make the tacos by placing three or four shrimp in each tortilla along with lettuce, some salsa and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Charred Corn Tomatillo Salsa Makes a little more than a cup 1 ear fresh corn on the cobb 2 serrano chiles ¼ small yellow onion, peeled 2 clove garlic, peeled 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup tomatillos, sliced ½ bunch cilantro ¼ cup water ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

• Prepare a charbroil grill and set heat to high.

• Place the ear of corn, chiles, onion and garlic in a small bowl and toss with vegetable oil.

• Put the veggies on the grill and cook for about five or six minutes, turning often with a pair of tongs until the veggies are lightly charred on the outside and cooked through.

• Remove the veggies from the grill and allow to cool enough to handle.

• Cut the corn kernels off the cobb and set the kernels aside.

• Place the tomatillos, cilantro, water and grilled onions, garlic and chiles in a food processor with a cutting blade and process until nearly pureed.

• Add salt, pepper and corn to processor and pulse for a few seconds to incorporate the corn, but do not puree as you want to keep the corn somewhat intact. Adjust seasoning if needed and serve.

• This will keep for about four or five days when well refrigerated.

Cabernet Grill Cajun Seasoning Makes about 1 1/2 cups INGREDIENTS 4 Tablespoon paprika 3 Tablespoon table salt 2 Tablespoons granulated garlic 2 Tablespoons dried oregano leaves 2 Tablespoons dried basil leaves 2 Tablespoons onion powder 1 Tablespoon dried thyme leaves 1 Tablespoon fresh ground black pepper 1 Tablespoon ground white pepper 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper

Preparation • Place all ingredients together in a bowl and mix until well combined.

• Store in airtight container

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Ag Mag Featured Farmer

Johnson

STRONG!

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A

rthur Johnson paved the way for what is now a

strong foundation of family, hard work, and suc cess. Arthur was sent from Minnesota to the

Rio Grande Valley by a land development

company.

At the time he couldn’t predict that it would be him developing his own land as a farmer. Now, more than 100 years later and Johnson Farms are a stronghold in South Texas, a heritage of farming for four generations.

Johnson farms includes the late great grandfather Arthur, Grandfather Alden, sons Richard and Lynn, brother in-law Mark Jud, and son of Richard, Travis Johnson. They all have their own talents and

combine them together to form one heck of a farming operation.

“Great grandfather Arthur came down here as a bachelor,” recalled Richard Johnson, one of the third-generation Johnson farmers. “He was a Johnson and he married a Johnson.”

“There’s strength in numbers”, he says jokingly.

When Arthur moved to the Valley, he, like most of his fellow Swedes who had taken a liking to the area, settled into the life of a farmer. The Johnsons have been farming ever since.

Arthur’s farming days, however, were cut short after he was diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) but his son, Alden – a 16-year-old boy still in high school – took over, growing the farm in the Sebastian/Lyford area.

It was about 10 years earlier that Alden didn’t speak English well enough to pass first grade – he spoke Swedish and Spanish and had to take the grade over. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but he was strong willed and determined and knew what had to be done.

“He was still in high school when he took over and he just kept right on farming until the mid-80s,” said fourth-generation farmer Travis Johnson. “He had a couple of heart attacks and that kind of slowed him down.” He will be 89 in a couple of days, and he is still as strong willed and determined as he was when he was a child. He believes in family and more importantly his family.

“That was 70 years ago,” beamed Alden, who hasn’t slowed down enough to completely keep him away from his passion.

“Things were different then – I prefer them the way they are today though and we as a family love what we do.”

Like all farmers, the Johnsons have seen plenty of changes and have dealt with many challenges and were primarily just dry land farmers until recent years. They’ve fought through droughts and hurricanes alike and continue to stand strong as a family – and with a great foundation.

“Things get tough at times but luckily we’re all Christians who get along pretty well together and depend on our faith in God to keep us going,” Travis said. “It seems like He has always taken care of us.”

Travis returned to farming about four years ago and is the lone fourth-generation farmer keeping Johnson name going.

“I worked in Houston when I first got married for about eight years but then we moved back to the Valley with a plan to start farming,” Travis said. “But that’s when Hurricane Dolly hit so it wasn’t the best time and we really weren’t in the position to do that at that time.”

Instead, Travis went on to work for Valley Baptist until 2012 – the time was right.

“We farm cotton, sugar cane and other crops depending on the season,” he said. “We have been blessed.”

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Monitoring the potato psyllid and zebra chip disease: A constant threat to potato production in Texas

bY Dr. Ismael E. Badillo-Vargas, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Insect Vector Biology Department of Entomology Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center – Weslaco

A

n economically important disease affect ing potatoes, known as zebra chip (ZC),

has been documented to occur in United

States, Mexico, Central America, and New

Zealand. ZC was first discovered in potato

fields around Saltillo, Mexico in 1994. In the

early 2000s, the disease was reported in southern Texas and by 2006, ZC had spread to all potato production areas in this state. ZC is a destructive disease of potatoes that has caused millions of dollars in losses to potato producers and processors in Texas, Arizona, California, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The disease is also found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and New Zealand.

ZC is caused by the bacterial pathogen ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso), which is transmitted from plant-to-plant by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli. This plant pathogenic bacterium is related, but different, to the bacteria that cause citrus greening disease on citrus trees, which are transmitted by the

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Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. Lso also affects other solanaceous crops besides potato, including tomato, pepper, eggplant, tomatillo, tamarillo, and several weeds in the Solanaceae family.

In potatoes, ZC causes stunting, leaf curling, chlorosis, leaf purpling, leaf scorching, swollen internodes, and aerial tubers on the aboveground parts of the plants (Fig. 1). Moreover, belowground symptoms caused by ZC include browning, necrotic flecking, and darkening of internal tissues, all of which can affect the entire tuber (Fig. 2). It is this characteristic stripped pattern that resulted on the name of ZC for this disease. Symptoms of infected tubers intensify when fried for chips (Fig. 3) or French fries due to the uneven distribution of higher than normal sugar concentrations in the tubers, rendering them unmarketable for the processing market. It is important to mention that consumption of products processed from ZC-infected tubers do not pose any risk to human health. However, all these symptoms result in diminished tuber yield and quality that translate to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars each year in the state of Texas alone.

The potato psyllid is an insect pest and disease vector native to

North America. It is present in the western United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America, and New Zealand. Its development includes three different life stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Eggs are deposited on the underside and edges of potato leaves from where the nymphs will hatch and begin feeding on plants using their needle-like mouthparts.

There are five nymphal stages, after which adults emerged and readily dispersed to neighboring potato plants or even more distant potato fields. Once a single potato psyllid has acquired Lso, it will harbor the bacterial pathogen for the remaining of its life and transmit it to a healthy plant while feeding. The pathogen can also be transmitted from an adult psyllid to its offspring at varying rates. Without the aid of the potato psyllid vector, Lso transmission does not occur in potato fields.

Since its detection in the early 2000s, ZC has been very costly to manage in potato production in Texas and has caused losses of millions of dollars to the potato industry. Currently, all the alternatives to manage the spread of ZC is through the control of its vector. Monitoring the potato psyllid is essential to achieve an effective management of this insect pest and disease. Since mid-2000s, following the initial discovery of ZC in Texas, a ‘Potato Psyllid and Zebra Chip Monitoring Program’ was implemented throughout the potato production areas in the state to determine

the number of potato psyllids present in potato fields and the proportion of insects that were harboring Lso. Early season detection and management of the potato psyllid is crucial to effectively minimize psyllid reproduction and ZC spread throughout potato fields. In our monitoring program, yellow sticky cards are used to monitor adult psyllids, while leaf samples are collected to monitor eggs and nymphs that represent successful colonization and reproduction in potato fields, respectively.

A weekly report is distributed to more than 200 people, including growers, processors, researchers, and stakeholders from Texas all the way to the Pacific Northwest. These psyllid counts provide information about when potato psyllids arrive at any specific location within Texas and the population growth of this insect pest within potato fields throughout the state. Thus, growers can make informed decisions about what insecticides they can apply that would provide effective protection according to the specific life stage of the potato psyllid being targeted.

determine the proportion of insects harboring the Lso bacteria.

Monitoring this insect pest and bacterial pathogen will continue to be one important effort in the fight against the constant threat posed by the potato psyllid and ZC to potato production in Texas.

Furthermore, adult potato psyllids collected as part of this monitoring program are tested by our collaborators in Amarillo, TX to J U LY / A U G U S T

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PESTS AND DISEASES…

CHANGING THE CITRUS INDUSTRY

T

here are many dates that stick in a long time citrus grower’s mind. Dates that forever changed the face of the Texas citrus indus try. To many citrus growers, simply uttering the words “the ’89 freeze” evokes a wealth of shared experiences and emotion wrapped up in those three words.

