Issue 24 of the Ag Mag by THEAGMAG

Staff

Michelle Martin

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

Al Benavides

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A Letter from the Editor What scares you? Being scared is a normal human trait. I believe we all have been scared one time or another. Fear begins at birth. A baby cries out of fear, a toddle hides under the blankets, scared of the monsters under the bed and a high school may tremble at that thought of not being accepted. Fear is something that follows us all of our lives. Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. How many of us have feared or felt threatened one time or another in the pas month? Week? Day? It is so easy to become consumed with fear in today’s world. With all the unpleasant events floods, hurricanes, school shootings, the economic fears of rising prices... the list goes no. In a perfect world our lives would not be problematic, but we wouldn’t have a need for God. I know that I have written on fear before, but for some reason I have felt the need to elaborate. How many of you reading this have had a goal or a picture for your life, but haven’t taken the step to make it happen? For example, how many of you have wanted to start your own business but haven’t because you have thought to yourself, “what if it doesn’t work?” Or how many of you have wanted to take that next step in your relationship but don’t because again you think, “what if it doesn’t work?” Or maybe you haven’t applied for that job you want, gone back to school to get that degree, try for children... again, the list is really endless and different for every person. There are so many things we prevent ourselves from doing because we are scared. How can we grow into who God wants us to be if we are held by fear.

How to do we fix this?

Pray. Ask God if this is part of His plan, then take action. How will you ever know if something works if you don’t give it a try? What is the worst thing that happens? If it doesn’t work then it doesn’t work. There are plenty of things we do daily that don’t work, and when they don’t we simply move on. Fear is the product of our thoughts we create. Danger is very real, but fear is a choice. That’s right! FEAR IS A CHOICE. Will you choose to break free of the chains of trepidation or will you surrender to them and be tied down? Most people are paralyzed by fear. Had I let fear tie me down I would not have this magazine. I have had several people tell me how they enjoy the letter from the editor and to keep writing. I have feared to continue writing or doing my own page in the magazine. Why? I’ve been scared to be real with people about my past, but I have nothing to lose. I am who I am and I believe God uses our circumstances and tragic events in our life for His good. So thank you to those who have inspired me to overcome my fear. Check out page 34 to read my first full-length letter from the article.

Owner/Creator of AG MAG

Graphic Design (956) 492-6407

In This Issue: pg 6. Forever Evergreen pg.10 Developing Microcontroller Based Environmental Monitors pg.12 The 35th Annual South Texas Cattlemen’s Roundup pg.16 More than Just a Farmer pg.18 TDA’s Hay Hotline pg.20 Trade Politics Creating Greater Uncertainty pg.22 Is your Cotton Fertility Management Costing You pg.26 In Memoriam of Dr. Erik Mirkov pg.28 Pest of Cotton and Grain Sorghum in the LRGV pg.30 Bring on the Ag Research Pretty Please pg.34 Michelle’s words pg.38 Andrea Hance pg.42 Rio Grande Basin pg.46 Is your Animal Stressed pg.50 Algodon Ball pg.52 Permanent Imprint pg.54 TDHA offers Dove Hunters a Win Win Research Role pg.55 Beto Anzaldua is doing a balancing Act pg.56 Recollections of Ranch Life pg.58 Ensuring Future Generations through Conservation pg.60 Farm Her—Season of Hot pg.65 Are you a Veteran interested in Farming pg.68 Summer of 2018 Busy time for Ag pg.72 Down in the Weeds with Drones pg.76 Drip Drip Drip Cover Photo by: Abbie Respondek Volume 4, Issue 6. July/August 2018. 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 ©2018. To advertise in Ag Mag, call (956) 330-8870 or email michelle@theagmag.org

J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

FOREVER

n e e r g r Eve 6

Ag Mag THEAGMAG.ORG

ndres Zuniga is a third generation cus tom broker that specializes in produce from the interior of Mexico. A result of the custom brokerage business is his cold storage business. Mr. Zuniga expanded on his experience in the industry and pioneered one of the first cold storage facilities in Pharr, Texas. Mr. Zuniga’s brokerage company brokers produce from Central Mexico. Once it reaches the border Mr. Zuniga’s companies strive to preserve the “cold chain”. Produce arrives in Pharr, Texas on a refrigerated trailer, and then stored for up to 48 hours at the cold storage facilities. Upon visiting the operation, RM observed the storage of avocados, tomatoes, mangos and bell peppers. Mr. Zuniga pays close attention to detail and is very meticulous about his facilities. RM witnessed a very orderly, clean and structured operation run by skilled employees. The brokerage and cold storage businesses contribute to the majority of his income, however his true passion is in real estate. With his skill in real estate and real estate development he developed competition. When he started he was the one of the few cold storage facilities in Pharr, Texas. Currently there are several cold storage companies. Some house their own produce while others are in and outs. While touring his operation RM noticed several cold storage warehouses looked similar to his own. Mr. Zuniga added that he not only sold them the property, but was involved in developing the plans and construction. Today, Evergreen is comprised of three facilities all within two square miles of each other and total 61,000 sq. ft. of cold storage space. Currently he is operating with 3000 pallet positions, but the new facility will hold 6000. Although the actual cold storage space isn’t doubling, he is able to increase usable space by going higher and deeper. The buildings he occupies were retrofitted into cold storage facilities, thus pallet space wasn’t maximized. Currently rooms for USDA, Primus, dispatch and supervisors as well as parking and maintenance spaces for forklifts are within the actual cold storage space. New revenue streams will also be available such as rerun/repack rooms, freezer rooms, ripening rooms and dry storage. Additionally he will build enough office space to house brokers and truckers which could generate additional income. RM asked how his plans to construct the new facility would affect him or his competition. He said it would not negatively affect his competition due to the new trade highway currently in Mexico.

south, and San Antonio to the north, and U.S. Expressway 83 which runs east/west and leads directly toward Laredo to the west and Brownsville to the east. A Valley bus line provides ample public transportation locally. The area is served by the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads, which connect Corpus Christi and San Antonio with the Mexican rail system through Matamoros, Mexico. Pharr is only five minutes from Miller International Airport in McAllen, (adjacent to Pharr), which handles air travel to Corpus Christi, Houston and San Antonio as well as international flights to the interior of Mexico. The only port of entry into Mexico within the Pharr city limits is the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, connecting U.S. Highway 281 to the City of Reynosa. Constructed in 1994, the Pharr International Bridge is one of the most technologically advanced border crossings in the United States. GAMA Rays and Fast & Secure Trade program, known as FAST are implemented by both the U.S. and Mexican Customs, which allows an expedited inspection of documents and cargo, and limits crossing time on the U.S.-Mexican border. As a result, the Pharr Bridge is quickly becoming a primary industrial port. As the bridge continues to draw more and more attention, development of industrial parks located in the southern sector of Pharr, and the surrounding areas is expected to continue to increase. Further fueling this development is the recent completion of Mexican Federal Highway 40, a super highway that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico. The $1.5 billion dollar project starts in Mazatlán on the Pacific coast and makes its’ way northeasterly through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental mountain ranges to a point near Reynosa before turning eastward and terminating at the Gulf of Mexico near the Port of Brownsville. Mazatlán, Mexico is at the center of Mexico’s Sinaloa agriculture region known as the “breadbasket” of Mexico. It is estimated that freight haulers can drive the entire length of the highway in under 12 hours, which is approximately half the time it would take to drive the previous route entering the United States through Arizona. It is estimated the savings in dollars afforded by the completion of Mexican Federal Highway 40 is $1,500.00 per single truckload. This puts Pharr and Reynosa at the forefront of substantial increases in produce shipping to the United States via the Pharr International Bridge.

Pharr is located at the intersection of the two main highways into and through the Valley, U.S. Highway 281 which runs north/south and leads directly into Mexico to the

J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

Developing Microcontroller Based Environmental Monitors BY JORGE SOLORZANO AND DR. CATHERINE SIMPSON

Technology is changing the way we see and use information in every field, including agriculture. Adapting technology to agricultural situations and farming has become easier and more prevalent in the last 10-15 years with the influx of GPS, precision agriculture, environmental monitors, and drones to optimize production. However, while this technology is useful, it is often cost-prohibitive which makes it more difficult to increase the rate of adoption. For example, environmental sensors can range from several hundreds of dollars to several thousand depending on the measurements being collected. To address this issue the Simpson Physiology and Sustainability Lab at Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center has been developing microcontroller based environmental monitors to collect environmental data in citrus at a fraction of the expense. Microcontrollers can be developed from open-source hardware and software platforms which can be customized depending on user needs and expanded to many applications or projects. Essentially, a microcontroller board is like the brain of a computer that can be fed instructions to collect data or control processes like turning on and off an irrigation solenoid valve. This data can be recorded, stored, and collected when convenient, allowing for prolonged data collection in the field. This system is extremely flexible, and several companies offer a range of software tools, hardware platforms and documentation enabling almost anybody to be creative with electronics and technology. They can be programmed using open-source code that can be adapted or developed based on user requirements. The open-source platforms and software are widely available and many of them are user friendly. Our overall goal was to develop microcontrollers to monitor environmental conditions, particularly in areas of tree canopy where microclimates can develop. To do this we adapted boards with an ATmega328P microcon-

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FIGURE 1. Microcontroller board produced by Arduino LLC. https://store-cdn.arduino.cc

troller (Arduino UNO, Arduino LLC.). These boards are commonly used to control motors, servos, relays, LEDs, speakers, sensors, GPS units and more. We decided to use these boards to develop our own environmental sensors because of the availability, open-source network and code accessibility. We wanted to record environmental conditions in citrus trees such as UV light, temperature and luminosity in field conditions over an extended period of time. We also added an SD card board and programed the microcontroller in such a way that we can store all the information on the SD card. The following components compose the primary unit of the environmental monitor:

Components: • Microcontroller (Arduino UNO, Arduino LLC.) • SD Card Board • UV light Sensor (240-370 nm) • Light Sensor (188 uLux – 88,000 Lux) • Thermocouple Sensor • Solar Panel • Battery

FIGURE 2. Assembly and components of the environmental monitor.

Assembly:

Because the sensors must tolerate field conditions for an extended period of time we attached a solar panel and a lithium polymer battery to power and store solar energy and also eliminated the need for periodic battery replacement. The thermocouple, UV sensor, and light sensor were connected to the microcontroller board and programmed to measure and collect the data every 30 min. To protect the electronics from the weather we installed them into a water proof enclosure. This environmental monitoring system has allowed us to collect useful data

on the microclimate within the citrus tree canopy and surrounding citrus fruit. This data will help us determine many factors that could be exacerbating physiological diseases, insect proliferation, or the spread of disease. This information can help growers determine the temperature thresholds at which they need to spray kaolins to prevent sunburn on citrus or optimal times to spray miticides or oils in order to avoid scalding fruit or leaves. These environmental monitors are currently being field tested and data is being analyzed to optimize their use. The cost to produce each unit is less than $300, which is reasonable compared to many other sensors available that do not collect or log data over extended periods of time in field conditions. In summary, these environmental monitors offer an affordable option for research and applied agricultural systems. While the development and troubleshooting take time and dedication, they can yield great promise for the future.

FIGURE 3. Field installation of the environmental monitor

J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

th Annual 5 3 South Texas Cattlemen’s RoundUp THE

will be held at the Edinburg Livestock Auction on Saturday, August 11, at 10 a.m. Members from the Hidalgo County 4-H Club and FFA Club and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are participating to raise funds for Driscoll Children’s Hospital.

Sponsored by Lyssy & Eckel Feeds, the Cattlemen’s RoundUps are grass-roots fundraisers held throughout Driscoll’s 31 county 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 for the hospital. Visitors will have their pick of homemade baked goods, handmade items, farm and ranch items, and more. This year’s proceeds will go toward the purchase of Angel Eye Cameras that help parents bond and allow them to always see their babies in the NICU when they’re not able to be there in person, as well as continuing to support of our transport program which helps transport patients from the Rio Grande Valley to the main hospital in Corpus Christi.

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J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

MORE THAN JUST INSURANCE! H We award $500 scholarships a year to

H Texas Farm Bureau has a mobile

H We donate to local fire departments. H Your Farm Bureau membership provides a

7 graduating seniors that are Cameron County Farm Bureau members.

We donated $7,500 to the Cameron County Fair & Livestock Show to build a new barn.

learning barn.

Anyone can become a member and take advantage of all these services for only

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Farm Bureau promotes today’s farmers and ranchers!

