Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Staff Michelle Martin
Owner/Editor michelle@theagmag.org (956) 330-8870
Al Benavides Graphic Design (956) 492-6407
A Letter from the Editor ”It is just not fair.” Ever felt like saying that when things just don’t go your way? Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned and we don’t always get our way. I am an only child and have used the phrase “It’s just not fair” on more than one occasion. Recently, we moved into a new home, and during that move my son got a stomach bug. I followed shortly thereafter with the same bug, and we had to be moved into our new home within 24 hours. Can you guess how many times the phrase “ It just isn’t fair” came out my mouth, along with some other choice words? All I really wanted to do was crawl into bed but I had things that had to be done, I had no choice but to keep going. During that time though,I laid in my bed and thought to myself how maybe that phrase isn’t one I should be using. It’s such an easy term to throw out but in all reality it wasn’t fair. I was moving into a beautiful new home; I was given a blessing, who was I to be cursing this blessing? And hey on the plus I dropped a couple pounds, what woman doesn’t like that? Despite wanting total control of the situation, I was brought back to reality very quickly that I cannot control everything. As much as we think we are in control of things, we aren’t. Instead of focusing on the bad, maybe focus on the good that comes from every bad situation. The Valley is in need of rain, and the lack of has caused many crops not to grow, or grow to their potential. Our plants look dull and in need of life. It may seem that nothing is going as planned and nothing is going right and it is just not fair. But somehow you find a way to just keep going. You find ways to make it work, or you just know it is not going to work and move on to the next task. You just keep going. Just as our plants look dull and in need of life, sometimes the same goes for us. Sometimes we need that rain - God - in order to bring us back to life. It is so easy to get caught up in our own expectations that we tend to forget that it is not our expectations that we need to live up to, it’s God’s. So if you are having a difficult time in life right now, try to sit back and count your blessings and stop focusing on the bad. For every troubled time sprouts a blessing. You must keep going, because God will bless you for being faithful. Not everything is meant to work out and although it may not seem fair to us at the time, our God is fair and just and he will help you succeed. Sometimes fair doesn’t mean not getting what you want, it is what you need. You must keep the faith. God gave you this life, and we never know when it will end. Don’t let the bad gain control of your attitude or put a damper on your day. Things will never go exactly as you had planned so don’t waste your time thinking about what could have been. Instead, focus on the now and the future. Enjoy the life God gave you. Bad will come and go, it never sticks around forever - unless you allow it to. The choice is yours.
Owner/Creator of AG MAG
In This Issue: Does Southeast Asia hold the solution for Texas’ cattle tick problems? 6 Four factors shaping marketing success in 2018 10 SAN ANTONIO... A Historically Refreshing City 12 Featured Farmer: Soaring with Rowland 16 Las Huellas 18 AGRIBUSINESS 20 The Brahman F1- Solution for southern cattlemen 22 Servando Leal 26 Farming in the Fast Lane 28 AGRILIFE EXTENSION - EFNEP Summer program feeds children’s bodies, minds 30 Shoot for the Moon 32 Cattle Review 34 Garbanzo Beans in South Texas 38 A Farmer on the Rise 44 2018 RGV Livestock Show Pictures 48 2018 Star Show Pictures 50 FFA & 4-H Calendar of Events 52 Paul Pilsner - 2017 Cotton Consultant of the Year 56 FARM HER The Journey 60 Sustainability Empowers Alternative School Students 62 Daily Dose of Inspiration - Inspirational Quotes 65 Irrigation Best Practices 68 Plant Tissue Testing to Identify Deficiencies 72
Cover Photo by: The Dept of Agriculture Volume 4, Issue 5. May/June 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