January 13, 2012 is one of those dates. That was the day that Huanglongbing (HLB), better known as citrus greening disease, was first found in South Texas. This is a day that the industry knew was a possibility but was still not quite prepared for. Citrus greening disease is an incurable citrus tree disease that is spread by a small insect, the Asian citrus psyllid. From a distance, Texas growers had watched Florida struggle with this disease since 2005 and had some idea of the challenges they were facing. The disease spreads very quickly, has a long latency period and eventually kills the tree. The initial 5 mile quarantine spread very quickly and today, the entire RGV is under Quarantine for citrus greening disease with more than 2,400 positive trees being identified to date.

In addition to citrus greening disease, the industry is now faced with another devastating citrus disease. In October of 2015, citrus canker was found on a residential lime tree in the Brownsville area. Citrus canker is a bacterial disease that causes lesions on the leaves, stems and fruit of plants including citrus and other plants in the citrus family. While not harmful to humans, the disease affects the health of infected citrus trees and the marketability of infected fruit. There is no cure for citrus canker and it is highly contagious. It is spread by wind-driven

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rain, lawnmowers and other landscaping equipment, people’s hands or clothing and by moving infected or exposed plants or plant parts (fruit, leaves or stems).

To date there have been 154 lime or lemon trees positively identified with citrus canker in the RGV. Scientists have concluded that this is the Wellington strain, or AW strain, only previously recorded in Florida, which has a very restricted host range amongst lime and lemon trees. But just this past month, citrus canker was identified on a sour orange tree in Houston and confirmed to have the A strain. Given how easily this disease spreads, this puts the RGV at an additional risk of the A strain for citrus canker being introduced in South Texas.

Also, Mexican fruit fly detections are rapidly changing in South Texas. Commonly known as Mexfly, this is an invasive pest that threatens the agricultural production of more than 50 fruit types in the RGV. Mexfly migrates to South Texas from unmanaged, highly infested groves near the border in Mexico. As a result, the industry has been subject to one or more quarantines on an annual basis for over 80 years. This past season marks the first the industry has ever seen a quarantine as early as November in South Texas. Record breaking larval detections from fruit cuttings in Northern Tamaulipas, Mexico over the last two years may correlate with this increase. The problem in South Texas, aside from Mexico, is the overwhelming number of citrus trees in dooryard properties across the region. USDA estimates that there are conservatively over 750,000 citrus trees in residential back yards, left largely untreated, and many holding fruit almost year round. This is a very important issue and education for residents is key.

Faced with these very serious diseases and pests, the citrus industry has banned together and launched an attack to limit the spread of citrus greening and now citrus canker. Scouts are out in groves daily looking for disease symptoms, growers are treating their trees to protect them from the Asian citrus psyllid and over a thousand positive trees have been removed in an effort to slow the spread of both diseases.

Also, a large education and outreach program is underway to educate residents about citrus greening, citrus canker and the Mexican fruit fly and to encourage residents to notify www. citrusalert.com if they see symptoms on their tree.

All of these programs require substantial financial support and to streamline industry activities and programs, the industry consolidated TexaSweet Citrus Marketing, Inc. into Texas Citrus Mutual in 2015.

In an effort to efficiently and effectively handle these threats, the Texas Department of Agriculture, along with citrus industry leaders, launched a new entity called the Texas Citrus Pest and Disease Management Corporation (TCPDMC). This is a quasigovernmental entity acting under the supervision and control of the Commissioner of Agriculture with the instruction to plan,

carry out and operate a suppression program to manage and control pests and diseases. The board of directors for the TCPDMC consists of 15 elected citrus producers with at least 7 years’ experience.

The TCPDMC is already in the works helping to address these important issues, but before it can receive assessments to fund these programs, a referendum must be held by the Commissioner of Agriculture. This is a very important step in directing the future of the Texas Citrus Industry.

There will be meetings held for growers in the coming months to discuss the referendum and challenges the industry is facing.

If you would like more information about TCPDMC, the referendum or when the meetings will be held, please call 956-5808004.

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Where I Come From…There’s no Place Like ‘Home’

Agriculture…

Where the Heart Is SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS – They say you can take the girl out of the ranch, but you can never take the ranch out of her. Well I tell you what; I can 100% say that is the absolute truth. I, myself, have experienced that. I was born in Kingsville and raised in the small town of Encino. My roots are deeply rooted in the South Texas ranching and agriculture way of life. I have been involved in the livestock/agricultural industry for as long as I can remember; growing up around cattle, horses, show animals, team roping, etc. Because of my upbringing, which I wouldn’t change for anything in the world, I have a sincere and deep appreciation and passion for the agricultural industry. I find it my personal duty to advocate for, market and promote our great industry; a commerce that all too often goes unappreciated and under recognized, unfortunately.

I believe in the future of agriculture! Do You? My passion for agriculture fuels a fire to educate the public about our industry and how they reap the benefits of it, directly or indirectly. There are many misconceptions about agriculture. I enjoy clarifying these and seeking appreciation and awareness for all facets of the agricultural world. From the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, to the make-up we use, to the vehicles we drive, to the sports we play, to the sheets we sleep on, to the purses we sport, to the medicine we take; we all indulge in the greatness of the “Ag world.”

Many people don’t realize all that the agriculture community produces. Some think you have to wear cowboy boots, a belt buckle and a hat and/or eat beef/pork/poultry, etc. to be a part of agriculture… On the contrary, agriculture is a part of ALL of our lives! Agriculture not only feeds the world, it also clothes the world in more ways than one. Interestingly, many products we use

bY YVONNE (BONNIE) RAMIREZ

sutures, ointments, latex gloves, x-ray film, gelatin for capsules and heart valves. u Personal Care Products: Shampoo, cosmetics, lotions, finger nail polish and toothpaste. u Education: Crayons, textbooks, chalk, desks, pencils and paper. u Sports: Uniforms, baseball bats, leather equipment and shoes. u Construction: Lumber, paints, brushes, tar paper, dry wall and tool handles. u Transportation: Fuel, lubricants, antifreeze, tires and upholstery. u Manufacturing: Adhesives, solvents and detergents.

Printing: Paper, ink and film.

• Texas leads the nation in cattle, cotton, hay, sheep, goats and mohair production.

in our everyday lives come from plant and animal byproducts, which are produced by farmers and ranchers.

Here are some thought-provoking “Did You Know” agriculture facts:

• It takes 3,000 head of cattle to pro duce the leather needed for one year of National Football League footballs • One pound of wool can make 10 miles of yarn. There are 150 yards (450 feet) of wool yarn used in a baseball.

• Elevators in the Statue of Liberty use soybean-based hydraulic fluid.

• Plant & animal byproducts are used in: u Health care: Pharmaceuticals, surgical

• Texas leads the nation in number of farms and ranches • 1 of every 7 working Texans (14%) is in an agriculture-related job. *Statistics courtesy from online agriculture references*

Oh how I thank the many ways that agriculture touches all of our lives! My “Home” is the agriculture industry and my heart lies within! So with these interesting facts… If you ate today, if you used a football/baseball, if you put make-up on, if you clothed yourself, if you have a roof over your head, if you drove a vehicle; thank a Farmer/Rancher for the fruits of their labor and hard work provided us with these gifts! There’s so much history within our great industry and such a great story to keep sharing/telling.

I believe in the future of agriculture! Do You? J U LY / A U G U S T

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“ There’s a hundred years of history and a hundred before that all gathered in the thinkin’… … And cowboy is his name ”

What’s Become of the

? y o b w o C

bY KATHRYN BRADY

W

hat is it about the iconic American cowboy that makes it such a legendary figure?

According to Dr. Kay Gandy, PhD, Education Professor at Western Kentucky University, The cowboy is viewed as an American icon: rider of the open range, rugged individual, and champion of good. Cowboys are still very much a part of American culture today. The introduction of cattle and horses by the Spanish “conquistadors” transformed the local culture, influenced the economics of the times and created a national identity with the cowboy. Yet people’s understanding of the cowboy has, for the most part, been informed by movies and television shows. Dime store novels and Wild West shows.

The term cowboy is derived from the Spanish word ‘vaquero’.

The vaquero during the Spanish colonial period were typically mounted herdsman and likewise, his Mexican counterpart. As Anglos began to settle in Texas and the west they began to adopt many of the vaquero practices when raising livestock.