Support us today!

lot of services to youth and community

Why you should join your Cameron County Farm Bureau Membership Discounts: ADT Home Monitoring System Hotel Discounts Grainger Industrial Supply Discounts KD Loaders Amusement Park Tickets Insurance Services Defensive Driving Course Discounts on Polaris, ATV and UTV $500 Discount on new 2016,2017,2018 Ford Vehicles Case IH Discounts

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Meeting your needs as they grow ww w.texa s f ar m bur eau. c o m

Ag Mag Featured Farmer

More than just a

Farmer

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As soon as Orlando Cadena was old enough to carry a five-gallon bucket he was put to work on the farm, feeding the calves. “First you grew up with the cows and as you got older and could be more responsible, you would jump to the tractors,” he said. That was a normal way of life when Cadena, now 44, was young. He and his family lived in a house on a farm and were farmhands. But it was more than just farmhands – Cadena remembers everyone being all like family on the farm. Maybe that’s one reason that after Cadena put in his time and came back home following four years in the U.S. Army, that he ended up being a farmer. Of course, another reason – maybe the greatest reason - was all the years watching his dad, “the hardest working man ever,” spend so many years as a farmhand. “I didn’t know what God had in store for me and when I returned I became a fire fighter,” said Cadena, who grew up in Palito Blanco, Texas. “My dad had a little tractor and I started helping him. Eventually I took over the operation.” Now, years later, Cadena has a successful growing farm – with several acres of cotton where he does dryland farming. Other than cotton he grows grain, some corn and wheat. “That was never the plan,” Cadena said regarding ended up as a farmer. “I thought when I got back from the Army that I would end up in the oilfields – that’s pretty much where everyone ends up from Alice. But I ended up as a firefighter.” Cadena grew up on a dairy farm and vividly remembers his dad always being a farmhand for others. He also recalls that his dad didn’t “mess around – he would go to work and put all his efforts into what he was doing. “He would go to work and work hard; whatever he did he would put his best effort into it and do the best he could at anything he did,” Cadena said. “He’s the reason I got into farming – him struggling and me knowing that I could help him. He’s the reason I’m doing it now.” “He was my role model of course – he was the hardest working man I’ve ever known, just an awesome guy. I start ed helping him and now, 20 years later, I became what ever this is.” Cadena said that his four year in the Army, where he served in Korea, made him grow up quickly. He had mis sions nearly nightly and when his four years were up he started a family. Today he has three daughters – 20, 19 and 8 years old. One is in culinary school in San Anto nio, another is starting nurs ing school. Cadena is 44 years old, works non-stop on the farm but also puts time aside to plan for the future, which includes buying as much

time aside to plan for the future, which includes buying as much land as he can before he plans to retire at age 60, “or 65,” he said. “It has been successful, but it was a tough decision to come to farming,” he said. “It has been successful and I feel as long as I’m working hard and dedicated, there will be positive outcomes.” “When the bank tells me to go, I’m going to go,” he added in regards to buying up more land. “When I’m 60 or 65, I plan to just walk away. Maybe I’ll sell or lease some of the land, but the girls will be able to do what they want with some of it too.” Cadena says that there are so many changes in the farming industry in the past 20 years – from technology to chemical uses to costs. “It’s easier to produce a crop but a lot more expensive,” he said. That’s the problem. The tractors I first used were probably worth $20,000 but now we’re talking $300,000. There are new chemicals every year because those insects evolve too and to top it off, we’re getting paid the same for our crops. It’s a tough business. “There’s going to be good times and tough times, trying times, in this business. You just have to keep your head up and keep moving forward.”

J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

TDA’s Hay Hotline

Connecting Buyers and Sellers

BY PATRICK DUDLEY

he Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) HayHotline was launched in 2008, so to celebrate its ten year anni versary the online tool received a makeover! TDA’s HayHotline helps agricultural producers locate forage and hay supplies, and was created to serve two purposes: first, to assist in disaster relief efforts when access to fodder is critical; and second, to create a dedicated marketplace for buyers and sellers. Over time, the HayHotline has expanded to include hay transportation and provide a sales platform for producers wanting to lease pasture land.

resources. Under Disaster Alerts users can gain more information on disaster resources, the TDA STAR Fund, and USDA Disaster Assistance programs. Under “Additional Linksn,” users will find a more streamlined list of options, including new sites for Hay and Forage Testing; Range and Wildlife Management; a stocking rate tool; and others. In addition, buyers and sellers will now be alerted of any special precautions or processes that are in effect. This new addition focuses on the current Fire Ant Quarantine in parts of Texas, and will alert users to shipping requirements when hay is moving into or out of an area impacted by the quarantine.

Initially launched during Hurricane Ike, the website served as the central contact point for forage, hay donations, and distributions to livestock supply points in the state of Texas. Since that time, the HayHotline has been a resource for finding hay during droughts, floods, wildfires, Winter Storm Goliath, and, most recently, the recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey. When disaster strikes, the HayHotline becomes a critical hub for relief efforts occurring between TDA, Texas Animal Health Commission, and Texas AgriLife Extension. Whether the HayHotline is being used as an emergency management tool, or to facilitate sales between producers, it is an important resource for the Texas agriculture community. As the number of HayHotline users grow, it is important the website itself continues to be updated to be effective and easy-to-use for producers whose agricultural interests benefit from this exchange. Updates to the HayHotline have been completed and are live on the site today. The first round of changes focused on ensuring links and resources on the website were current and providing relevant information.

The new look also includes a map of Texas pinpointing search results, making it easier to quickly identify locations for both those in the industry and emergency responders. Updates to the Disaster Alerts section will lead to real-time alerts providing details on where an emergency is happening, the resources needed, the local supply points, and contact information. This update is intended to make donating and receiving supplies as streamlined as possible to ensure timely support to Texas agriculture when a crisis hits. Users of the HayHotline are encouraged to visit the new site to update and restore their accounts. New buyers and sellers are encouraged to register as well. The TDA HayHotline is free to use and can assist in your selling and purchasing needs. All interested can register by going to:

http://www.texasagriculture.gov/Home/ ProductionAgriculture/HayHotline. Please spread the word to everyone in Texas, the HayHotline is open for business!

Registration has been made easier and more user friendly. Two new sections have also been added to the site: “Weather” and “Disaster Alerts.” The Weather section provides helpful links to the U.S. Drought Monitor, The National Hurricane Center, and other drought assistance

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Trade Politics Creating Greater Uncertainty for Texas Grain Traders

BY JOHN MILLER

hen thinking of political impacts on agricul ture, one most often thinks of changes to domestic programs like the farm bill, or crop insurance rule changes, or maybe the etha nol mandate. Over the past few months, however, we have been sharply reminded of the potential impacts from changes in trade policy whether initiated by foreign countries, or our own government. For sure we have become very familiar over the last decade or so with uncertainties associated with changes in grading, gene trait approval, or phytosanitary rules that can interrupt normal trade flows and affect prices. And while highly perishable crops such as fruits or vegetables often have to almost silently deal with abrupt changes in tariffs or quotas, it is not that often that bulk commodities fall into that discussion. Given the degree to which our bulk commodities such as corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, rice and cotton depend on a vibrant export business to help work off excess production, the recent back-and-forth with China over potential tariffs and Mexico over changes to NAFTA have created a considerable amount of worry among the export trading community here in the Rio Grande Valley and all across the grain belt. The recent publicity from China’s on then off tariff on US sorghum provides us with a great illustration of how quickly trade policy change (or the threat of…) can interrupt the mostly quite business of trading and moving bulk ag commodities. Prior to the fall of 2013, for example, the Chinese purchased virtually no sorghum from the US, preferring to source their needs from Australia or elsewhere. The start of a 13 percent Chinese import tax on corn in late 2013 helped prompt Chinese buyers to start sourcing sorghum out of Texas Gulf ports. As the US Exports of Sorghum, 2013-2016 chart below shows, China quickly become the dominant destination for US sorghum, accounting for upwards of 90 percent of exported sorghum by 2014, pushing aside longtime sorghum customers such as Mexico. The US sorghum sales to China remained strong through the end of calendar 2017 as users in China grew more accustomed to our supply capabilities and quality. While sorghum basis bids at the Gulf did decline while closely following a reduction in China’s corn support prices in mid-2015, the Chinese did continue to out bid other potential customers, dominating the sorghum export trade until just recently. As the Weekly Sorghum Exports to China chart below shows, sales of the 2017/2018 sorghum crop closely followed the prior year until when, in late February, our government suggested that tariffs on certain Chinese goods might be necessary to correct trade imbalances.

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U.S. Exports of Sorghum, 2013-2016

Weekly Sorghum Exports To China (USDA-FAS)

All it took for a melt-down of sorghum sales to China was the Chinese response of a ‘possible’ tariff of 25 percent on a wide array of US agricultural commodities. When that announcement was made, all bids were pulled at the Texas Gulf, and existing sales, even those in transport were felt to be in jeopardy of getting unloaded. After the Friday afternoon news release, and by Monday morning 8am, new crop sorghum bids at Corpus Christi fell from 40 cents per bushel over December corn futures to only 5 cents over, and shippers were hoping not to buy any at that level. This represented an instant 63 cent per hundredweight drop in prices. The next order of business was about what to do with sorghum either intended or already destined for China. To simply curtail any risk, some Kansas sorghum ended up being used in ethanal there rather than being railed to the Gulf. For grain in-store at the Gulf, handlers began operating around

the clock to get ships loaded, hoping to make it to China before the proposed tariffs became enacted. The initial news release from China made it seem like the results of a ‘dumping’ investigation and potential tariffs as a result would be up to a year process. Among the export brokers that I routinely visit with, it was clear that they understood the uncertainty of the situation and that the China could impose the tariffs at any time. And perhaps because of the market uncertainties we all experienced in the 2007-2013 timeframe, exporters have become much more conservative and seem to have a much lower tolerance for risk in cash transactions, especially of the quantities and distances involved. Little did we know how prescient those concerns were, and how soon their fears justified. Our exporters did an incredible job moving most of the 100 million bushels or so of contracted sorghum left to be shipped to China from the time of the original suggestion of tariffs in early February until late April when this issue took a sharper turn.

Modes of Transportation for U.S. Sorghum Exports to Mexico, 2011 vs. 2016

On Tuesday April 17th, China announced that the sorghum ‘dumping’ investigation was complete and that a 179 percent tariff on sorghum would start the next day. And it did. I was told that up to two dozen, or more, vessels were still afloat and subject to the sizable tariff if unloaded. Fortunately, new homes were found for these boats in mostly Spain and Mexico. And a considerable amount of the remaining old crop sorghum still in the US was offered at attractive prices and moved by rail to Mexico. It was interesting how after years of sorghum being sold at Gulf ports or ‘mid-bridge’ at a considerable premium to corn that buyers were so quick to want to buy sorghum at the perceived 90 percent ‘milling efficiency’ equivalent to corn. Major buyers of US Sorghum prior to China’s entry into that market in late 2013 immediately started reaching out to export brokers but were not willing to discuss buying sorghum at a premium to corn. After a few days of pulled bids, new crop sorghum quotes at the Gulf dropped from 5 cents over December corn futures to 40 cents under, a depth rarely seen there. This represented an additional 80 per hundredweight drop in prices to the farmer. As you can see from the Weekly Sorghum Export chart below, Mexico has been a low volume purchaser since 2013, buying intermittently to supplement their own crop and basically picking off border truck markets and the occasional rail purchase in an almost speculative way. You can see from the current crop year line that Mexico purchases fell to almost zero for the months since China again helped to run delivered basis at the Gulf to over +100 CH18. Of course, there are several things going on here. Over the past decade, Mexico has heavily subsidized additional grain production to try and reduce their dependence on imports. In addition, the growing feeding industry there has basically become a domestic market for Midwest rail shipments of corn. Under the terms of NAFTA, Mexico’s targeted import quota (or coupos) came to and end at about the same time that unit train rail began to service the rapidly expanding hog and poultry feeding building in the Central Highlands. China’s entrance into the US sorghum market simply helped to speed up the conversion of large feed mills from sorghum to some combination with corn. As you can see from the Modes of Transportation chart, this ‘switch’ basically ended any vessel shipment of sorghum to Mexico since trucks supplemented by rail could handle this demand. It is common for sorghum produced in Texas to make the 15-hour drive from border crossing to feed mills near Guadalajara. It is interesting to think that China’s decision to tax incoming corn would change the entire complexion of sorghum trading and transportation.

Weekly Sorghum Exports To Mexico (USDA-FAS)

Fortunately, China completely removed the 179 percent tariff back on May 18th. The export brokers seemed to have whiplash from all that had happened since later February. There was minor consolation in the fa1ct that any tariff that was paid to China was reimbursed; but that did not help recover the costs from rail and vessels full of sorghum that had to be resold into secondary markets. The final chart shows sorghum basis at the Port of Corpus Christi from the Spring of 2013 to present and clearly illustrates the price impacts from both Chinese and US political decisions. The imposition of Chinese import taxes on corn can be seen in the fall of 2013. The sharp reduction in Chinese internal corn support prices in early September of 2015, and continued erosion of that support, illustrates how trading sorghum basis as the port can be an adventure. And then of course the recent on and then off Chinese tariff on sorghum framing the right side of the chart. The decision by China to remove the tariff led to a quick reversal of sorghum basis at the Gulf from 40 under December corn futures back to 40 cents over, adding up to real dollars!

Weekly Sorghum Basis – Texas Gulf

While the US agricultural marketplace is no stranger to unexpected turns on the political front, the current uncertainties created by a greater emphasis on trade imbalances, especially with China, has changed farmer conversations about managing price risks. There are many other implications of a trade war that could be investigated. For example, the threat of tariffs on sorghum affected cropping decisions by Texas farmers given the uncertainty about prices. Managing basis risk, which often provides the profit margin, was now in extreme jeopardy. The unknown duration of pending tariffs and its impacts prompted a change in thinking on which crops to store versus which ones to move at harvest. The most recent news at our disposal suggests that the hard part of the trade negotiations with China, and possibly Mexico, may not be over. We could write another paper on the potential implications of a prolonged negotiation period to renew NAFTA, the key format for trade between the US and its neighbors. After the experience of the last few months, it is hoped that we can carry this experience to other commodities that may ultimately get pulled into this sort of situation. While we can’t quite imagine another tariff of the magnitude of 179 percent, remember that it was the threat of only 25 percent back in February that got the trade retaliation boulder rolling. J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

Is Your Cotton Fertility Management Costing You Production? It’s All About Timing and Plant Stress!