Many aspects of Spanish ranching, such as dress, equipment, saddle styles, roping methods, terminology were influenced by the Spanish and Mexican vaqueros.

Hence ranching developed in Texas. Spanish and Mexican ranches were usually called by distinctive names such as Santa Gertrudis whereas the Anglo or American custom was for the ranch to be called after the owner’s name. Examples still surviving today are the King and Kenedy Ranches in Kleberg County. The word ranch is derived from the Mexican-Spanish word ‘rancho’, which denotes the home or headquarters of the ranchero. In Texas, the word initially denoted an establish-

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ment engaged in livestock production using unimproved range pastures as the primary resource. Livestock were first brought to Texas during the early attempts at colonization. The major livestock brought over were cattle, horses, mules, and burros as well as sheep, goats and swine. The main ranching activity were from San Antonio (de Bexar) to Goliad (La Bahia).

Livestock raising was attempted in east Texas in settlements of Nacogdoches and Los Adaes (present day Robeline, Louisiana), however it never rivaled the successes of the San Antonio area.

The Spanish vaqueros during colonial times were generally viewed as rough and rowdy, but were also noted for their horsemanship and stock-tending skills. As ranching made its way through Texas, these herdsman were at the forefront of Spanish colonization into Texas. In most cases they attached themselves to a ‘patron’, married and built a shack on the property. Their children, subsequently, were born and raised in service to the ‘patron’, an arrangement that sometime spanned generations.

Later and in eastern Texas, as Anglo settlement increased in Mexican Texas, American colonists originally came to Texas to be farmers, but quickly saw the value of lush pastures where cattle could thrive with minimum care, thus many of them became cattle ranchers.

Accordingly, through working associations with vaqueros, Anglo cowboys learned the techniques and adopted them.

Beginning in 1821 cattle ranching conditions began to improve and remained a domestic industry, supplying urban populations with meat. At this time small herds were being driven to New Orleans and then shipped throughout the eastern United

A Poem by Baxter Black featured in the film

States. As settlers and gold miners began moving west, so did cattle drives, driving cattle to California. After the civil war the price of beef rose dramatically creating a lucrative market for cattle producers. At this time, as well, more folks were moving west, and consequently the period of cattle drives began; lasting from about 1866 to 1886. In the late 1800’s the railroads became the main mode of transporting goods, so this brought an end to trail drives. This was also the age, because of the advent of barbed wire and a reduction of the open range, that the large infamously historic ranches of Texas were born.

Ranches such as: the YO Ranch, King Ranch, XIT, Ranch, Waggoner Ranch, JA Ranch, 6666 Ranch and the Matador Ranch.

With the commencement to the new century, the 1900’s brought with it a promise of a bright future and through World War I, things looked good for the Texas Rancher. Unfortunately, as was the case for the rest of the nation, the stock market crash and dust bowl of the 1930’s brought with it a set of difficult years, lasting all the way through the drought of the 1950’s; with only a brief respite in the 1940’s. During World War II, agricultural producers were held in high regard because of the food and other resources that they provided for the nation and the soldiers.

“8 Seconds”

“The bawl of a steer To a cowboy’s ear Is music of sweetest strain; And the yelping notes Of the gray coyotes To him are a glad refrain… …The winds may blow And the thunder growl Or the breeze may safely moan; A cowboy’s life Is a royal life, His saddle his kingly throne.

Saddle up, boys, For the work is play When love’s in the cowboy’s eyes, When his heart is light As the clouds of white That swim in the summer skies”.

From: Songs of the Cowboys, 1921

Source: Tim Cox, western artist

Cattle ranching has continued to modernize with the times, while nostalgia and tradition remains enduring. A modern ranch consists of a highly developed unit with miles of fencing, water supplies, accessible grazing, and permanent corrals.

Modern ranching also involves heavy capital investment in land and other improvements. This requires an astute businessman and cowman.

Texas cattle ranches have also diversified to make ends meet, now incorporating hunting, birding and other agro-tourism. In addition the type of livestock raised varies regionally, for example, in the Texas hill country there are abundant ranches devoted to goats, up around Dallas and other suburbs many ranches are devoted to horse raising, while south, east and west Texas along with the panhandle remain mostly cattle oriented, with wildlife, sheep, goats and horses interspersed.

The cowboy has attained a romantic near mythic stature over the years. But in reality the life of a cowboy or rancher is not easy, but commands respect, because, after all they are the ones that feed the country and the world. As John Wayne’s character McClintock says in the Western movie of the same name: “ Me, I work for everyone who’s ever walked into a butcher shop for a T-bone steak ”.

References: The Hand Book of Texas: Online The Texas Almanac The Legacy of the American West: Indian Cowboys, Black Cowboys and Vaqueros Texas Department of Agriculture: Statistics A History of Vegetation on the Rio Grande Plain

Source: Hollywood movie McClintock J U LY / A U G U S T

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Congrats!

to the 2016-2017 4H District 12 Officer Team 30

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South Texas 4 - H Elects its new Leadership Team The room is filled with red, white and blue decorations, flags, bunting, exhibits with names, leadership and community service activities and a buzz about the upcoming vote. In an election year where the president of our country will be selected to govern over the next four years, there couldn’t be a more valuable experience than the District 12 4-H Election Convention for south Texas 4-H members.

Summer marks a very important time in 4-H in South Texas. It starts with the nation’s largest 4-H event, Texas 4-H Roundup, then for the 20-county district that makes up Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s South District 12, a very critical event takes place the last Friday of June, the District 12 4-H Election Convention. This is where and when the officers that serve on the District 12 4-H Council representing the 20 south Texas counties are elected. While many club/ groups find themselves ending/starting their officers around this time, this process is unique. In addition to serving a critical role in selecting the next Leadership Team of ten new officers, the Election Convention and the process that actually starts in January serves as important educational tool with all 4-H members involved. In short, the entire process is structured to mirror, as closely as possible, many of Texas’ public elections.

The process starts in January when 4-H members from throughout the district begin by filing for office. Candidates must submit an application to run along with a resume and photo among other information. Once the filing deadline has passed, the slate of candidates is announced and campaigning begins at various 4-H events throughout the Spring. In May, a voter registration process is started where 4-H members from across the district submit their credentials to represent each county at the June Election Convention to cast their vote. Each county gets 2 votes, similar to the Electoral College system except that there is no general election or primary. Counties and their delegates spend the campaign period evaluating candidates and their credentials. More recently, social media has begun to play a large role as a communication and campaigning strategy.

This brings us to the Election Convention event in late June which adds another facet of most public election processes, election officials. The Election Convention includes designated officials to conduct and manage the election process to include election judge, ombudsmen, and a registrar. Their roles are to ensure that votes, ballots, delegates and subsequent elections are held in accordance with their rules and maintaining secrecy of ballots and integrity of the process. This is especially important because the election process is a single ballot election. Once the candidate files in early Spring, they cannot run for any other office nor can nominations be made at the Convention. In addition to traditional “stump” speeches at the Convention, all candidates are subjected to impromptu questions that they must respond to in an open forum on 4-H and youth issues, which makes for some interest post-forum dialogue between candidates and voting delegates.

At the end of the day, ballots are cast electronically and compiled by the election officials and canvased by the Election Judge and the retiring District President. With a room filled with excitement for those that were elected, some by very slim margins, a short but moving installation process effectively inaugurates the new slate of officers for the 2016-2017 4-H year. The top three offices, who serve as the District’s delegation to the Texas 4-H Council, include: President – Ty Rhyner (Cameron County), 1st Vice President Bianca Garcia (Hidalgo County), and Delegate at Large – Travis Davis (Willacy County).

The remaining members of the Leadership Team include: 2nd Vice President – Tyler Denny (Hidalgo), Secretary – Kyleigh Carr (Jim Wells), Treasurer - Jake Rhyner (Cameron), Public Relations – Lauren Thomas (Willacy), Parliamentarian – Miles Mathis (Kleberg/Kenedy), Health & Safety Officer – Will Scogin (Willacy), and Youth Advisor – Logan Thomas (Willacy). Congratulations to the new District 12 4-H Leadership Team!