BY NOEL GARCIA, CCA Technical Director and Senior Consultant, TPS Lab TPSLab.com

Cotton in full bloom

e are in full-swing with our cotton in the Rio Grande Valley with relentless triple-digit heat and hardly any rain to help our crops. Plants are indicating severe abiotic stress as I walk through the rows and notice heavy drops of squares. Cotton Fleahopper and White Flies haven’t been major issues contributing to the drops, but nutrient management is.

wasted, along with your money.

And things get worse. This early excess nitrogen leads to an overly-vegetative stage leading to match head square, replacing a smooth transition to reproductive stage which should be taking place earlier than later. Instead, we either have plants that are over waist-high with much less fruit than is possible, or we’ve controlled the growth with large amounts of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs), such as PIX, but still with a light fruit load.

In fact, accommodating ever-changing plant nutrient demands throughout the growing season is especially important for dryland cotton. Healthy plants utilize and retain water more efficiently, thereby requiring (much) less water and are therefore much better able to survive periods of drought, heat and other stresses. Additionally, healthy plants are much better able to resist disease and insect pressures.

So, so far, we’ve spent money on unneeded and in fact, detrimental early nitrogen and yet still more money spent on PGRs that shouldn’t have been needed in the first place – and as we’ll see, you’ll also lose money later. In effect, “traditional” management is like flooring the accelerator in your truck and then slamming on the brakes at the stop light a block away. And there’s more:

The approximate nutrient requirement to produce two bales of lint per acre is 134 lbs/ac Nitrogen, 61 lbs/ac Phosphate and 120 lbs/ac Potash. Within the first 30 days after emergence to roughly pinhead square, the plant will utilize less than 15% of the season’s total nitrogen, 10% of phosphate and 25% of potash.

The necessary high rates of PGRs needed to initially control the unwanted high vegetative growth lead to nutrient uptake problems that impedes the plant’s genetic potential from being attained, beginning in the early stages of crop development. While high rates of PGRs do control plant growth, they do so at the cost of limiting balanced nutrient uptake.

Yet, “traditional” nutrient management says to apply most of the season’s nitrogen early-on, when it is least needed by the crop, even though it will be largely dissipated by the time the crop needs it the most. Much of this nitrogen is therefore ultimately

Plant analyses very typically indicate lack of root activity and development as a result of low phosphate uptake after applications. Together with inadequate potash, this results in low carbohydrate production.

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Plant stress from lack of carbohydrates reduces potential from 5-lock to 4-lock bolls (32 days before bloom). Additionally, if this chronic stress continues at pin-head square (23 days before bloom), potential seed numbers will decrease. But there’s more to cotton plant nutrition besides just N-P-K. Micronutrients and trace elements also play vital rôles in the formation of carbohydrates and overall plant health. Maintaining needed levels of all of these essential nutrients are necessary for achieving best crop potential with minimal disease and insect problems. Current cotton varieties have a potential to yield over FIVE bales, yet our “traditional” nutrient management is preventing us from realizing yields and weights that even approach that number.

What to do: Manage vegetative growth with water management, balanced nutrition - especially nitrogen with (much) lower rates of PGRs plus phosphate, potash and micronutrients. Remember that the composition of “balanced” varies greatly throughout the season. The best tool to manage nitrogen applications is by “asking the plant” - using petiole analyses that monitor the uptake of not only nitrogen but all the other needed nutrients. Petiole analysis “tells” us about “hidden hunger” up to 21 days in advance of when we start seeing visual deficiencies in the field that affect crop production for the season. It is very important that plant analysis starts early when the plant has four to five true leaves. Submit the entire plant to the lab.

development. Phosphorous buildup in the plant sap is a good sign that nitrogen is rapidly being used in developing fruit. If phosphorous and nitrogen both drop, we don’t recommend more nitrogen - but more water. Additionally, good moisture levels are important for getting the most out of petiole analyses. Cotton fertility for best economic performance is not a onesize-fits-all program - as opposed to “traditional management” approaches, which specify the dates that specific nutrients are to be applied before the season even starts. With all of the often frequently-changing variables (weather, growing conditions, etc.) encountered with growing any crop, how would you know far in advance what, when and how much of anything the plants will actually need? Plant analysis allows us to determine dynamically what nutrients should be applied and when. Timing is as critical as the application itself or even be more important. Whether it’s insecticides, fertilizer or water, timing is always critical. Your crop’s nutritional requirements and timing of applications depend greatly upon your field conditions! Accommodate the plant – not someone’s idea of what should-be! Balanced plant nutrition is easily attainable by using cotton petiole analysis to guide your fertility program. Your plant report should include all of the nutrients your crop requires (major nutrients, secondary nutrients, micronutrients and trace elements), together with reliable, effective recommendations. Crop management by guesswork or some pre-conceived timetable will not result in achieving your crop’s best potential. Spoon-feeding your crop based on its actual needs will enhance nutrient-use efficiency, especially in highly-alkaline soils that tend to tie-up nutrients rather quickly. Increased efficiency can lead to less disease, fewer insects, and a decrease in inputs while increasing yield and quality potentials. When drip or pivot irrigation is present, micro-managing nutrition is easily accomplished through the lines. Furrow-irrigated and dryland cotton is also easily spoon-fed with foliar sprays at key physiological stages of growth.

Cotton controlled height below waist high

This will initially tell you if, how much and what of, your pop-up or starter fertilizer was utilized and is setting-up your crop for maximum genetic potential. Two weeks after the initial tests, start taking weekly or bi-weekly cotton samples for petiole testing, so optimum nutrition can be attained to help mitigate stress and maximize crop performance. Too much nitrogen too early in the season will cause the plants to throw-off pin-head squares but too little nitrogen results in bloom-drop or undersized bolls. Cotton plants require a constant supply of nitrogen without getting too much during fruit

However, irrigation and spray water quality is getting more and more problematic fairly rapidly almost everyplace. Water high in sodium or other metallic salts can do great damage to soils and crops, and can dramatically change the chemistries of almost everything you apply, to the point of rendering them ineffective. Especially if your water source is a well, at least annual testing is very important for quality management. Finally, biological inoculants, organic acids, silicon products and more can certainly be real game-changers, especially in poor soils, poor-quality irrigation water, physical crop damage (as from hail, sandstorms or late frosts), climate stress, and disease and insect infestations. Your crops will only grow as much as you grow. Are you willing to start “listening” to your crops to have a better understanding of what they want so you can take yourself to the next yield and quality level? Remember, the Number One Way to net-out better money is by increasing yield and basis weight premiums! Are you ready to unleash your crop’s full genetic potential?

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In Memoria m

Dr. Erik Mirkov (1959 - 2018)

The sugarcane research community has lost a brilliant and vibrant scientist. Erik Mirkov, an outstanding plant virologist, an inspiring mentor of national and international students, postdocs and scientists, an excellent leader and collaborator, and an intellectual force in science and biotechnology, passed away at the age of 58 on May 24, 2018, in Denver, Colorado, after a brief hard fight with lung cancer metastasized to the brain. Erikâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passing shocked and saddened his friends and colleagues in the plant science community in which he enthusiastically worked and served. Born in Upland, California, Erik received his B.S. in Botany in 1981, M.S. in Plant Pathology in 1984, and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology in 1988, all from the University of California, Riverside. He carried out post- doctoral research on plant viral vectors with Chris Lamb and Leona Fitzmaurice from 1988 to 1989 at The Salk Institute Biotechnology/Industrial Associates, Inc. (SIBIA), and worked as a Research Scientist and Project Leader in SIBIA from 1989 to 1992. He was a research biologist with Maarten Chrispeels in the Department of Biology and Center for Molecular Genetics,

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University of California, San Diego from 1992 to 1994. Erik joined the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University in 1994 and was promoted to associate professor in 1999 and full professor in 2004. He worked at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco, Texas. He devoted his scientific career to understanding the mechanisms of antiviral defense pathways in crops, isolating viral resistance genes from host plants, enhancing disease resistance in crops by using a transgenic approach, investigating crosstalk among hormonal, biotic, and abiotic signaling pathways in sugarcane, and developing sugarcane and energy cane as highly productive biofactories. Besides sugarcane, he also contributed to developing disease resistance materials in citrus, rice, and potato. Although he did not hold any official position, Erik played a leading role in the International Consortium for Sugarcane Biotechnology (ICSB). He was a service provider and served as a principle investigator on ICSB projects. His team isolated and described the virus responsible for sugarcane yellow leaf syndrome (YLS) and developed YLS diagnostic antibodies. The tools developed are used to monitor YLS disease and to assist breeding and selection for resistance in the sugarcane industry worldwide. Erikâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team also characterized worldwide genetic diversity of YLS virus, sugarcane mosaic virus, and sorghum mosaic virus, all of which cause diseases in sugarcane. Later, he played a leading role on setting research priorities and rules at ICSB and chaired the selection committee of the James E. Irvine Memorial Travel Award that promotes the work of emerging young sugarcane researchers. On a personal level, Erik was kind, caring, fair, and optimistic. He had a good sense of humor and a penetrating mind on scientific and social issues. Many of us have fond memories of interacting with him in ICSB and other conferences. His passing leaves a void that may not be filled for a long time. He will be remembered as a good friend, an inspiring mentor, a pioneering scientist, and a contributing member of the sugarcane community. Erik is survived by his brother Tony Mirkov, sister Maria Kobold, step-son Houston Broussard, his grandchildren, Batson (4) and Willow (1), and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Daphna Kaye Oaks-Mirkov, and his parents, Ted Mirkov and Eleanor Mirkov. Expressions of condolences have been sent on behalf of ISSCT to Tony Mirkov, Maria Kobold and Houston Broussard. Ray Ming University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Mona Damaj Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center ISSCT Secretariat

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PESTS OF COTTON AND GRAIN SORGHUM IN THE LRGV FOR THE GROWING SEASON OF 2018 BY DANIELLA SEKULA Integrated Pest Management Agent, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

otton was under stress early on with very little moisture due to the drought causing poor stands in some areas. Growers faced thrips and cotton aphids feeding on their young cotton and had to control damaging populations from feeding on the growing point. Then during the squaring stage in cotton the growers faced many fleahoppers. Fleahoppers were easy to find this year as they were abundant in all three counties Willacy, Cameron and Hidalgo. Growers had to be diligent in controlling fleahoppers in order to protect yield. Fleahoppers like to feed on the young squares sucking their plant juices causing the dried up square to just fall off, something we call â&#x20AC;&#x153;blasted squaresâ&#x20AC;?. Fleahoppers were a problem all through April into the first week of May. We saw some red spidermite activity in late April for a few weeks in some cotton in the Mid Valley that needed to be treated. Then late May into June we started experiencing whitefly populations building in the cotton. Cotton along the river started to have sooty mold from all the whitefly immatures and adults feeding. In June we also started seeing tarnished plantbugs in the cotton, especially in fields close to grain sorghum being harvested as the tarnished plantbugs migrated out of them and into the cotton to feed on the immature sized bolls.

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Figure 1: Adult tarnished Tarnished plantugs have been a moderate problem in some areas but now with the massive amount of rain we received this third week of June we will see if the added moisture will increase tarnished plantbug populations as well as Verde bugs.

nymph activity this warrants a spray treatment. Access your cotton field to see if you have more immature bolls than mature as once bolls are larger than 1 inch diameter and cannot be squeezed open they are generally safe from plant bug damage. In Cameron County we were also seeing Verde plantbugs feeding on the cotton as they will pierce immature bolls and squares with their mouth parts causing boll malformation to complete fruit loss. Verde plant bug adults are about Âź inch long in size and are light green in color with long antennae and red eyes. Will be interesting to see what pests we will encounter going into July with all the rain we have received recently in late June. In grain sorghum we saw very little sugarcane aphids. Early on sorghum fields across the Valley and even along the river were very clean with only a handful having some sugarcane aphid populations but nothing that warranted spray treatment. We did not really have a problem with sugarcane aphids until right at harvest in June when some fields started to get sugarcane aphids in high numbers causing fields to get sticky with honey dew warranting a spray treatment.

Figure 2: Blasted cotton square (grey pinhead square) Adult tarnished plant bugs are mainly brown in color mottled with red yellow and black. Adult tarnished plant bugs have wings. Nymphs are similar to the adults but they lack wings and are greenish in color with black spots. Females lay whitish eggs inserted into the host plant and hatch in about 8 days.

Other than that sugarcane aphid populations were very low all season. We did run into some heavy midge during flowering in May that we had to treat but other than that grain sorghum was pretty clean this year.