J U LY / A U G U S T

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S

Hidalgo County

Klerberg/Kennedy Co. continued :

Krista Olivarez Annette Alanis Brianna Bullion Claudia Martinez Lorissa Pena Leandra Flores Derek S. Cerelli Daena Ciomperlik Rene Salinas Teah Barrientes Thomas Boyle Hailie Ciomperlik Diana Cantu Cynthia Lilliana Cantu

Ryan Matthew Mattinez Brianna Lynn Perez George Guillermo Mendiette

Nueces County

Cameron County Jacobo Saenz Kenneth Miller Cynthia Rodriguez Victoria Aguilar Andrea Hernandez Jordan Sandoval Seraphim Grant Eric Sanchez Michaela Elbert Bruce Waters Ennalize Barajas

Hannah Nichole Lyssy Willacy County Klerberg /Kennedy County Michael Peter- Mark Catter

Bailey Scogins Victoria Burns

Youth Opportunities/Activities Information on youth activities and opportunities can be found on our website: http://texasfarmbureau.org/youth/youth-opportunities/ TFB awards scholarships annually totaling more than $118,000. County Farm Bureaus also offer scholarships within their county, totaling more than $100,000 annually. County Farm Bureaus also donate time and efforts to local youth organizations and activities FFA contests, livestock shows and more.

Youth Leadership Conference About 300 students attend YLC each year. TFB has hosted the event for more than 50 years.

An article on YLC is here: http://texasfarmbureau.org/youth-conference-grows-leadership-skills-patriotism/

Free Enterprise Speech This contest is held annually and open to any young TFB member who has attended the Youth Leadership Conference. Through the competition, students share what they learned about constitutional government and the free enterprise system. It’s another opportunity for our future leaders to develop and hone their leadership and communications abilities. Scholarships totaling $15,000 are awarded along with a Washington, D.C. trip for the six finalists.

Collegiate Discussion Meet We hosted a Collegiate Discussion Meet earlier this year. You can find details on this year’s contest and winners here: http://texasfarmbureau.org/bacon-wins-tfb-collegiate-discussion-meet/.

J U LY / A U G U S T

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RGVLS

REDFISH

RODEO 2016

JUNE 24-25 SOU T H

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P ADRE

ISLAND

CON V EN T ION

CEN T ER

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TEXAS PLANT & SOIL LAB

MIRACLES of Balanced Plant Nutrition

by: Noel Garcia, CCA Technical Director, Texas Plant & Soil Lab

T

AskThePlant.com

ypically, most growers have post-harvest

or early spring soil tests performed then apply

pre-plant fertilizer based on the recommenda tions of the soil report and assume that the one

application will pretty much supply the crop’s nal requirements for the remainder of the season with perhaps supplementing Nitrogen sometime mid-season.

3. Popular soil testing methods used today (Mehlich III and others) by most labs extract nutrient compounds that are both plant-available and unavailable to be interpreted for subsequent recommendations to you.

There are several problems with this approach:

Most of those soil nutrients that are not lost due to the weather are either absorbed by the crop or are converted to plant-unavailable compounds by native soil chemistry or chemical reactions between themselves.

Calcareous soils, particularly, are very efficient in tying-up most nutrients, making them water-insoluble and not immediately available to the plant. Accordingly, these insoluble compounds can build up in the soil over time.

1. Much can happen to your fertilizer after it hits the ground to make it unavailable to the crop: A. Your native soil chemistry can rapidly tie-up fertilizer components into chemical compounds which the plant is unable to absorb.

B. Irrigation water high in mineral salts not only changes your soil’s chemistry and damages its structure, but it also neutralizes plant-absorbability of many fertilizers by changing their chemistries into plantunavailable compounds. Water quality is really critical in spray mixes or fertigation.

“What’s In Your Water Becomes Part Of Your Soil.”™ C. Chemical interactions between the fertilizer components themselves can render them unavailable to the plant.

D. Loss due to the weather – leaching due to heavy rain, high soil temperatures, etc.

E. Volatilization of Nitrogen into the atmosphere - especially true when next year’s N is applied in the Fall.

The pre-season soil test provides a starting point for determining what the soil needs to get the crop off to a good start. The soil may have several issues that need to be dealt with in a coördinated manner to ensure the critical early part of the growing season is managed for the best results. But after that…

2. Nutritional demands of many crops vary widely throughout the growing season. The wrong fertilizer in the wrong form applied in the wrong place in the wrong amounts at the wrong time is simply wasted – along with your money – often leaching into nearby waterways. But worse – your crop ends up being malnourished resulting in yields and quality often far below your crop’s potential. And even worse, crop malnourishment results in a stressed crop, making it vulnerable to diseases and insects (requiring insecticides and fungicides) – and requiring more water, making it more susceptible to drought and heat – and to hail damage and to cold (late frosts). “Nature always eats the weakest with bugs and disease.”

So, you end up spending a whole lot more to get a lot less.

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(Sidebar: Reports on some soils often show Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium or Magnesium as being consistently adequate or high, year-after-year. How can that be?)

By including at least some of these plantunavailable compounds in the laboratory analyses, the proportions of what is, and what is not, available to the plant cannot be measured with the popular extraction methods.

This means that the lab has to estimate (guess) what is actually available to your crop, based upon its experience with your soil and render fertilization recommendations often based upon crop nutrition standards published in the early 1950s.

Because interpreting the analysis numbers from the soil testing methods used by most labs is highly-dependent upon the many variations in soil types its clients may have, it is not generally practical for the lab to attempt to calibrate lab numbers against actual plant uptake as can be done using an extraction method that duplicates the way plant roots take up nutrients in any soil.

And the problem with relying on 60+ year-old standards is that they do not reflect new varieties, new discoveries in plant nutrition and deteriorated soil quality (especially high soil salts, low organic matter content and collapsed structure).

All this explains why your soil test reports give you pretty much the same results and recommendations, year-after-year – even as your yields and quality stay flat or decline while your costs go up.

Balanced and Complete Plant Nutrition Goes Way Beyond N-P-K About 18 elements have been identified so far, as being necessary to plants – the number of which depends upon the plant. It has been only fairly recently that the importance of micronutrients (Iron,

Copper, Zinc and Manganese) to plant health and quality started being talked about – and a few trace elements have been known for a while to be necessary for certain crops or their consumers. With ongoing research, discoveries are being made regularly about the importance of heretofore ignored trace elements – most recently, SILICON. A few years back, Silicon was acknowledged as being “beneficial” to mostly small grains, as it helps prevent lodging by hardening cell walls. However, ongoing research reveals that the benefits to very many crops and soils go far beyond that: ● Insects and disease are discouraged by hard cell walls. ● Research suggests that an extremely thin physical barrier forms on root hairs, thus discouraging nematodes and disease. ● Improves nutrient uptake. ● Improves drought resistance. ● Improves soil permeability. ● Many, many other benefits – and more to be discovered.

But there’s more: A nutritionally-balanced crop is much better able to withstand stresses put upon it by adverse growing conditions (cold or hot, dark or bright, wet or dry, etc., weather). And – as we’ve experienced in the field, maturation time can be shortened by as much as three weeks!

When we encounter a field with disease or insect problems, the first thing we want to know about is the complete nutritional status of the crop – especially the secondary nutrients, micronutrients and trace elements.

But correcting nutritional problems alone won’t necessarily fix a field already in distress – especially when there is disease or crop damage. Diseased or damaged plants require some intensive care.

A Lot More Than Just The Elements Biological Inoculants, sugars, hormones, humates, organic acids and more are game-changers and need to be an integral part of your season fertility program – but especially, biological inoculants because the populations and diversity of the native biology in many of today’s soils have been decimated.

Biology – both soil and plant – does a lot: ● Converts plant-unavailable soil nutrients into plant-available. ● Controls soil and plant pathogens. ● Conditions soil, regenerating structure. ● Helps remediate salty soil. ● Transforms raw organic matter into humus – a material with complex physical and nutritional qualities – and releases plant-available nutrients during the process. Good levels of humus are essential for thriving plants. ● And a whole lot more…

Sugars stimulate biological activity to reduce excessive vegetative growth of plants due to too much Nitrogen.

Hormones and Organic Acids are essential components of accelerating plant development – and are especially effective when dealing with crop damage (due to hail, etc.) and to assist in establishing crops in inclement springs. We see many times a year, that these other things, in addition to basic nutrition, can restore a hailed-out crop within two or three weeks and very rapidly (often, in one season) turn bad fields from disasters into successes!

Plant Tests Plant tests provide you with “closed-loop feedback” about your crop’s nutritional condition – because you really don’t know about how much of your expensive fertilizer has been absorbed by the crop and you don’t know what its immediate needs are for eventual end-of-season success. Plant tests are actually tissue tests from leaves, petioles (leaf stems - plant sap) or the whole plant. What

leaves/petioles are taken, the stage of growth, when they are taken and the crop nutritional standards used are critical as to how lab results are interpreted and reported. The primary difference between labs is in how the lab analyses are interpreted and the recommendations rendered. Leaf or Petiole? Very generally speaking, leaves contain the historic nutrient content of the plant. Petioles contain the nutrients flowing (plant sap) within the plant as of the moment the sample is taken. With some crops, there are only leaves… Many farmers act only after they see visual signs of crop nutritional problems in the field. But the problem there is, by the time problems can be actually seen with the eye, yields and quality have already been lost for the season. The best that can be done by then is damage control – to hopefully prevent further loss. And “Hidden Hunger” is, by definition, invisible… Plant analysis allows you to correct nutritional problems seven to 21 days before they can be seen in the field.