From egg to adult the tarnished plant bug life cycle is about 3 to 4 weeks and produce 5 generations a year. Thresholds in blooming cotton for tarnished plant bug are 10 to 15 tarnished plant bugs per 100 sweeps. So if you guys are seeing 1 to 2 adult tarnished plant bugs per 10 sweeps and noticing some

Figure 4: Sorghum Figure 3: Adult Fleahopper

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BRING ON THE AG RESEARCH… PRETTY PLEASE BY DANTE GALEAZZI

USDA announced in March that Texas had been awarded $2.24 million dollars from the Farm Bill for funding specifically towards pest and disease projects. That’s an impressive figure, one that the average person certainly wouldn’t ignore. The enormity of that money drops substantially though when compared with a similarly large figure…like the size of farmland in Texas. National Agricultural Statistics Services (NASS) reported in 2017 that Texas had 129.6 million acres. That means Texas received $0.02 per acre to find new ways to protect the state’s agricultural system against various crop-devastating pests and diseases. In a different lens, the $2.24 million dollars means $9.33 was allotted per farm in Texas. Either comparison makes the $2.24 million seem like a drop in the bucket. And I’ll tell you something, it is just a drop. According to a study by CropLife America and European Crop Protection Association, the cost to develop and register a new pesticide with the EPA and FDA in 2008 was $256 million, and took an average of 11 years. That report was published a decade ago, so one can image the cost has only risen in subsequent years. Let’s create some perspective though.

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Using the same report above, that means the entire 2017 Texas budget for pest and disease projects would not be enough to fund even 1 year of a single pesticide’s development and registration. It would not even cover 10% of a single year – and that is using the costs from 10 years ago. Back before most cell phones could send text messages. That inordinately high cost and incredibly long study cycle is part of the reason the specialty crop (ie. fruits and vegetables) is challenged with receiving enough solutions for managing crop pests. Each crop must be certified for a pesticide’s use. That means registering the pesticide for use on an onion field requires one registration. Then to register the chemical for carrots would require a second registration. Watermelons would need a third registration, and so on. The diversity and small acreage of each specialty crop commodity makes registering pesticides less attractive to private industries. And pest management is but one of many, many specialty crop farming challenges. The message I want to convey to readers is that as a sector, agriculture needs to keep asking our elected officials for additional money towards research. Nutrition is important, and so is conservation and insurance, but research

makes US agriculture competitive on the global scale. Efficiency in ag is the name of the game in the United States. USDA’s Economic Research Service shows that while the United States hasn’t really changed the number of farmable acres for the last century, what has happened is that efficiency and production levels have risen exponentially. We’re producing more per acre now than at any other time in our existence as a species. In 2018, the US agricultural industries are projected to export over $139.5 billion. That is only possible because the industry has used research dollars efficiently and effectively to develop the country’s agriculture system into a global production powerhouse. You may be asking, “Why is government investment so critical to the process?” Because American agriculture is one of the last industries dominated by small family operations. In 2012, 97% of the farms in America were family owned and 88% of those farms averaged just 231 acres per operation. These are families that fight and struggle to turn a profit every year, always trying to develop their own hyper-local efficiencies but challenged to make large scale changes or improve-

ments. Many times, these businesses lack the capital necessary to drive new innovation or create defenses against challenges like invasive insect species. You throw fresh produce in the mix, and the problem further complicates due to the range of crops and growing regions, specificity of regulations and compliance requirements, seasonal windows and a host of other issues that requires research be highly diversified yet many times, ultra-specific. The challenge facing our sector is keeping the country’s system of production competitive at a global-scale. Driving advances in the technology and process in order to decrease inputs and increase outputs. Creating systems that require fewer resources, and always working towards improved yields. Simply put, the high-risk scenario of growing fruits and vegetables for the fresh market leaves many operations without the time or resources to develop cutting edge or revolutionary changes. The money in the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) portion of the Farm Bill does however provide the means by which changes can be created and shared with the ag sector.

SCRI is the tool that connects the fruit and vegetable growers with the science, research and development necessary to all industries. More so, SCRI provides funds to American university and research systems – like Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Centers or the UTRGV SARA program. By doing so, those funds are in the hands of regional research groups that will solutions tailored to the crop and region. The good news is the Texas fruit and vegetable industry is getting support in having our voice heard, spreading the message to the Farm Bill authors. On June 4th, Senator John Cornyn (RTX) was among several U.S. Senators who sent a letter to the Senate Ag Committee requesting the Farm Bill include an increase to the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. Senator Cornyn did so on behalf of the producers in Texas, and based on the comments in the letter, it sounds like these Senators understand the challenges before our industry. There is no shortage of problems in farming. Rising labor costs, regulatory burdens, and compliance requirements for food safety are just a few of today’s issues. And while innovation still occurs

on the farm, research has led to things like sustainable and precision agriculture, drones monitoring crop health, and autonomous driving harvesters. With the many difficulties of farming and the unique make-up of the specialty crop sector, the SCRI funding is a pathway to improving U.S. fruit and vegetable production. The importance of SCRI cannot be overstated. The letter signed by Sen. Cornyn and the others could not better summarize the critical nature of this topic, and why our sector must continue to seek support to keep U.S. production competitive. “This program [SCRI] identifies and funds important research for the specialty crop industry’s phytosanitary and production issues, and is critical for ensuring that our producers are protected from diseases, pests and other food production challenges. These production and phytosanitary obstacles inhibit the growth of U.S. agriculture and specialty crop producers in a global marketplace, and SCRI is one of the best tools we have to help farmers face the challenges of the future.”

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Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

A Letter from the Editor P A

R T

Remember, although your situation is tough and not ideal, God will carry you through. Thank you for all the work you do to make the word a better place. – Michelle Martin

Have you ever been stolen from? Has a thief ever come and taken something meaningful from you? It’s not a good feeling, is it? What if I told you we all have been a thief once or more in our lives. How? Through negativity. We all are no stranger to negative people or ourselves being negative. When we allow negativity into our lives, we are robbing ourselves of joy. It’s really easy to allow negativity to get buried so deep into ourselves that it can blur our perceptions. Take laughter out of the funny, remove love and replace with hate. Negativity takes away everything that’s meant for good. I’m going to get really personal with you. I remember it like it was yesterday. I got the call from my mother that she had lost the business she owned for 27 years. It was just gone. Her phone call went something like this, “you can either stay at A&M and pay your way or come home.” My answer was simple; I was going to stay. What second-year college kid really wants to move back home? (I didn’t). It was in that moment that time stood still for me; would I be able to work and carry a full load of school work? I began to become a victim to my situation. I was blaming my mother and God for allowing this to happen to me. I was surrounded with several people who had support from their families and I felt like mine had vanished. In that time it was so hard for me to block out the negativity and I allowed my situation to grab hold of me and the negativity soon became my driver. It was steering me into doing things I knew weren’t in Gods plan, allowing me to basically wallow in self pity. I began to ruin friendships I had created, I was filled with not one ounce of happiness. And I allowed the negativity to embed itself so deep in me I was like a walking black cloud. I was this way for several years until I moved home (after graduation) and got a job where my boss became a mentor. He opened my eyes and drew me closer to God. Soon the clouds were starting to have small rays of sunshine. I started to learn that I was no longer going to be negativity’s chauffeur. I was going to jump in the front seat and allow God to steer me. Fast forward a couple years (ok maybe like eight) and I am standing in the hospital room with my mom. I am an only child and my father has never been present in my life so it’s me, my mom, and the doctor. He pulled me out the door and said it was time to make a very hard decision. Either allow her to suffer or let her go home with her creator. I am 16 weeks pregnant, so not only are the negative thoughts starting to flood, but so is fear, -oh, and those lovely pregnancy hormones. What do I do? I wanted my mom around to help me raise my first child. It was in that second a lightbulb went off. I started to think back to that difficult time in college. Did I really want to be a negative person for my husband and for my unborn child? Did I want to go back to being a black cloud? No. I got on my knees and asked God to drive. I sat there in the room for the next 24 hours. When I left the room that day I knew that would be the last time I saw mom. I knew when I left she would take her last breathe and that was it. The following days were incredibly difficult. I was in charge of the funeral, speaking at the funeral and all that stuff that comes with death. She left this world with $200.00 on the kitchen counter and that was it. In this difficult time, however, I had the support of many of her friends and I had the love and support of many of you. I chose not to allow the negativities of this situation to burden me. Although it would have been probably the easiest solution - but not the best solution. Everyone has difficulty in life. Whether it be losing a job, losing a loved one, dealing with an illness... the list goes on. Negativity is at every corner. When we wake up we have the choice to be happy or negative. God gives us the tools to battle it, and perhaps you have to go through “hell or high water” to get to the place where you can battle negativity off like it’s a norm. The valley has had a lot of rain. Although we needed rain, I don’t think we needed this much. Maybe our prayers for rain went in God’s spam folder and when he saw all of them he gave us the rain and a lot of it. Ok, so maybe I was trying to be funny there but that’s just it. You have to allow humor and happiness in horrible situations. I know the farmers are probably not in the best moods because all your hard work has literally been washed away, or the quality of your crops has decreased. But it’s ok. This isn’t the first or last time this will happen. This is just going to be a tough year. You’ve made it through before and you can do it again. God will always double bless you for your troubles! Always. There has never been a time when God hasn’t been faithful.

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17767 PRIMERA RD HARLINGEN, TX 78552 956-778-4295

2315 W. Expressway 83 #102, San Benito, Texas 78586 www.cropguardinsurance.com

956-688-8485 Thanks for 11 Years!

LOOK!

MADE YOU

Pictured are: Andrea Hance and Commissioner Sid Miller state ag commissioner, who attended the 68th annual convention this past May on South Padre Island.

BY ANDREA HANCE

ndrea Hance, Executive Director of the Texas Shrimp Association was recently appointed to the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Advisory Panel, representing the Texas Commercial shrimping industry. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional Fishery Management Councils established by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Council prepares fishery management plans (FMPs) designed to manage fishery resources from where state waters end, out to the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of Mexico. These waters are also known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Council meets five times a year at various locations around the Gulf coast. Prior to taking final action on any proposed rule change, public hearings are held throughout the Gulf of Mexico management Council. Public testimony is also heard during the meeting at which final action is scheduled. Proposed rule changes are then submitted to NMFS for further review and approval before implementation.

Advisory Panel Members are recreational and commercial

fishermen, charter boat operators, buyers, sellers and consumers with are knowledgeable about a particular fishery. The Shrimp advisory panel was a natural progression for Mrs. Hance. Her leadership with the Texas Shrimp Association was apparent this past year with several legislative wins.

The Shrimp Liberty Act: The Texas Shrimp Association, along with the TPWD and Representative Dade Phelan (Beaumont) introduced the “Shrimp Liberty Act”, which was signed into law June of 2017. This bill allows “out of

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state” shrimpers to unload shrimp at a Texas Port without the need to purchase a Texas Shrimping License (which are currently under a federal moratorium). The additional shrimp landed in Texas will be an economic boast to the Texas coast.

H2B Visa Cap Increase: The Texas Shrimp Association was recently acknowledged as one of the most effective organizations to lobby for additional workers through the H2B Visa worker program. This is an ongoing and costly problem for our industry. With the recently announcement from the Department of Labor of the release of an additional 15,000 workers, allocated through a lottery system the news came bittersweet when learning this will only provide additional workforce for 30% of our industry - costing our industry an estimated 1 million dollars a day.

Seafood Import Monitoring Program : The Texas Shrimp Association successfully passed a federal bill that will allow the inclusion of foreign shrimp within the Seafood Monitoring Program (SIMP). This adds additional restrictions to foreign shrimp, allowing traceability of the seafood to better monitor the quality of the shrimp. This may be the single biggest win for our industry in years. Moving forward, TSA continues working with our state Ag Commissioner- Commissioner Miller, who is eager to assist with developing a state- labeling program for Texas Wild Caught domestic Shrimp. We have a lot going on in our industry, says Andrea Hance. However we have so much more we need to do. TSA will continue to fight for our industry, keeping us profitable, safe, and able to provide consumers the best – sustainable wild caught shrimp in the world. Texas Shrimp Association is a 501 C6 organization.

Rio Grande Basin-wide project addressing water challenges for agricultural sustainability BY KATHY WYTHE

A new multistate projects is addressing water challenges of the Rio Grande Basin to ensure agricultural sustainability in the basin.

The 1,900-mile Rio Grande begins in southern Colorado and winds through New Mexico and along the border of Texas and Mexico, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at the southernmost tip of Texas. Three states, two countries and more than six million people rely, in part, on the Rio Grande for water supplies. Agricultural production depends on it with 2 million irrigated acres of agriculture land using 80 percent of its water. But the basin’s water resources, plus the societies, economies, species and ecosystems that depend on them, are seriously threatened. Drought, climate change and doubling of the basin’s population and demand for municipal water supplies over the next 50 years are stressing this river, the fourth longest in the United States.

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A team of 20 researchers representing Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute and New Mexico State University has completed its first year of a $5 million fouryear grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to address these water challenges and ensure agricultural sustainability in the basin. The project, “Diversifying the Water Portfolio for Agriculture in the Rio Grande Basin,” is led by Dr. John Tracy, Texas Water Resources Institute director. The project is funded as part of the USDA-NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

Researchers are investigating alternative water sources that can be used for irrigation and conserve groundwater and the river’s freshwater. They are also evaluating the use of drought- and salt-tolerant crops, new crops and new management practices — all to diversify the water resources and sustain agriculture in the basin. “Unless new approaches are implemented to better use the limited water resources or develop non-traditional water supplies within the Rio Grande Basin,” Tracy said, “there will be limited opportunities for economic development and the sustainability of the agricultural economies throughout the basin could be threatened.” Tracy said in the long term, the project team hopes to develop an economic and water management assessment framework that will help evaluate the impact that innovative water technology and agricultural management practices have on water sustainability and agricultural productivity within the basin. “The assessment framework will provide water resource managers with tools to help increase the efficacy of water use and agricultural profitability throughout the basin and develop a better understanding of the role that nontraditional water resources can play in enhancing sustainable water management within the basin,” he said. One of the objectives of the project is to evaluate the water availability in the Rio Grande Basin at current and projected future scenarios in light of changing climate, water management and demographics to understand the impacts that these factors have on the region’s water supplies. Led by Dr. Raghavan Srinivasan, professor in Texas A&M University’s Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, the team is using models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model. In year one, an initial hydrologic model was built and run using the web-based interactive water quantity and quality modeling system — Hydrologic and Water Quality System or HAWQS — that employs SWAT as its core modeling engine. “Given the large basin size and the considerable human intervention that has altered the hydrologic regime, significant computational resources are required,” Srinivasan said. “Thus, the basin-wide model at this stage intends on gaining insight into a viable modeling strategy.” Dr. Girisha Ganjegunte, associate professor at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at El Paso, leads the efforts to demonstrate the appropriate use of alternative water sources such as treated wastewater, graywater and brackish groundwater, to extend the availability of existing freshwater supplies. “We are conducting greenhouse studies to evaluate the salinity tolerance of pomegranate, cotton, guar, canola, switchgrass and energy sorghum as well as field experiments in El Paso and Weslaco, Texas, and Artesia, New Mexico, with those same crops irrigated with alternative water sources to evaluate their performance when grown on soils affected by salinity,” Ganjegunte said. Because the management of water is so essential to the long-term sustainability of the basin, team members are developing research and demonstration tools focused on improving irrigation management within the basin, according to Dr. Sam Fernald, director of the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute. In the first year of the project, Fernald said, team members began acquiring and processing data for evapotranspiration (ET) calculations in the Mesilla Valley in New Mexico to eventually compare to ground level ET measurements. Researchers also began defining the scope, expected use and functionality of an ET decision support tool. “We identified nontraditional sources of ET ATLAS data that could potentially aid in understandingBY cropDEBRA water demands,” Fernald said.

As part of the project’s objective of identifying the most economically efficient use of fresh and marginal water supplies to increase the value of water use, researchers examined the possibility of a dry year option. Dr. Bruce McCarl, professor in Texas A&M’s Department of Agricultural

Researchers are conducting greenhouse studies to evaluate the salinity tolerance of pomegranate, cotton, guar, canola, switchgrass and energy sorghum.

Economics and lead for this objective, explained that a dry year option is a water market where cities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas could acquire water on a temporary basis by leasing it from agricultural producers. “The water supply in the basin is unstable because of increased recent droughts and reduced deliveries from Mexico along with increased Mexican dam construction and water consumption,” McCarl said. “Such a program would improve water performance in agriculture by giving farmers sale-based incentives to conserve and would provide water for the growing nonagricultural use under dry conditions,” he said. McCarl said the development of an integrated hydrologic-economic modeling tool was also initiated in year one. This tool will be used to understand how changes in water management practices, crop selection and the use of nontraditional waters will have on agricultural economic output. According to Dr. Askarali Karimov, AgriLife Extension specialist and lead for the outreach objective, the project held four outreach events in the basin with more than 500 participants. “Engaging stakeholders at these events proved to be valuable because of the ability to secure key individuals who represent the diverse water interests from across the basin for the advisory board,” Karimov said. “We also presented at five other events on water conservation methods, solar pumping applications, water allocations in the Rio Grande, common farming limitations and water sampling techniques for on-farm water quality management.” Additionally, the New Mexico State University Irrigation Interpretation Excel workbook was introduced to small farm water users in an effort to help producers estimate leaching fractions based on soil and water sample analysis and crop water demand. Tracy said with the continued research and education, the project should improve the long-term viability and resiliency of agriculture within the basin. “The outcomes of this project will increase our understanding of how the use of all available water resources can be optimized to provide the greatest societal value within the basin by sustaining agricultural production while enhancing regional water use efficacy, economies, ecosystem services and employment opportunities,” he said. For more information, contact Tracy at John.Tracy@ag.tamu.edu.

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l a m i n A r u o Y Is

NE LL BY RE BE CC A QU ES

D E S S E R ST

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tress effects on animals can become an expensive problem on the farm. Whether it is heat stress, transportation stress, co-mingling stress, or other physiological stressors, an animal can respond with decreased appetite, reduced gain or produc tion, inhibited reproductive capacity, and a suppressed immune system. The financial losses can be significant. One of the best ways to regulate stress in an animal is to make sure their system is working at its best capacity both before and during stressful events. There is a community that can help – the microbial community within the animal itself. But to be successful, this community needs ongoing support. Let me explain…

where this lovely young woman could again flourish. A stronger, more vibrant community remains as people have built new relationships, worked together and supported each other toward a common goal.

My friend’s daughter, Anna’s, house burned down recently – an overwhelming event for one person to deal with alone. Thankfully, local firemen put out the fire. The community around her came together to bring clothes, food, dishes and utensils, and condolences. People offered support in many different ways as their skills allowed. One neighbor owned a refuse company, and he came with a team to remove the debris. Another person in the community owned a construction company, and he worked with the insurance company and his team to help rebuild. A landscaper, with the help of neighbors in the area, came to help plant new foliage and revive the lawn. Overall, a very stressful and difficult situation was made better as the community came together – many different people with many different skills and gifts working together to support and rebuild a beautiful new environ-

It is in times like this that the community of good bacteria within the gut can come to the rescue. We call it the microbiome – it is a community where “good” bacteria, with many different roles in the digestive process, come together to support the animal and ensure that it thrives. Abiotics – “non-viable probiotic organisms…(that) may be efficacious in specific situations” (Shortt, 1999), that “mediate a physiologic benefit” (Reid et al., 2003) and that “exert beneficial effects on health or wellbeing” (Klaenhammer, 2007) – stimulate the immune system via several mechanisms, including CpG DNA motifs, peptidoglycans (polymers made up of sugars and amino acids), and other cell wall components that keep the immune system alert and on-call to respond to the animal’s needs. A functional, dynamic abiotic is found in the fermentation-supplemented nutritional animal health tool called Culbac®.

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When an animal is stressed, often times their digestive system is overwhelmed with the challenge. Its ability to digest food, take in nutrients, and enlist the immune system to fight off illnesses is burned down. The immune system must be recruited to fight the flames of stress-induced challenge, and the anti-inflammatory tools of the immune system must be recruited to “put out the fire.” Having the immune system on call and ready to face these kind of challenges is essential to quick response and to keeping your animal in a positive-energy, healthy state.

The bacteria used to produce Culbac® is unique and proprietary, and the extended fermentation process is developed specifically to provide the most bioavailable and well-complexed vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and functional nutrients to deliver useable nutrition to your animal and provide a myriad of health benefits. Just as people brought clothes, food, dishes, and utensils to Anna, you must consider how to bring protection, food, and the means to digest that food to your stressed animal. During times of stress, making sure that an animal is able to efficiently digest and utilize nutrients in its food is key. To ensure adequate digestion and nutrient uptake, an animal depends on the many and varied bacteria in the gut that break down food components so the animal can use them. The digestive tract is complex and has many different bacteria throughout that are important for helping an animal utilize the food it eats. Introducing new bacteria that will need energy and time to establish does not support other necessary bacteria in the gut. Because there are so many bacterial types required to maintain a healthy digestive system, supporting all of the bacteria along the entire stretch of the digestive system, as a stabilized abiotic will do, is an excellent approach. Abiotics are dynamic sources of nutrient support and protection for all of the many beneficial gut bacteria to keep your animal on feed and getting the most from your feed. In times of stress, biopeptides developed within the bacterial community of the microbiome arrive to help address the symptoms of stress; these biopeptides dilate blood vessels, improve binding and absorption of

minerals, and help with uptake of nutrients. These same biopeptides are produced and maintained during the carefully developed fermentation process of Culbac® Abiotics™. Proteins, amino acids, enzymes, and other structural building blocks of the digestive system are available to support metabolic functions and reduce the effects of stress. Some bioactive peptides even inhibit pathogens, or “bad” bacteria, by several potential mechanisms. These bioactive peptides are supported in the fermentation processes of specialized bacteria and, in combination with supported immune function, can provide additional protection to animals during stressful times. Just as the community offered support to Anna as their different skills allowed, the many functions of Culbac® are available to the entire community within the microbiome as it acts to support a stressed animal. A healthy gut and supported immune system will help remove the debris and pathogens, reduce inflammation, and break down nutrients more efficiently to build up the metabolic utilization in the animal. Building up a diverse and healthy community of bacteria throughout the entire gut is what we need in stressful times. Very stressful and difficult situations can be made better as the microbial community – with many different bacteria having many different functions – works together to support and rebuild a beautiful new environment within the gut so the animal may again flourish. Culbac® supports a stronger and more vibrant microbiome – just what is needed.

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From our family to yours. THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS!

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2018 Algodon Ball The 65th Annual

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PERMANENT

IMPRINT

Tell me a little history about what got you into Ag and wanting to become an Ag Teacher. I grew up around agriculture all my life. My family has farmed and run cattle in the Willacy County/San Perlita area the last 100 years. As a youngster, and into my teenage years, I always enjoyed the farming and cattle operations and spent as much time as I could at the farm with my father, grandfather, and all my uncles. I was an FFA member in the late 70’s at Sinton High School and my agriculture teachers Frank Wahl and Butch Koether played an integral role in influencing me to major in Agriculture Education.

Who was your mentor and what advice did they give you ? Without a doubt, my mentor and most influential person in my career was and remains my uncle, Joe Correa. He was highly respected throughout the region, state and nation as a great agriculture science teacher and FFA advisor. I had the good fortune of student teaching under him in 1984 and then teaching with him from 1988-1991 at Mission High School. I did my best to emulate and model after him as much as possible. I’d venture to say he served not only as a mentor and role model to me but to many others as well-he was a great man! He always stressed professionalism, hard work, and respect. One of the main traits that he instilled in me was to always stand up for what I felt was right, but to do so in a respectful, professional manner. Many of my current and past peers will probably say I may have overdone this a time or two! The trait I also always admired about Uncle Joe was his ability to attain love and respect from his students. I feel comfortable in saying that I feel I also possessed that same trait through my career.

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What is the biggest accomplishment as an Ag Teacher? One may think I’d mention the various championship livestock projects, leadership, and judging teams that I supervised and trained throughout my career; but I’d have to say what gives me great pleasure and pride is witnessing former and current students that have decided to go on to major in the Agricultural field and attain successful careers. Knowing that I may have played a part in their decision to major in Agriculture is quite rewarding.

What is one thing that you tried to instIll in your students ? The one thing I’ve always tried to instill and model for my students (and my own sons for that matter) is the ability to be humble. In the face of success and major accomplishments, I always stressed to my students that the notoriety and attention would come on its own without having to boast and be arrogant. By the same token, I stressed for them to handle failure or defeat with dignity. All in all, I stressed the ability to be gracious winners and graceful losers.

What is the most challenging thing about being an Ag Teacher ? The most challenging thing about being an Ag Teacher is juggling time between work and family-without a doubt! It has been quite strenuous at times with all the events associated with the profession that calls for us to be gone from our spouses and children. I missed out on several academic and athletic highlights of my two sons because I’d be out on the road with other folk’s children going to contests and competitions, looking for livestock projects, or attending professional conventions/conferences. You can’t get those events back to witness and enjoy and that was extremely sad for me. I could not have done all of this however without the ongoing support of my wonderful wife, Bernadette. She has been the rock of our family throughout it all and I love her dearly for all she’s had to endure. This profession is definitely a TEAM EFFORT, and without support and understanding at home it will make things extremely difficult.

What is one piece of advice you would give an upcoming Ag Teacher? The one thing that I’d advise to upcoming Ag Teachers, and quite frankly we’re not seeing enough of today, is all-out dedication and effort. This is a profession that when done right and successfully comes along with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. If you’re not going to be 100% committed to giving it your all to assure that your students and program are successful and respected then you need to consider another line of work. Yes, I’m VERY OLD SCHOOL!

How many years did you teach and what school (s)? Finally an easy question! I retired after 30 years in the Ag Teaching profession with stints at Mission High School, Lyford High School, and most recently Mercedes High School

What was your favorite thing about teaching? Without a shadow of a doubt, my favorite aspect of teaching is and always has been my students. They kept me going when times got tough and I’d find myself down in the dumps. It was not only students I had on FFA teams or showing livestock for me. It was also the many students that I was blessed to have as students in my

classroom throughout the last 30 years. I feel confident in saying that many past and present students have enjoyed and learned a lot in my Ag Science classes, and equally important, we have developed bonds and friendships that can and do last a lifetime.