Testing is done at specific stages of crop development, ranging from every week or two for fast-growing or high-value crops to two to five times a year for others. But it is critical that your lab reasonably knows what the nutrient content is supposed to be these days at the stage of growth when the samples are taken.

More To It Than Nitrogen We have a number of clients who are interested only in plant Nitrogen content. Even though N-compound tests are cheap and certainly N is very important, from our perspective N-only tests are still a waste of money and effort, as there are so many more critical nutrients to be accounted for. Consider “von Liebig’s Law of the Minimum”.

Does Your Plant Test Report Include Everything That Is Important To Your Crop?

We’ve already seen that there are a lot of nutrients required for proper and balanced plant nutrition – only a few of which have been mentioned here – much more than just N-P-K. Accordingly, for you to get a complete picture of your crop’s nutritional status, you need to know about the secondary nutrients, micronutrients and trace elements.

Different crops have different nutritional needs and some crops have special nutritional requirements – especially for trace elements.

Does your lab include these in its reports – and does it have plant tests for your specific crop, including its special nutritional requirements?

Crop Loss: Prevention and Cure – Very often, crop loss due to late frosts can be avoided or minimized with a correct (and inexpensive) foliar spray applied even within hours of the expected event. Hailed-out crops can also often be quickly recovered with foliar sprays of hormones, sugars, microbial inoculants, amino acids, micronutrients, trace elements and other things.

Comprehensive Plant Tests Are The Cornerstone… …for maximizing your crop’s potential under the prevailing growing conditions and solving serious crop problems – especially when there are diseases and insects. Your lab should be able to provide you with recommendations for each stage of plant development for a successful season-long crop nutrition program. Providing your crop with balanced nutrition throughout the season is the biggest factor in field performance – and your bottom-line!

What To Take Away From This Article: ● If your lab’s soil reports and recommendations are pretty much the same, year-after-year, there’s something wrong, someplace. ● If you follow your lab’s plant test recommendations and things haven’t much improved, there’s something wrong, someplace. ● If your fields have disease or insect problems, there’s something wrong, someplace. ● If your yields and quality are flat, mediocre or are generally declining and you’re not doing very well, there’s something wrong, someplace. ● If the quality of your soil isn’t improving with each year, there’s something wrong, someplace. ● The Devil is always in the details – especially the smallest ones.

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SAVE THE DATE CropGuard Group, Inc P R E S E N T S

Farm Bill Update Meeting at Rio Farms on Sept 19th, 2016

from 10 am to 2pm. Lunch will be served by Tuckers BBQ from 12 noon-1pm.

Speakers will be: Congressman and Ranking Member of the House Ag Committee

Colin C. Petersen(D-MN-07) Congressman and Member of the House Ag Committee

File’mon Vela (TX-34)

Co-Director, Agricultural & Food Policy Center Texas A&M

Dr. Joe Outlaw Combest Sell & Associates / Southwest Council of Agribusiness

Tom Sell

Executive Director South Texas Cotton and Grain Producers

Jeff Nunley Main Sponsor

Other Sponsors:

www.fcbweb.net

texasnational.com

agmag.org

Cowboy Church & Horses

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Jul 14-17

Elite Barrel Race, Waco Jul 22

Chris Cowboy Church Playday Jul 29

Chris Cowboy Church Sorting Jul 29- 31

Wrapn3 Edna Aug 7

RGVLS Speed Events #4 Aug 19

Chris Cowboy Church Playday Aug 26

Chris Cowboy Church Sorting J U LY / A U G U S T

2016

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Texas A&M AgriLife study shows

insect costing

MILLIONS

I

t may be hard to spot, but the

tiny sugarcane aphid is rack ing up tens of millions of dollars

in losses in just the four South Texas counties evaluated so far, according to a report by an economist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

And the losses would have been much higher had grain sorghum growers not followed the advice of AgriLife Extension

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experts, according to Dr. Samuel Zapata, who conducted the study from the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco.

“The economic study we did here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas on the sugarcane aphid is the only such study available,” Zapata said. “It’s the only study that has been able to quantify the economic damage caused by this insect.”

Zapata estimates the sugarcane aphid caused a total loss of $31 million to the Valley’s sugarcane industry in the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. But at the same time, growers were able to avoid another $35 million in potential losses by following control recommendations released by AgriLife Extension.

Sugarcane aphids were first reported in the U.S. in Florida in 1977 in sugarcane, according to AgriLife Extension entomologists. In 2013, they were found feeding on Texas sorghum near Beaumont.

By October 2014, the new sorghum-feeding biotype had spread to the Rio Grande Valley. From there they moved north and south, devastating thousands of acres of grain and forage sorghum crops as they went, according to Danielle SekulaOrtiz, an AgriLife Extension integrated pest management agent in Weslaco.

“By late 2014, the aphid had reached about a dozen states in the south and several states in Mexico,” Sekula-Ortiz said. “It spread much farther and faster than anyone had predicted and quickly became the No. 1 pest in grain sorghum.”

In 2015 the reigning champion of sorghum pests continued to cause damage throughout Texas, but losses were not nearly as severe in the Rio Grande Valley due to favorable weather — wet and cool — and grower control-methods, she said.

greater had growers not followed the recommendations of Texas A&M AgriLife, Zapata said.

“What we found is that due to following those recommendations, growers were able to save, or protect, about $48 per acre,” he said. “We also found that for every dollar spent on controlling the sugarcane aphid, growers were able to protect about $4.50 in crops, so it’s obviously been a good idea to follow the recommendations provided by AgriLife and producers’ associations.”

Recommendations for control efforts included the timely use of insecticides, the use of more tolerant sorghum varieties and to plant early.

Sugarcane aphids are tiny yellow insects about the size of a pinhead. They feed on plant leaves and eventually make their way to the grain head where they can keep the grain from maturing, reducing both quantity and quality, Sekula-Ortiz said.

They also leave behind a sticky waste called honeydew that can clog up harvesting equipment.

Zapata said he was recently awarded a grant to replicate his economic loss study statewide.

REPRINT FROM TEXAS AGRI L IFE

“With the hot, dry weather we’ve been having this year, sugarcane aphid populations appear to be on the increase again. We’re recommending growers scout their fields every two to three days and spray as needed.”

To establish the initial economic impact of the sugarcane aphid in the Valley, Zapata first surveyed growers.

“We asked local grain sorghum producers about their farming practices and the control efforts they conducted to mitigate the damages caused by this insect,” he said.

Based on their responses, Zapata said he was able to establish, or assign, a dollar amount to damages.

“Grower input was crucial to this study,” he said. “Growers provided very detailed information about what they did to control the sugarcane aphid. And what our estimates tell us is that the aphids caused a loss of about $62 per acre.”

Valley growers normally plant about 350,000 acres of grain sorghum annually.

But those losses would have been much

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John Deere Named the Official On-Field Equipment of the Texas Rangers Dallas, Texas (June 14, 2016) — This year, John Deere is hitting home runs in the big leagues, as the “Official On-Field Equipment Supplier of the Texas Rangers.” As part of the new partnership with the Major League Baseball franchise, Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas will rely solely on John Deere’s all-star lineup of equipment to maintain the grounds throughout the 2016-2019 seasons.

“John Deere tractors have always been big in the fields around Texas, and now my fellow Greater Texas John Deere dealers and I are excited to see them on the ball field, too – at Globe Life Park,” said Kirk Bloomquist, Operations Manager. “The John Deere partnership with the Texas Rangers strengthens the exceptional regional presence and pride John Deere maintains in the greater Texas area.”

As part of the four-year partnership, the Texas Rangers grounds crew will exclusively utilize John Deere turf care equipment in field maintenance and preparation activities.

Visit MyJohnDeereDealer.com/baseball to learn more. For information about events at Neuhaus & Co., visit www.neuhausco.com

About John Deere Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land - those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world’s dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity.

For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at www.JohnDeere.com

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Crop Insurance Minute:

bY CASEY CLIPSON

Pasture Rangeland and Forage As we move into the Summer months of 2016, one thing I like to do is review how some of the crop insurance programs are working.