If you could just give me some history about yourself, your favorite thing, favorite memory, year you started, etc… – Married for almost 28 years to Bernadette Correa – 2 sons: Derek, 24 and Blake, 21 – Graduated from Sinton High School in 1980 – Graduated from Texas A&I University with BS in Agriculture Education with minor in Animal Science – Graduated from Texas A&I University with MS in Agricultural Business with minor in Plant Science – “Favorite thing”: ranching, golfing, hunting, fishing, sports – “Favorite memory”: Day I married the love of my life and the birth of our 2 amazing sons – Started teaching Ag in 1988 at Mission High School – Received my BS in 1984 and MS degree in 1986

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TDHA OFFERS DOVE HUNTERS A WIN-WIN RESEARCH ROLE BY RALPH WININGHAM

As many as 300 Texas dove hunters could become winning bird busters, in addition to gathering valuable research information, under a program launched this year by the Texas Dove Hunters Association. “We are hoping that this contest does what we anticipate and becomes a really big thing for the hunting industry as well as TDHA,’’ said Bob Thornton, founder of the statewide organization. The Texas BB (Banded Bird) Challenge will be open to any registered Texas dove hunter who brings down one of 300 banded Eurasian Collared Doves between sunrise on Sept. 1, 2018 and sunset on Jan. 31, 2019. The entry fee for the contest is $20 and hunters must enter before bagging a banded bird. The banded Eurasian’s, which are considered an invasive species and may be hunted any time of the year with no bag limit, are being gathered, banded and released by TDHA trappers throughout the state. The bands placed on the birds’ left leg reads “Winner! Call 210764 -1189 or go to www.texasdovehunters.com.” The numbers on the bands range from 001 to 300. Data is compiled from the day the Eurasian is banded through the day the successful hunter calls TDHA to report the bagged bird, with that information being collected and recorded in the same format as state and federal biologists. “The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department have conducted extensive research on migratory game birds, but there is not much scientific data for Eurasian Collared Doves,’’ Thornton said. “We hope our contest can provide some of that research data in addition to promoting increased dove hunting activity. “During our trial year last season, we had a 15 percent return rate on the banded Eurasians Collared Dove we released. That is well above the normal return rate for the current federal banding program that has been going on for many years,’’ Thornton said. During the past several years, TP&WD biologists have annually banded white-winged and mourning doves before the season in an

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effort to keep tabs on traits such as migration habits, climate preferences, ageing and to estimate survival and harvest rates. This information is used in population and harvest models to determine hunting regulations. Only three states are currently banding whitewinged doves, with the Texas banding program being the most comprehensive. However, the percentage of banded birds bagged by hunters and reported back to TP&WD has been in the single digits – a situation TDHA officials hope to be able to improve as a side benefit to the Texas BB Challenge. In addition, the BB Challenge will also encourage hunters to be more cautious in dove identification – knowing whether their wingshooting target is a game bird such as a mourning dove or white-winged dove or a “bonus” non-game Eurasian Collared Dove. “Everyone who reports one of our 300 banded Eurasian Collared Doves to us will win a member packet if they are not drawn for a top prize in the contest. We hope that being eligible for awards and prizes in our contest will help encourage more hunters to report banded game birds as it is important information that is collected from this data,’’ Thornton said. Each registered hunter who submits a TDHA band from a harvested bird will be eligible for prizes such as a Polaris Ranger UTV from Hoffpauir Outdoors of Goldthwaite; shotguns by CZ-USA; TDHA Frio coolers; Chippewa snake boots and TDHA memberships including Lifetime and 3 year memberships. There is also a First Flight high school division (14-years-old and older) featuring a prize of a $1,000 scholarship; a First Flight youth division (10-13 years old) with a prize of an overnight guided dove hunt for two; and a guide/outfitter division with a prize of a guided trophy trout fishing trip for two on Baffin Bay. Entry forms and a complete set of guidelines for the Texas BB Challenge are available on the TDHA website at www.texasdovehunters.com.

Beto Anzaldua is doing a balancing act right now. He and his brothers’ company, called Anza Genetica, is growing and growing fast – it’s not a problem in the traditional sense, but it’s something Anzaldua is keeping a close eye on. While the seed company is still considered a “small” company, there’s no telling what tomorrow – or the next day – may bring. The company, maker of several types of seed, has sold and marketed its products all over the world, beginning with Latin America and the Middle East. Today they distribute seed in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morroco, among others such as Italy and Spain in Europe. They also work in Mexico, Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica. Now they have brought their hybrid seeds – corn and sorghum especially – to the United States, South Texas in particular. “We never have worked in the U.S. until three years ago when we began to work in South Texas,” Anzaldua said. “We began to work with Garcia Grain with sunflowers. The idea is to continue to grow the sunflower industry but we have jumped into the conventional corns.” The company specializes in corn that is highly digestible for dairy and beef cattle. They are also working on grain sorghum. “In Mexico we are working with a couple of companies to see if we can use white grain sorghum for public consumption,” Anzaldua said. “To use it for things line tortillas, flour, beer – especially gluten free flour. Mexico has always been big business but we have to shuffle things around sometimes with all the security issues.” In South Texas, the company is looking for companies to help market the seed they create, looking for distributors even up to the Coastal Bend area, Houston and Central Texas. “The idea in South Texas,” Anzaldua said, “is to find companies that would be willing to market our products under their label or get their genetics under our bag.”

This is where Anzaldua is working his balancing act. While he is focused right now on the marketing and promotion side of the business, he knows as it continues to grow he will need to move into the management side of things. It’s the natural progress of a growing company with growing pains. “We try to find specific niches instead of taking on a shotgun approach to see where or what we can shoot and hunt,” Anzaldua said. “We promote grain sorghum in Mexico, even though we sell red and brown sorghum, the main justification for me is to use the white for human consumption.” “We’re also working on sweet sorghum for ethanol production as well as production of electricity and working with foreign sorghum with an emphasis on digestibility and energy production.” Officially, Anzaldua’s job – or one of his jobs – is to visit all the different countries they sell their products in, set them up and train their people to sell to others. “I tell them the right thing to do – how to sell it, how not to sell it, what to promote and what not to promote. It’s easy to be gung ho to just sell but we never ever want to lie to a customer.” With all the time spent on the marketing, selling and promotional side of the business, Anzaldua finds it hard to find that happy medium between that side and sitting down with the books. But, he knows, both has to be done. “One of hardest things I’m having to work with - in order for a company to grow it of course has to deal with the financing part and we’re still having a hard time figuring that out in the states. Right now it’s growing a little too fast and I don’t want to get to the point where there is no cash flow. A lot of big companies get into debt – I don’t want to grow so much that it is debt connected.”

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BY KATHRYN BRADY

Recollections of

RanchLife in Texas

Back in April my family had the first family reunion in many years. The family reunion was my dad’s mom’s side of the family. The family name is the Traylors who settled in Texas around Calhoun County. With my tradition of writing about Texas agricultural history, I thought that I’d share a little of the history and stories with the Ag Mag readers. The first of the Traylor family to come to Texas was Josiah Claiborn Traylor. He first moved to Jasper County, Texas in 1855 and eventually moved on to Jackson and Calhoun Counties. Josiah was the son of Champion Travis Traylor, SR of Virginia. He was studying medicine when his father died, and Josiah returned to the plantation. He did so well making ends meet that his mother was always quick to praise him. But around 1840, Josiah, his mother and several of the other siblings decided to emigrate to

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Union Parish, Louisiana getting them one step closer to Texas. By 1870 they had settled in Jackson County. He started out farming and raising cotton, but eventually switched to raising livestock, specifically cattle. Josiah passed away in 1891, but the ranch stayed in the family. Travelling by covered wagon was the most common way to move across the states and the Traylor was family was no stranger to riding in covered wagons. They had travelled across the southern U.S. and from Jasper County to Jackson County, Texas after the Civil War. On the journey form Jasper County to Jackson County they travelled for a few days when they had to stop to deliver their newest child while on the trail. Once in Edna, Texas Josiah established a small store and bought cattle brands to start a cattle enterprise. Starting off owning 4,428

acres. At first the cattle were on open range. It is said that in 1875 Josiah Claiborn Traylor built the first fence in south Jackson County. The fence was assembled of split Live Oak posts and 1X6 Pensacola Florida planks- running from the Lavaca River to a live oak tree on Kellar Creek. The Live Oak tree had been used as a surveying marker during the time of the Spanish land grant. By 1875 Traylor owned close to 40,000 acres located in both Calhoun and Jackson Counties. The old-timers say that Mr. Traylor built a beautiful two-story ranch house on a high bluff that overlooked three bodies of water; the Lavaca River, Lavaca Bay and Swan Lake. Swan Lake was named such because swans usually spent the winter on the lake. The Traylor registered one of the first brands in the county and was still being used as of 1938. Mail was delivered via freight boats that went up the river from Texana to Indianola once a week. After the Indianola Hurricane of 1886 the hardships of pioneer life were more evident. During the storm the town of Indianola was completely destroyed. The family recalled that from the top floor in the house on the bluff they could see the waves crashing. The waves looked beautiful, even though the family could feel the walls of the house move from the high winds. After the storm the great steamships quit coming to Indianola and the boats stopped going up and down the river. So, it was harder to get the mail and groceries. After that much of the shopping had to be done in Victoria which at that time was a long trip. The Traylors worked hard and all family members were expected to pull their weight on the ranch or in the house but were also expected to clean up and wear a coat and tie or nice dresses to meal times in the house. For fun the family played Croquet, checkers, rowed boats, rode horseback, hunted and fished. “Mr. Traylor and Mrs. Traylor instilled to the children an appreciation of the refinement and courtesies that are essential of cultured, well-educated individual”. The Edna Herald The family not only raised their own beef, but also vegetables such as okra, beans, cabbage, turnips and greens as well as watermelons, peaches and plums. The article remarks that there was also an abundance of wild grapes and dewberries, as well as wild turkey and deer. “Mrs. Traylor made preserves and kept them in stone jars with cloth tied around each jar.” They would kill a hog each year once the first norther had come down. They had to wait for the cold weather so that the pork would not spoil while it was being cured. Early in the morning they would fill a big pot with water and boil it over a large cook fire. Then they would cut the pigs neck and drain the blood. Once the blood was drained they would put the pig in the tub of water and slosh him around, next laying the pig on the table; they scraped the hair off. Then it was butchering time. They would make hog-lard, sausage, hams and bacon that were hung in the smokehouse. “For several weeks, a slow smoke was kept going to cure the hams and bacon, permeating the air with a delicious smell.” Mr. Traylor rigged up a Dutch Windmill to grind cornmeal, grits and chicken feed. It had sails that turned them mill. People came from Edna, Ganado and Matagorda to see it operate. The blacksmith work was also done on the ranch by Mr. Traylor. “All while wearing a white shirt.” He also planted corn as feed stock and to make a crop. Mr. Josiah Traylor remained a refined Southern gentleman even while ranching on the Texas frontier. During cattle roundups on a

vast ranch covering; Mr. Traylor would ride in a buggy directing the round-up while the others were on horseback. They would be out on the range for weeks with a chuck wagon to provide the meals. A fat calf was butchered the day before the roundup started to provide fresh meat. “This was treat, as it was before the days of refrigeration and we didn’t have fresh meat very often.” Explains Charlotte Traylor. They would either put a big roast in a Dutch oven or fry steaks. These are just a few of the recollections that my family has recorded. Through the generations; the ranch has remained in the family. My grandmother would recall spending a lot of time back on the ranch playing and growing up with her brother and cousins. Later my dad would spend summers on the ranch and would help his grandfather and first and second cousins gather cattle. He will occasionally tell stories from those summers on the ranch. Learning about cattle ranching from his grandfather whom he called ‘Pa’ was what inspired my father to got to Texas A&M and major in agriculture and eventually become a ranch manager. Between my mom’s family history of farming around San Antonio and my dad’s mom’s side of the family; I would probably not be working in the agricultural field, myself.

Josiah Claiborne Traylor

“was classed among the cattle kings of southern Texas.” ‘The Cattle Industry of Texas’, 1895

Josiah Claiborne Traylor born February 27,1817 died December 14, 1891 Founder of old Traylor Ranch. Pioneer rancher in Jackson, Calhoun and Matagorda counties. (copied from original picture owned by William Traylor Bell)

It is also note-worthy and motivating to find out more about the legacy of ranch managers left by my ancestors. Mr. Dickson Lee Traylor (my great-grandfather- also known as ‘Pa’ by dad) was a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. His uncle, Mr. William Burt Traylor, was director of the Jackson County Cattle Raisers Association of the Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation District and in 1980 he received the Excellence in Grazing Management Award from the Texas Section Society for Range Management; previously in 1973 under the direction of Mr. Carroll Sheppard Traylor (William Burt’s father) the ranch also received the Excellence in Grazing Management Award. As an employee of USDA-NRCS, which works in conjunction with the Soil and Water Conservation Districts as well as an active member of the Texas Section Society for Range Management it is stimulating and exciting to find out these facts. I am proud of all the branches of my family whom have cared for the land in one way or another and have also been active members of their community. It is also pleasing to be able to share this bit of Texas history.

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Are You a Veteran Interested in Farming? USDA Can Help.

Melissa and Doug Havemann are using USDA programs and technical assistance to make improvements to their grass-fed cattle business.

BY MELISSA BLAIR, NRCS

Chris Barnes grew up farming with his grandfather and knew one day he would farm the land himself. Chris purchased the family farm in Bastrop County, Texas, while actively serving in the U.S. military. In the beginning, he spent backbreaking hours in the Texas heat clearing brush by hand. Then he found a USDA program that provided technical and financial assistance to help him with the process. Veteran Doug Havemann and his wife Melissa own Mesquite Field Farm in Nixon, Texas. They developed a conservation plan for their beef cattle operation using technical assistance provided by USDA. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a larger percent of veterans live in rural America than members of the general public. At USDA, we want to ensure that veterans looking to return to the family farm – and those starting a new farming career – have the tools and opportunities needed to succeed. Are you a veteran interested in farming? We’re here to support you.

USDA goes the extra mile to help farmers such as Chris Barnes, who was able to handle paperwork for his conservation efforts on the farm even while deployed.