One of the most underutilized programs is the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage policy that was implemented in 2007. I amazed at how many people have never heard of this program and it has been available for 10 years. Has it been that long….? Yes it has!!! Today we will talk about this program and its risk and more its benefits!!

The Pasture Rangeland & Forage policy (PRF Policy) was developed for ranchers with a simple concept in mind. Cows need grass and Grass needs water, and the only variable ranchers cannot control is Mother Nature. For all cattle grazing operation rainfall is the first key to profitability, it is that simple. Obviously there are a lot of variables to profitability and rainfall is not the only variable, but without the rainfall, I think we can all agree, it is hard to keep costs to minimum which drive the profit side.

PRF policy is the most flexible crop insurance policy. It is a group policy that takes a 12 month time period and gives the rancher up to 6 different insurance periods across 11 potential timed intervals.

This allows ranchers to insure all or only part of the growing season. Also allows ranchers to insure all or part of the acres owned or leased. Other crop insurance programs are what I call an all or nothing program. For instance for corn, all acres planted with in the planting period must be insured for that crop year. PRF has the flexibility for Ranchers to choose what is insured and what is not insured.

Once again, this was meant to be a very flexible program.

What is insured: The entire US is broken up into 12mi X 12 mi Grids. This was done back in 1948 and NOAA has been keeping rainfall records on these Grids since that time. These records have created a historical average for every Grid. The ranchland to be insured has to be identified on a map to determine what Grids it is in. The Rainfall amount is reported by Grid not by individual farm. Once again this is a group policy which allows the cost to be very low.

Value: Every County has a County Base Value. This is a estimated revenue a rancher would receive from grazing the land. This can change from county to county, but for all south Texas the value for Grazing is $25/ac. The PRF policy allows Ranchers to buy up this value to

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150% of County Base Value, which means Ranchers can select their pastures for a value of up to $37.50/ac.

Coverage Levels: Ranchers then must select a coverage the same as Multi-Peril Crop Insurance between 70-90%. Obviously 90% being more expensive, but also providing more coverage. This coverage level also acts as the trigger for a loss. If the Grid only reports 80% of the average rainfall, the a ranchers that wrote 90% coverage have a 10% loss and will be paid on those loss for all acres inside that Grid that were insured. So using the numbers above, 90% coverage will result in $33.75/ac of insurance.

What is the cost: We have a quoting program based on historical data that can help ranchers determine if the policy is a viable risk management tool.

We have seen several ranchers received indemnity when they needed it to purchase hay, irrigation water and other supplements when required due to drought conditions.

What are the risks?

The main concern I hear from ranchers is, “I don’t want to add cost to an already tight profit margin”. This is a very real concern. This is why I encourage for all ranchers interested to sit down with a PRF program/quoter and determine if this can really work for their operation. In South Texas it works very well for the simple fact that we don’t normally receive rain all the time consistently. We get 6 inches in an afternoon and then it doesn’t rain for 4 months and then another 6 inches.

If you have questions about the Pasture Rangeland and Forage policy or any other Ag programs, please call me or my office. We’ll be glad to help!!!

C Casey Clipson CropGuard Group, Inc 2315 W Expressway 83 Suite 102 San Benito, TX 78586 956-361-5550 office 956-793-1282 Cell

Photo Contest

Foster Conservation Many of us have fond childhood memories of a special place where play, imagination and wonder reigned. For most, that place was outdoors. Through these experiences, we gained understanding, appreciation and a personal relationship with the natural world.

Sadly, today’s children are allowed less time for unstructured, creative play in nature than ever before. As the trend away from outdoor play and learning deepens, we are witnessing sobering consequences for children’s health and well-being. Additionally, this youngest generation is missing out on critical experiences that lay the foundation for future stewardship of our natural resources.

We can reverse this trend. One achievable solution is to restore active play and learning in nature. This issue has made the Valley Land Fund’s annual Southern Exposures Youth Nature Photo Program a priority.

Each summer from June to August, The Valley Land Fund holds a photo contest for youths 8 to 18 years old. It was created for the children of South Texas to learn more about nature while having fun in the summer time. The enrichment program encourages children to explore the natural areas in the eight counties of South Texas by documenting and photographing native wildlife and its habitat.

The program includes ten nature photography workshops directed by a nationally recognized photographer, Ruth Hoyt. The contest participation is free. This program is made possible through the generous support provided by the Robert L. Townsend Endowment in association with City of McAllen and Quinta Mazatlan.

“Wildlife photography is a powerful tool in the effort for conservation. The images produced by our young photographers allow people of the world to view nature with refreshed admiration, respect and compassion.”

This quote, from the Valley Land Fund’s web site, aptly describes the mechanism the VLF chooses to bring attention to conservation needs in South Texas. Founded in 1987, the VLF’s mission is to preserve, expand and enhance native wildlife habitat in South Texas through education, land ownership and the creation of economic incentives.

Over the years, the VLF has facilitated the protection of 11,000 acres of habitat through gift, purchase or conservation easement.

How to enter: • You may register and submit images any time during the CONTEST, but no later than July 30, 2016.

• All images submitted for contest must be received via USB Thumb Drive/DVD. High Resolution files preferred.

• NO Online Portal.

Please hand deliver your flash drive (USB thumb drive or DVD) to Quinta Mazatlan or send via mail to the Debralee Rodriguez, Executive Director of VLF, 2400 N. 10th Street – Ste. A, McAllen, Texas 78501.

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Algodon 2016

Congratulations to all harvesters in 2016

García Grain Trading 956-464-6000

SERVING THE VALLEY FOR OVER 20 YEARS! 58 Ag Mag

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Soybean produces great gains, but the main advantages are described below:

SOYBEANS IN

SOUTH TEXAS

By FRANCISCO BELDEN

In recent years, crops that have been traditionally planted on Texas Valley’s have seen an increase problem due to pests, diseases and other disorders that compromise their yield and quality, especially on grasses as corn and sorghum, making it crucial to take the necessary measures to eliminate these and other consequences on monocultures.

Besides the agronomical problems presented, soil has been impoverishing to the point that Texas now has the lowest farm real estate value in the United States, thus it is vital to revert this situation by growing other crops that would generate more advantages to be enriched the land.

Soybeans have been proved to be an alternative with great potential, showing outstanding benefits which will be discussed further below on this article. “Rio Farms” –an experimental field located on Monte Alto, Texas– has played a fundamental role on discovering the potential of soybeans, where after many years of research, MSc Andy Scott has found two varieties (Vernal and Otoño) that adapt very well to the Texas Valley region. It is a continuous study and they are still searching for more varieties and determining the best practices to further optimize the yield of the crop.

The success of a crop depends on two important factors; first it is vital that the crop adapts well to the agronomic conditions of the desired region, and also it is fundamental that a market exists in order to commercialize it. For instance, Mexico imports 4 million metric tons of soybeans and 1.5 million metric tons in products derived from the crush of this oleaginous seed. Particularly in the northwest region of the country, which is the most accessible market in Mexico for the Texas Valley, a company called Ragasa has two crushing facilities located in Matamoros city and Monterrey city. For 2017, Ragasa is set to increase their capacity with the launch of a crushing facility that will be able to process the production of 4,000 acres –with a yield of 45 bushel/acre– in just one day.

1) In the Texas valley and in the North of Tamaulipas regions, yields higher that the United States average have been recorded: Average yields in the U.S.: 47.5 bushel/acre Average yields when planting soybeans for several cycles: >52.0 Bu/ac Region’s highest yield: 74 Bu / ac For comparison purposes, the average corn yield in the U.S. is 171 Bu/ac 2) Considering the yields of this area and the production costs, it is estimated that the producer earns a profit 20% higher when planting soybeans than when planting corn.

3) Soybeans require 20% less resources than the required to plant corn. (production costs) 4) It has been proved that a soybean–corn crop rotation gen erates better yields, 15% higher compared when there is no rotation of crops. Planting soybeans has the benefit of fixing nitrogen to the soil and enriching it for future agricul tural cycles, consequently lowering production costs.

5) Soybean harvest residues easily incorporate to the soil to become organic matter, with the benefits this brings, while corn and sorghum residues take longer.

6) Pests and diseases occur less on soybeans that on corn; a soybean-corn crop rotation could help reduce these issues in the region.

7) Soybeans have low susceptibility to aflatoxin-producing fungi.

8) Given that the harvest on this region takes place before the U.S. Midwest harvest starts, and being closer to the customer’s location, the producers may take great advantages (specially on low inventory cycles) by selling their production immediately and at better prices.

9) Soybeans have proved to be better and faster at recovering from adverse circumstances compared to corn.

10) Planting soybeans increases the land value by raising its potential to sow other crops.