We can help you with funding. Recently, USDA announced a new partnership with Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Service that will help veterans interested in USDA farm ownership loans get the training they need to qualify. Typically, qualifying loan applicants must participate in the business operations of a farm for at least three years during a 10-year period. Through this project, participants receive intensified production and financial management training that they can combine with previous military leadership or management experience to satisfy this requirement in less time. This enhanced farm loan opportunity is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Battleground to Breaking Ground program, which has helped more than 900 veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers with their agribusiness. USDA loan programs are designed to help family farmers and ranchers start, purchase or expand their farming operation. In many cases, beginning farmers need support to qualify for commercial credit. Other producers have suffered financial setbacks from natural disasters, or need additional resources to establish and maintain profitable farming operations. No matter your individual story, USDA is here to help you succeed.

We can help you with risk management and recovery. Agriculture is a weather- and market- dependent industry. USDA programs can help you proactively manage your risk, and protect your farm from downturns due to markets and weather. Military veterans who are beginning farmers may be eligible for reduced premiums, application fee waivers, increased insurance coverage and other incentives for a number of USDA’s risk management programs. When disaster does strike, USDA is here to help you with recovery. Our emergency assistance programs help eligible producers facing losses to crops, trees, livestock, farm land and specialty crops due to a qualifying natural disaster. These programs help farmers recuperate losses when impacted by drought, wildfires, hurricanes, blizzards and other natural disasters.

We can help you with conservation. Conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), can help veterans make conservation improvements and strengthen their operations. USDA helps farmers plan and carry out various conservation activities such as transitioning to organic production, installing rotation grazing techniques to improve air and water quality, installing seasonal high tunnels to increase the availability of locally-grown produce and planting cover crops to improve soil

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Erin and her veteran husband, John Kimbrough, worked with USDA for a microloan, a conservation plan and technical assistance to improve their farm.

health. Veterans may be eligible for a cost share of up to 90 percent and advance payments of up to 50 percent for the costs of certain conservation practices. Veterans may also receive preference for payments to help maintain and improve upon existing conservation systems.

We can help you get started. For beginning producers, sometimes the most important help is learning the ins and outs of farming or ranching. Through a partnership between USDA and SCORE – the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors – agricultural producers including veterans, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, women, socially disadvantaged Americans and others can find mentors and advisors at no cost. Veterans and all new farmers and ranchers are encouraged to visit the USDA’s informative New Farmers website at https://newfarmers.usda.gov. This site offers focused information and a discovery tool that can help personalize the search for information. Finally, we offer one-on-one assistance at service centers across the nation. Find yours here, and let us help you get started or expand your operation.

BRAND PRODUCTS

RODRIGO FRANKLIN

956-874-8988

rodrigo.franklin@plantpioneer.com

Farm Her

Season of Hot BY R ONI M ARIE M C CARTLAN

What on earth?! What in the world!! RoniMarie opened the door to outside and was engulfed by smothering heat waves that surrounded her like a suffocating wet blanket. She came from the desert and knew about heat. What this newly implanted soonto-be ‘Farm Her’ didn’t know about was the humidity. “Help!” she thought, as she towel dried her forehead and arms. Five minutes and she was drenched. She pushed through the hotness toward the projects of the day. It had been a busy spring, not just for her and her farmer but for all the living creatures on the farm and she remained in awe of the animal and insect world. Ants were trailing from their grocery store to their store room. The bees were buzzing around the flowers getting pollen for the brood. Hummingbirds were hovering around the blooms to withdraw some delicious nectar for energy. The birds were engaged with the nurseries for the new families they were producing. Wasps were hustling, constructing their factories. Whistler ducks lined up at the edge of the barn roof waiting to fly down and eat the corn on the ground. The garden had been planted and was producing squash, zucchini, okra, tomatoes, peas, beans, and sweet corn in abundance. She watched with wonder as life unfolded in this new place and speculated as to whether people who were accli-

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mated to the daily living on a farm may not feel the depth of the revelations she was experiencing. Just as she settled into the automation of the city where the ordinary was basically invisible, so might the simple every day residing on the farm go unnoticed for those who hung their hat in the country. Maybe not. She knew it was not that way for her husband. His excitement in each day that evolved infected her. How special the typical becomes when you look with new eyes. Each day was enchanted. She loved exploring the tiniest of occasions and learning the fundamentals of how intricate this life worked. Her farmer always said he didn’t like complicated but the layer upon layer workings of a farm is definitely that, complicated, albeit a complicated that works together. It seems opposites attract. Typical, unexpected, plain, convoluted with the unforeseen becoming an adventure. It can be the most unassuming time when, without notice, the day transforms into forever memorable. It was one of those periods for RoniMarie. It started as normal. The sunrise pinkness colored the clouds and the air was moist and cool. The hours moved and heated into steamy and hot with chores accomplished and tasks being formulated. It was after school, and she was in the backyard watering. She heard the gate click and her name

being called urgently. Three grands appeared with one holding something in her hand covered by the other. They ran up to her and said, “Can you help us?” Reagan opened her fingers to a tiny, baby bird. It was alive, it was breathing, it was newborn and down covered. Time stopped as the group sprung into action. The farmer’s wife led the way to find a box and then on to the rose garden to gather leaves and twigs to place as a nest for the baby bird to lay in. The group stood there for a moment devising the next step of the plan and realized they were going to need help. They hurried to the barn to get the farmer and his crew. Rushing to the tree under which they found the baby, they discovered the nest in the tree limbs. By that time equipment was coming to be able to place the baby back into it. RoniMarie realized as she looked at the baby that this was no ordinary bird. This baby bird had talons and a beak and when she saw the nest, that theory was confirmed. It was big. Bigger than mud swallows for sure. It was a team effort of watching, instructing, working the machinery and repairing the nest which had a big hole in it. As Wilbert was raised up with the baby, the mama flew off and therein came the startling discovery. It was an owl.

Wilbert gently placed the baby in its home in great expectation the mama would accept it, and hopefully, all would be well. Life moved on. Fast forward three days to a phone call. Summer’s voice on the other end told her the little baby had fallen out of the nest again but it was bigger so the mama had been taking care of it. Five minutes later, more news came. There were two babies on the ground and one was the little one. Evidently, the mother had rejected it as the second baby was the larger. Reagan, whose heart was tender, picked up the owlets and placed the two in the box previously made for one. The larger one was developing feathers but the teeny one was still only covered with down. The nest was basically demolished and there was nowhere for the owlets to go so a united effort started investigating how to keep the babies alive. After internet research and talking with a veterinarian, the realization was the job was big. The owlets needed fresh, bloody meat. The converted city lady quickly decided this was not an undertaking she could handle at this moment, and with the farmer’s guidance, decided that until it got into a professional rescuer’s care, the food would be wet dog food. The little box of rescues stayed overnight with Reagan. Unfortunately, the rejected baby owlet didn’t make it but the bigger one did. Reagan brought little “Holler” over to the homeplace the next morning. This transplanted farm girl took the little bird, started feeding it, talking to it and making phone calls. The little guy began chirping when he heard her voice and hungrily ate each feeding time. After much exploring, a place was found to take it; a refuge for wildlife called ARK. RoniMarie found she

had become attached and perhaps the little owl had become connected to her as well. When she raised the lid to check on him, the little “Holler” would respond to her voice. However, she knew the best thing for the owl was in the hands of professionals. She made the transfer and went home to give the report to the others. The grands were also attached so Reagan asked the facility to give updates, which they did. At this time, that little guy is now an almost grown screech owl and doing very well. It’s been a time of learning. Learning to cope; learning that everything has its place on the farm and in the scheme of this life; learning that wishes do come true; (but that’s another story) learning that she may not be ready to farm a crop; learning she was finding her place in this bustling, alive, little piece of heaven. She was producing a flower garden and a rose garden with part of the achievement by the seat of her pants and part by careful research and reading. She had lost some plants and had to replant others but even in the heat and without rain both plots were thriving. The green thumb just might be inborn. The journey of ‘Farm Her’ seemed less intimidating and she could see a pathway ahead that lay in waiting for her to take the reins and make a difference. And harvest was coming up.

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Texas Native Blazes Trails in Home State and Florida While passing through Piedras Negras, Mexico many years ago, Guadalupe Berrones noticed a long line of people standing outside a rundown building with its garage door propped open. It was a Mexican restaurant, the only restaurant for many miles, selling tacos. The tacos did not taste very good, but the thought of owning and operating her own restaurant was a powerful vision Berrones carried away with her that day. Born in Crystal City, Berrones was raised along with her nine siblings north of La Pryor on the Holiday Farm, where her father was employed. Each year from third grade until graduating from high school, Berrones and her family would migrate north during the summer months to either Minnesota or North Dakota hoeing sugar beets. “I loved spending time with my family during the summer months; we were together day and night,” said Berrones. While studying business and management at St. Edwards University in Austin, Berrones was invited to an anniversary celebration in Florida. It was there that she met Cesar, her future husband. “It was love at first sight. We were married and became Christians along the way,” said Berrones. About two years later, in 1987, Berrones started her first restaurant south of Miami from the ground up. She rented a vacant building, hired a cook and in less than a year, Casita Tejas was opened. Berrones gives credit to community leaders who helped her because they wanted her to succeed as well as her husband Cesar, who quit his construction job to assist with the restaurant duties. Longing to be with her family in Texas again, Berrones purchased 54-acres of land in 2005 with a house from the Nueces River Ranch near Crystal City. “Our land is right on the river; I love the tranquility it provides. I started a cow-calf operation that family members assist me with while I am in Florida,” said Berrones. As her restaurant business was booming, Berrones purchased a second restaurant south of Miami, and then a third. With the demanding workload, she was unable to spend quality time with her family. She made the decision to sell one of her restaurants. In 2014, Berrones purchased a 152-acre ranch north of La Pryor was purchased. She came to the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Winter Garden Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) for assistance in improving land efficiency and protecting the natural resources. NRCS District Conservationist, J. M. Villarreal developed a conservation plan to line out a plan of conservation practices that could benefit the land. To help implement these practices, Berrones was able to utilize the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) which is a farm bill program that will assist

with the costs of implementing the conservation practices. On the Crystal City ranch, Villarreal assisted Berrones with cross-fencing, biomass planting (buffelgrass), livestock pipeline and implementing rotational grazing for her cattle. With little to no forage for the cattle to graze, Villarreal recommend cross fencing to address the soil erosion issues as well as biomass planting. “It was very important to me to preserve the water quality of the Nueces River; the cross-fencing also keeps the river’s beauty intact, and my cattle from traveling downstream,” said Berrones. At the La Pryor ranch, cover crops (oats and barley), brush management and prescribed grazing for her cattle and goats were implemented. “Brush management has been a successful tool in addressing the degraded plant condition,” said Villarreal. Pending practices include biomass planting. A third 76-acre ranch located west of La Pryor was purchased in 2017. The purpose in buying the third ranch is to harvest hay for the cattle. The combined ranches now carry about 100 head of cattle. “I love Texas beef! You cannot get this quality of beef in or around my home in Homestead, Florida. I purchase most of the beef for my personal use in Florida from an area meat market here in Texas. The meat is so fresh,” said Berrones. “My goal is to grow grass-fed cattle at my ranches and one day soon transport my own beef to my restaurants and other markets.” Berrones splits her time between Texas and Florida. Whether it is buying or selling cattle, ranches or restaurants, this entrepreneur is quick to credit others for her success. Assisting her father with raising goats at an early age, she credits him for instilling her motivational drive, strong work ethic and love of animals. Starting with a vision she had many years ago outside of Piedras Negras, she also credits owning and operating successful restaurants to 31 years of hard work and dedication. Berrones said, “I credit any successes I have to the many blessings God has given me. I could not have done it without my husband Cesar and my family – family is the most important.” In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Winter Garden SWCD wanted to share the story of one of its female producers. For more information on how NRCS can assist you with your land management goals, please contact J. M. Villarreal at (830) 374-3838, extension 3 or visit the local office at 319 N 1st Ave., Suite 2 in Crystal City. J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

SUMMER OF 2018 BUSY TIME FOR AGRICULTURE…..SEED COTTON UPDATE!!!

t seems sometimes we can never catch up. There is always something that needs to be tended to on the Farm, especially the administrative side. Since the 2014 Farm Bill was passed, these state ments have never been more true. There is so much to know and understand on how the structure of the Farm Bill works, whether it was updating bases, or handling Generic Base it seems as if everything has gotten very complicated. One may wonder why, because it is TRUE!! We have spent a lot of our time over the last 3 years explaining to growers, generic base, and how it can help or hurt their farming operation based on what was planted that year. Well I have good news friends and neighbors, the time for Generic base has gone to the wayside….at least for now. Cotton is back in the Title 1 program as a Commodity known as Seed Cotton. We will discuss this and other changes that we see on the horizon, as well as the 2018 Farm Bill as it comes to form.

BY CASEY CLIPSON

process. This part of the update is like a Plug and Play device. Here is the information, the outcome either benefits or there is no change.

Seed Cotton back as Title 1 All should have or will shortly receive a letter from FSA giving each farm an opportunity to bring Generic base back to Cotton. Basically, we are being asked to go back just like it was 2014 and go through the yield and base acre update for each farm. This will eliminate Generic base and allow all farms to have assigned base acres (non-changing) and will most definitely provide some simplicity and consistency with our farms going forward.

There are 3 things must happen during this update: 1. Growers will be allowed to update their CC yields FSA. 2. Growers will be allowed to reallocate base acres 3. Growers must select ARC or PLC for Seed Cotton program.