Although there were bad weather conditions, the last cycle saw yields of 66.1 Bu/AC , here in Texas Valley. AG Mag published an article about a testimony of great results generated by a product called “stoller”.

Growing soybeans has the same complications as planting other crops, however, it is very important to follow the proper techniques and to watch often and closely the development of the crop to be able to immediately act if an issue arises.

The success of this business depends largely on funding and supporting Texas Valley research programs and their achievements greatly benefit all producers.

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Why it Makes “Cents” to Provide Cattle with a Good Mineral Program

By Lindsey Grimes, Nutrition Coordinator at BioZyme® Inc (www.biozymeinc.com). BioZyme offers a complete line of natural, highly available vitamin, mineral, trace mineral and protein supplements for a variety of animals including cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, horses and dogs. BioZyme brands include Amaferm®, Amasile®, VitaFerm®, Vita Charge®, Sure Champ®, Vitalize®, LiquiFerm®, Digest More™ and Peets Feed.

T

he main nutrient requirements for live

stock are water, energy, protein, minerals

and vitamins. In many cases, producers

do a good job of providing enough water

and adequate energy and protein sourc es. However, many producers fall short in providing the best nutritional program possible by purchasing “cheap” vitamin and mineral sources or failing to provide a vitamin and mineral source at all. Mineral nutrition for the cow is important year-round, but is particularly important during late gestation, calving and re-breeding.

Management of the maternal unit throughout gestation and lactation not only impacts her productivity, but the performance and efficiency of her calf as well.

Why do animals need a good mineral program?

All animals have a defined set of nutritional needs. When nutrients run out, that is where performance stops. Minerals are an important component of these nutritional needs, and there is a delicate balance that is needed for maximum biological efficiency to be realized. Selecting the correct mineral supplement is essential for maintaining healthy animals, optimal growth and improved reproduction efficiency.

Nutritionally speaking, animals require two types of minerals: macro and trace minerals.

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1. Macro minerals – required in concentrations greater than 100 ppm • Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Sodium and Chlorine 2. Trace minerals – required in concentrations less than 100 ppm • Cobalt, Copper, Iodine, Manganese, Selenium, Iron and Zinc

How do I select the appropriate mineral program?

There are several factors to take into consideration when selecting a mineral program that is appropriate for your operation: • • • • • • • •

Type of forages available and the season Grains and by-products fed Ca:P ratio Salt level Level of trace minerals Additives Bioavailability Performance goals of the operation

Are all minerals created equal?

Absolutely not. Minerals can come in organic and inorganic

forms. Organic minerals are more bioavailable than inorganic minerals. This means that the more bioavailable a mineral is, the lower concentration that is needed to meet the animal’s requirements.

• Fieser et al., 2006

How much does a good mineral program cost?

• Increased ADG of 0.16 (yr 1) and 0.26 (yr 2) lb. by steers given free-choice, non-medicated mineral compared to those with no supplement.

A mineral program could cost anywhere from $20-40 per head annually, but feed additives included in some mineral mixes (i.e. Rumensin, Bovatec, Amaferm, etc.) can add $15-20, annually.

• Stanton et al., 2000

Let’s say a good mineral program costs $30 per bag ($1,200 per ton). For some, that may seem expensive and some producers may be tempted to buy the cheapest mineral possible. Mathematically, however, purchasing the cheaper mineral program doesn’t always pay in the long run.

• Calves from cows on the high organic trace minerals saw higher ADG from birth to September.

• Documented an increase in performance of 0.27 lb. day over non-supplemented cattle.

• Horn et al., 2002

• Cows with high-level of inorganic trace minerals lost more weight than cows receiving organic trace minerals.

• Pregnancy rate to AI was higher when cows were fed high levels of organic trace minerals.

• At a 4-ounce per day intake, the mineral only costs $.15 per day.

• $1,200 per ton ÷ 2,000 pounds = $.60 per pound • $.60 per pound × .25 [4 ounces = .25 pounds] = $.15 per day • The cost per year would be $54.75.

• $.15 per day × 365 = $54.75 per year • Let’s say the cows nutritional needs are not being met because she is consuming a “cheap” mineral source, and doesn’t conceive on her first time com ing back in to heat.

• Assume the price of a 600-pound feeder calf is worth $1.50 per pound • If a calf weighs 80 pounds at birth, it needs to gain 2.5 pounds per day to reach 600 pounds at weaning (205 days of age) • Remember that most operations wean all calves in one day • If a calf is born just one cycle (21 days) later, a pro ducer is losing 53.3 pounds of weaning weight • 21 days × 2.5 pounds per day = 53.3 pounds • At $1.50 per pound, that is $79.95 per head you can miss out on or $25.20 MORE than the cost of a “good” mineral program for the entire year.

• $1.50 per pound × 53.3 pounds = $79.95 LOST The benefits of a good mineral program are research proven. There are numerous research articles available that support the case for providing cattle with a high quality, highly bioavailable mineral source. Some examples include:

What role does BioZyme’s proprietary prebiotic Amaferm® play in a good mineral program?

Amaferm is a natural feed additive used to improve the digestibility of feedstuffs and overall digestive health.

Through increased feedstuff digestibility, more energy and microbial cell proteins are available to the animal for increased gain/body condition and feed efficiency to be achieved (Beck, 2012; Zerby et al., 2011; Caton et al., 1993). A healthy digestive system allows an animal to better utilize nutrients consumed, which translates into improved animal performance. Seventy percent of an animal’s immunity lies within its digestive system. Therefore, an animal with a healthy digestive system is more likely to perform to their genetic potential.

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Dimmit County Producer Uses NRCS Technical and Financial Assistance for Total Ranch Makeover

T

he saying, “You’ve

coming a long way,

baby,” definitely applies

to the 6,500 acre Yett

Ranch in Dimmit Coun

ty, which has been

leased by Bill Martin’s family for more than 70 years. Through a working conservation partnership between the Martin family and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the ranch looks totally different than it did just a few short years ago. The range condition on the ranch is on a positive upswing, grass is growing where it has not in decades, and the livestock and wildlife populations are thriving. Martin believes that the reduction in stocking rate which is one animal unit per 108 acres, and implementing the single herd multi-pasture rotational grazing system has made the biggest difference in the improvement of the ranch by far.

Martin’s grandfather, Earl McClendon, began leasing the property for cattle production in 1945. He ran a Brahman cow-calf operation with just a single cross fence, which created two pastures of 1,500 and 5,000 acres. Water was provided by four windmills and a few shallow ponds that provided stock water in wet times.

McClendon stocked the ranch at about a cow to every 20-25 acres. Martin said his grandfather used that stocking rate because it was what everyone stocked at that time, and it seemed like back then, the land could support those numbers because there was less brush and more grazeable country.

“It was a different time back then, wildlife management or leasing for hunting was non-existent,” said Martin. “The goal as a livestock producer then was to try to maxi-

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mize how much beef could be produced on the ranch.”

Martin joined his grandfather in the ranching business in 1970 and in 1983, Martin took over as the sole operator and transitioned to all Charolais cattle. Martin begin to make improvements by installing a cross fence every now and then to get the pastures to a more manageable size. Up until about six years ago, the 6,500 acre ranch had four pastures and the same stocking rate was being used even though the land conditions had changed due to drought, overgrazing and brush growth.

Martin knew he was entering a new era, something that his grandfather would have never imagined with people paying for the right to hunt wildlife, such as white-tail deer, dove and quail. Martin began working in 2009, with Dusty Crowe, District Conservationist with the USDA-NRCS in Carrizo Springs.

“I knew as the years went on, that it was getting harder and harder to run a cow to 20-25 acres like my grandfather did,” said Martin. “Productivity was starting to decline, and brush was beginning to encroach more and more on an annual basis.

I knew it was time to make some changes and that is when I really started working out a plan with NRCS to improve the ranch for livestock and wildlife, in a compatible manner.”

Crowe visited with Martin, learning the history of the ranch, what Martin’s goals and objectives were for the property, as well as making field visits to collect resource inventory data. The resource inventory data included a forage and browse utilization inventories, identifying key grazing

areas, looking at existing water distribution, and mapping existing infrastructure, such as water wells, pipelines and fencing. This information was used to develop a comprehensive conservation plan for the property based on Martin’s goal of producing productive grazing lands, while improving the habitat for white-tail deer and bobwhite quail at the same time.