Updating CC Yields: This should be the simplest part of the process. Growers will be allowed to prove up cotton yields from the 2008 – 2012 crop years as we did for other crops back 2014. If 90% of the proven yield, during that period, for a farm is higher than the existing CC yield, then the grower will be allowed increase his payment yield on that farm. If the farm does not have higher yield than the old yield (previously proven yield) there will be no change to the yield. To prove this yield growers will need to submit production/Insurance records as proof. Failing to do so will hinder this 68

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Updating Base Acres: This process can be more complicated as there are so many thoughts that go into risk management going forward. The big risk is the understanding of what can be taken from a farm in certain circumstances. 1. If the Farm was not planted to a program crop from 20092016 the generic base will be assigned automatically as unpayable base. (This includes Grazing, Sugarcane, vegetables). Now understand if 1 acre was planted to a program crop during that period, Generic base is eligible for re-assignment to Seed Cotton or other Commodities. 2. If a grower did not plant enough cotton acres during 20092012 (yes different time period than above) to support that amount of generic base acres, a grower can select 80% of generic base and put 20% of the generic base acres into the unpayable base. This will not change any of the other commodities base acres on that farm. OR,

In fact, most growers will not have the time or the patience to untangle this algebraic equation. With that said I encourage all growers to talk to someone with the knowledge and experience on how the two programs work for Seed Cotton. It is vastly important and making the wrong choice could be very costly.

2018 Farm Bill Update: The House version of the 2018 Farm Bill has been Passed which is very good to agriculture. The Senate Version of the Bill will be voted on June 28th and the outcome will be known at the time one reads this article. There is emphasis on a strong Farm program in both version to help protect growers in lean times and to provide little to no help when times are good. We feel this is win-win for both agriculture and the rest of the country. It is a bill that can and should be supported by all. There are amendments that are damaging to the Farm Bill from Groups like The Heritage Foundation and EWG. These organizations cherry pick information and apply it to how it best fits their argument. For the most part, there has been general push back by members congress and most understand the antics and tactics of such organizations.

3. A Grower can reallocate based on percentage of plantings by commodities from the time period of 2009-2012. Obviously, there should be a lot of thought into making these decisions. One thing I do caution is unpayable base. I have heard both sides of this debate, but I caution one to have unpayable base as I feel personally it could be taken as a saving in future farm bills. There are situations where loosing 20% of the generic base will be better for some farms on the short term, but I would think first in long term situations and understand just what may be lost.

CropGuard Group and its affiliates will continue to monitor these types of groups. We will continue defending Agriculture policy as well as Farmers and Ranchers from the Grass Roots level. We will also continue educate people of the importance of agriculture and support ag policy now and into the future. If you need help navigating the Seed Cotton Program with your bases, or any other agriculture question do not hesitate to call us. We are here to help….!

Choosing ARC or PLC: Without Question PLC has been selected most of the time for other commodities (Corn, Grain, Soybeans) when the decisions for the 2014 farm bill update were made. Cotton may be different and must be vetted farm by farm to make the correct choice. There are some key calculations and projections that need to be known and evaluated before making this choice. Here are a few things to consider.

1. What is the Seed Cotton Yield for this Farm? 2. What is the FSA ARC yield for the County? 3. What is the Price of Seed Cotton? 4. What is the Olympic 5 year Avg for Seed Cotton? 5. Why am I asking all these questions…..?

C Casey Clipson CropGuard Group, Inc 2315 W Expressway 83 Ste 102 San Benito, TX 78586 Office 956 688 8485 Cell 956 793 1282

There is absolutely no way I could explain every scenario in this article, so I’m not even attempting to do this. However, there are some opportunities to position each farm in the correct spot. J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

an American Company

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TERRA-GEN an American Company • Local office with local Team (Hidalgo and Willacy Counties) • Team developed largest wind farm in the Rio Grande Valley totaling $1.4 billion in new investments • 25 years of combined experience • Farmer/landowner income enhancement • Landowner revenue is not wind dependent • Less than 2% of land utilized • Leasing land now if you have over 250 acres • Call to determine suitability

Thank you to all land owners. We look forward to a successful 2018!

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BY GREG KUNKLE OF A ERO AG

DOWN IN THE WEEDS WITH DRONES

PART ONE

f you have read any of the previous AgMag articles on drones, I have tried to provide beginning insight into the potential that Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have in agriculture. Today we are going to get down into the weeds…

NIR. It acts as a buffer and increases the accuracy of reading stressed and healthy plant levels. Below is a chart showing the important light frequencies and their ranges.

The concept is quite simple, a drone flies over a field and collect data which a farmer uses to make management decisions in his field. Simple enough. Here are some vocabulary words that you might hear along the way in the field of drone farming and precision agriculture. (UAS) Unmanned Aerial System - Generally, some kind of drone that is piloted autonomously or via remote pilot. This can be a fixed wing (plane), quad copter, octocopter, etc. This system serves as the “chassis” for any peripheral we want to add for data collection. Cameras, GPS, RTK, LiDar, sprayers, flame throwers, claws, and even sometimes…chainsaws (to cut down deadly icicles in Canada) Sensor- The most important part. All the data collected will come from the sensor. Sensor is just a fancy way of saying some kind of “camera,” but it is not a camera in the way you might think. For instance, some sensors do not take pictures but read spectral signatures of light waves reflected from a plant or animal. A camera on your phone today is designed to pick up light waves that can be seen with the human eye. In precision agriculture, it is the light that our eyes cannot see that is the most valuable tool for us. Even heat reflected from the 3rd basal leaf of a cotton plant is a type of light that thermal cameras can pick up. Here are a few types of spectral signatures that are useful in precision agriculture. RGB- Red/Green/Blue the standard colors and range of colors (think of a rainbow) that our eyes can see and pick up. This data is very useful in identifying different kinds of weeds, deficiencies, or pests that may be found in a crop. Green light is reflected more than other light with plants (which is why plants are green) because chlorophyll does not use this frequency for energy production as much. Green is also used in elevation models of fields. More to come on that. NIR- Near-Infrared light is a frequency of light that cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is also, possibly, the most important spectrum to identify stressed plants. NIR is directly correlated with plant health. Chlorophyll directly reflects NIR waves/ radiation/photons/light to be captured by a sensor. The greater the reflectance, the greater the plant health. If the plant has no reflectance, it is dead. RE- Red Edge is the frequency of light between Red and

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Figure 1 Plant Radiation Reflectance

Thermal- Is a heat signature that a sensor can pick up. Heat is another form of light (or in scientific terms radiation) emitted from reactions occurring on a molecular level. Different plants, weeds, animals, and even people have different heat signatures, and with today’s sensors on the market, we can pick up changes in heat signatures down to 1/100th of a degree. Thermal imagery coupled with RGB, NIR, and RE offers the best means of producing a plant’s spectral profile. Because of all the data collected in research, we know what healthy plant profiles should look like and can identify problems when something is not correct. Processing- The sensor mounted on a UAS is attached to a global positioning satellite (GPS) or real time kinematic system (RTK) and will acquire hundreds, if not thousands, of images (data) with all of the above information within each picture. Each picture will not only contain imagery spectral data, but also, the GPS information within each file the sensor creates. A computer will then take the GPS information and create a large map with each picture (Figure 2) known as a MOSAIC (Figure 3). This gives us the ability to zoom into specific areas identifying even a single plant that may show stress while being able to look at the field in its entirety.

Post-Processing- After processing a mosaic and creating our field, computers and technology have created specific tools for farmers and land managers, alike, to use right on their smart phone, tablet, or computer. Although there is so much more detail, I will cover some of the most useful in agricultural practices today for small or large land managers:

NIR Reflectance- Near infrared intensity render. Vegetation density will appear brighter, while non-vegetation or less dense vegetation will appear darker in simple contrast.

DSM- Digital Surface Modeling creates a profile of your land and shows elevation changes in your field with GPS accuracy. If you are irrigating or managing erosion, tracking your elevation changes is valuable parameterâ&#x20AC;Ś.especially on a 500 acre pivot.

RGB Composite- A composite of the Red, Green, and Blue band images creating a composite picture from the individual pictures taken. This would be a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view of exactly what your field would look like from the sky. Chlorophyll Index- The chlorophyll index indicates areas which may be deficient in chlorophyll or show lower values of chlorophyll in your field. This is directly captured by the NIR and RE band frequency of reflected light.

NDVI- Normalized Differential Vegetation Index contrasts the red and near-infrared bands of light reflected from plant leaves. It is a general indication of canopy density and is frequently used to distinguish healthy, stressed, live, and dead vegetation.

OSAVI- Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index is a great tool for looking a seedlings and growth with any kind of soil background. OSAVI maps variability in canopy density and is not sensitive to changing soil brightness as NDVI.

These are currently some of the strongest tools in precision agriculture for making management decisions based on your needs. All of these indexes are designed to provide greater insight into specific parameters that farmers and land managers need to know about. Depending on your crop, field, or ranch, some of these tools are indispensable. The bottom line is that together, precision agriculture imaging and modern agriculture practices are here to help YOUR bottom line and secure the stewardship of our greatest natural resource, our soils. If you have any questions or would like any more details you can find us at

www.AeroAg.net.

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DRIP

DRIPDRIP

he lessons learned in our past have a subtle way of returning and, in many ways, guiding us through our present and into our future. That was certainly the case for Jeffery Kley pas, district sales manager for The Toro Com pany. “Growing up in an agricultural community learning what hard work is and the importance of doing things right set my foundation,” Kleypas said. “I was used to mostly success through college with very little failure.” When the recession of 2008 came, followed by the 2011 drought, that success record was challenged. Kleypas found himself on a professional rollercoaster ride and his career took him “down roads I never imagined, including a brief stint with self-employment when there were no local jobs available in the RGV.” He even had a brief stint teaching high school agriculture for a year, bringing him “a whole different set of challenges in dealing with difficult situations. Kleypas said the opportunity to join Toro’s Ag Business in February 2016 couldn’t have come at any better of a time. “It was the perfect time in my personal and professional development to take on this challenging position,” he said. “The challenges of my past

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positions prepared me for my current position with Toro.” Kleypas grew up in Plainview and graduated high school from Yorktown before moving to Rio Hondo in 2004, beginning his career at Wilbur-Ellis as a field sales representative. His family had a long history of being involved in agriculture as he grew up and he worked countless hours for his neighbor’s cotton and cattle operation as a child. “I chose to earn my BS Agronomy at Texas Tech under the late Dr. Daniel Krieg. I chose agronomy because I have always wanted to farm, but do not have immediate family that is directly involved in a farming operation,” he said. “The financial obligations of operating a successful large row crop farm has kept me from farming on a large scale. With the growth of market farms, I have been able to both farm and have a successful agronomy career.” Now at Toro Ag, Kleypas focuses mainly on drip irrigation and micro irrigation for agricultural and greenhouse applications. Drip irrigation has proven extremely valuable to farmers, and growers, oftentimes saving them 50 percent or more in water usage, compared to the traditional flood irrigation. “Drip allows for the precise delivery of both water and fertilizer to the plant in the root zone,” says Kleypas. “With nutrient run

off being more critical to the environment, this gives the farmer greater control of their fertility program. It is not uncommon to see a 30-to-50-percent increase in yields with the occasional 100-percent increase in yield.” Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, Kleypas saw fields go from full irrigation to pumping sand in a matter of 5 years. “Drip irrigation to me is the best option for saving water in agriculture,” he said. “I’m also a huge fan and proponent of utilizing drip as a fertilizer delivery system. No other irrigation system can provide as uniform a delivery of crop inputs.” He continues: “I want to see the grower succeed, and drip irrigation is a good way to do that. It’s how I irrigate my own farm” Kleypas installed his drip irrigation system on his two-acre farm two years before starting with Toro. His local irrigation dealer recommended Toro but he almost went against that suggestion since he was more familiar with some of Toro’s competitors. But, since Toro had what he needed he gave them a chance. “I almost asked for a different brand. I am glad I didn’t and am still using Toro product from that first initial purchase,” he said. “There are multiple options for a grower when it comes to drip tape, but I would go back to Toro product even if I wasn’t working for them. Toro has a one of a kind drip tape called FlowControl®, which can help a grower increase their uniformity and increase their run lengths, potentially eliminating the need for extra submains that split a field in half. We have seen a direct relationship between yield and uniformity. For each percentage point in uniformity, you can increase yield the same percentage. This is not even factoring in a more uniform harvest and size of crops vegetables. Kleypas uses the drip irrigation at home for his crops – mixed vegetable and herbs that he and his wife will sell at farmer’s markets

and to chefs. Since he does most of the field work, he said he needs a simple-to-use irrigation system. “Using drip allows me to turn the system on after the work day and do other jobs in the field such as weeding, picking, and spraying without having to get muddy,” he said. “If I was flood irrigating, I do not believe I would be able to farm after work.” He said that while drip irrigation is growing, he’s hoping its popularity and usage will heavily increase in the next five years. “I want to see our water districts and growers work more closely together in creating a water delivery system that benefits our water resources and allows more adop tion of drip irrigation across the RGV,” he said. “We can stretch our water resources much more for agriculture and still push our pro duction levels.

The next drought in the RGV may not be fun for irrigated producers when they are fighting for water and the cities take everything they need. “Even in a growing populated area, I am convinced our farmers can still be successful for the long term and drip irrigation plays a key part in that success.”

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