After Crowe spent several days conducting a forage inventory at the ranch, he found that the ranch was overstocked and grazing distribution was a big concern due the pasture size and lack of water. Crowe recommended conservation practices to Martin to improve the productivity, health and vigor of the plant community on the ranch such as cross fencing, a water well and solar pumping system, livestock pipeline brush management, heavy use area protection, prescribed grazing and upland wildlife habitat management. He told Martin that by making these improvements, it would also address many of the other concerns, such as sheet and rill erosion, inadequate feed and forage for livestock and inadequate wildlife habitat.

“Healthy and productive plant communities are always the cornerstone to productive grazing and wildlife lands,” said Crowe.

“Plant health is the foundation from which to build on.” After the inventory and initial planning process was completed, Crowe and Martin met to discuss findings of the ranch inventories and conservation alternatives for starting the healing process.

The reduced stocking rate of one cow or animal unit per 108 acres took into account brush cover, bare ground was a conservative stocking rate that benefits the land, the livestock and the wildlife. The pasture size and lack of water was a priority concern

too. A plan for cross-fencing the ranch, and installing new watering sources with pipeline and troughs, was devised to enhance grazing distributing and provide for longer rest periods.

extremely high,” said Crowe. “Over the last six years through proper management, we have been able to reduce the deer density from a deer per 12-14 acres to a deer to 25-28 acres.”

“Dusty took the time to explain the concept of grazeable acres versus total acres, how he obtained the numbers, and explained how it was not possible to maximize two rangeland products, in this case wildlife and cattle simultaneously, and it all made sense. I knew it was time for the land to rest, if it was to remain productive for the future,” Martin said.

By voluntarily using USDA-NRCS’ Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) and EQIP, Martin has transformed the ranch, with most of the work occurring during a historic drought period. His philosophy was to implement practices that would allow the land to respond much more quickly when rainfall returned to the landscape.

Crowe told Martin about the USDANRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), which he could apply for to qualify for financial assistance to install conservation practices that addressed the resource concerns on the ranch.

“He also explained that the program had a payment for prescribed grazing according to a NRCS approved grazing plan,” said Martin. “The prescribed grazing incentive offered through the EQIP program made the decision to dramatically reduce the stocking rate on the ranch much easier.

We were in the grips of a historic drought, and I knew it was time for the property to rest and heal. It is amazing what just a few inches of rain will do when demand on the land is reduced.”

Crowe and Martin continue to tweak and hone the ranch’s conservation plan. It now includes working with the head deer hunting lessee, to manage the white-tail deer herd, which has made a dramatic difference in the health and productivity of the deer herd and the habitat. Every year, Crowe obtains deer population data, recommends a harvest that is sent to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist, who concurs with the recommendation and issues the Managed Lands Deer Permits for the property.

Prior to the start of hunting season, Martin invites Crowe to have a meeting with all of the hunters on the ranch to discuss the harvest strategy for the year and improvements made from the previous year. This gives the hunters an appreciation and respect for what is being done to improve the property and the herd. “When I began working with the deer herd on the Yett about six years ago, the deer density was

“Many people get stuck in a rut and fight change to the bitter end, Mr. Martin is not

servation practices on the ranch to solve different resource concerns, including approximately 41,000 feet of cross fencing, 6,700 feet of pipeline, 571 acres of aerially applied chemical brush management, (3) 2x30 concrete and steel water troughs, a water well and solar pumping plant, Heavy Use Area Treatment, Prescribed Grazing and Upland Wildlife Habitat Management.

“The quality of the assistance that I have received through the Carrizo Springs NRCS office has made a huge difference in getting practices planned and accomplished in a manner that is compatible with my goals of producing healthy grazing lands and wildlife habitat,” said Martin.

A solar panel , water well and tank help provide a managed water system for the cattle on rotational grazing on the ranch.

Cattle are rotated between pastures to allow for rest and growth for the forage.

Before/after photos at Bill Martin’s ranch show the decrease in brush species to open the area up for quail and cattle.

Martin’s ranch has excellent blue quail habitat and this spot was 100% bare ground before the reduced stocking rate and rotational grazing system was put in place.

one of those people,” said Crowe. “He is a forward thinker, a true steward of the land and one of our agencies biggest supporters. I am very proud of what we have accomplished through working together.”

The 6,500 acre ranch has gone from two pastures in 1945 to having 12 pastures today and there are plans to create more pastures. A short duration single herd rotational grazing system is utilized where each pasture is grazed for approximately a month, which in turn provides almost a full year of rest to each pasture every year.

This grazing system has improved the quality and structure of the wildlife habitat tremendously, especially for bobwhite quail. Martin has installed several con-

“I don’t know if I would have been able to implement half of the practices that I have been able to without the help through the EQIP program. In my opinion, EQIP is probably the best program the U.S. Department of Agriculture ever started, and I will continue to use of the program since we still have some things to get completed at the ranch.”

Martin knows that the land has been in constant production since European settlement, and that everything in life needs a rest. So he continues his conservation efforts, so that one day when his son takes over the ranching operation he will continue in his father’s conservation footsteps.

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It’s time for the South Texas Cattlemen’s RoundUp in the Rio Grande Valley.

Sponsored by Lyssy & Eckel Feeds, the annual South Texas Cattlemen’s RoundUps are auctions held at local cattle auction barns throughout Driscoll’s service area.

Local 4-H clubs, Future Farmers of America chapters, county extension agents and businesses participate by donating goods and services to auction off to benefit the hospital. There will be items such as homemade baked goods, agricultural products, arts and crafts and a many other items.

The following South Texas Cattlemen’s RoundUp 2016 events are scheduled throughout South Texas:

Alice 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 28 Gulf Coast Livestock Auction Beeville Noon Friday, June 24 Beeville Livestock Auction Cuero 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5 Cuero VFW Hall Edinburg 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13 Edinburg Livestock Auction 3418 N. Closner Hallettsville Noon Tuesday, June 21 Hallettsville Livestock Commission Rio Grande City 11 a.m. Friday, July 22 R.Y. Livestock Sales, Inc. 12 Livestock Road Three Rivers Noon Monday, June 13 Live Oak Livestock Auction 100% of the money raised will remain in South Texas and will impact the lives of every child and family who are seen at Driscoll Children’s Hospital.

For more information, please call the Driscoll Development office at 956-579-9518 or log on to www.driscollchildrens.org/event/cattlemensroundup<http://www.driscollchildrens.org/event/cattlemens-roundup>.

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956-207-9004

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Rio Farms, Inc. Hosts Field Day

By Dina Vera and Karen Gonzalez

Monte Alto, TX – Rio Farms, Inc. and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension hosted a field day for the public featuring market trends, research, and industry updates for grain, corn, sesame, and soybeans. Andy Scott, Director of Research and Matt Klostermann, General Manager, at Rio Farms, Inc. welcomed farmers from across South Texas to the event for guidance on growing these crops.

Under the direction of Brad Cowen, Hidalgo County AgriLife Extension Agent, attendees scouted the research fields and got a close look at the sorghum crops. Dr. Ronnie Schnell, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist with Texas A&M discussed the varieties of sorghum hybrids and how to manage them. Farmers gathered around the speaker for question and answers about the potential crop for successful growth and profit.

Dr. Grover Shannon, a professor and researcher in plant science with the University of Missouri brought several soybean varieties for demonstration. “The Rio Grande Valley has a great market potential for soybean production,” said Dr. Shannon.

Mexico is highly dependent on the United States for soybeans; so why not purchase soybeans from South Texas? In the Rio Grande Valley, soybeans can be harvested later into the year and there is a relatively short distance for transport into Mexico.

Danielle Ortiz, IPM AgriLife Extension Agent, acknowledged that is is a busy time for sorghum farmers in South Texas. Ortiz informed the group of common problems local farmers are encountering with their crops. She offered solutions such as spraying the crop to help boost growth and to eliminate common pests. Ortiz equipped farmers with suggestions and resources to guard their crops as they prepare to harvest in June.

Information on sesame was provided by Brannon Lyssy with Sesaco. Lyssy hopes to double the sesame acreage in the Rio Grande Valley in the near future. He mentioned current research is resulting in additional sesame varieties for South Texas as well as different herbicides available to farmers.

According to Dr. Mark Welch, Extension Economist with Texas A&M, seventy percent of the time, corn prices decline after the month of July. He illustrated some projected statistics farmers should use to make planning and marketing decisions. “Three good global crop years, in the world, in a row,” said Dr. Welch, “have set the stage for the next few years.” As per the Texas Corn Producers website (2016), Texas corn growers planted more than 2 million acres in 2014, yielding an average of 148 bushels per acre. Overall, Texas produced 295 million bushels of corn in 2014. USDA is projecting another highly productive crop for the year 2016.

For more information about the event, contact Rio Farms, Inc. at 956-262-1387.

66 Ag Mag

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