You’re More Than A Grass Farmer, You May Not Know It

BY LUCAS GREGORY

hat does a rancher in northern Willacy County have in common with a W homeowner in Harlingen? They are both grass farmers but might not realize it. The rancher raises grass to keep their livestock fed and in good condition for calving and market. The homeowner grows grass to keep the landscape around the house and the neighborhood looking nice. The scale and approach to managing these very different grass production scenarios are quite different though; and they don’t just focus on grass either.

Ranchers run large-scale, complex operations of managing cattle and maximizing forage production with the least inputs in an effort to maximize profit margins. Homeowners manage a much smaller landscape and don’t necessarily make decisions based on optimizing costs versus benefits. Ease of implementing a management decision and ability to acquire materials for the job are usually the biggest decision-making factors. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension, and the Texas Water Resources Institute are hosting two virtual education events that will focus on managing these diverse, grass dominated landscapes. Pre-registration is required for each event. Program updates, instructions for joining the online program, and program materials will all be sent to program participants via email prior to the respective events.

Homeowners and landscape managers alike will be interested in the Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program. It will be held September 3 from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. with a half hour break for lunch. To register for this event, please provide contact information using the form available at:

“The Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program aims to improve and protect surface water quality by enhancing awareness and knowledge of best management practices for residential landscapes,” Dr. Becky Grubbs, AgriLife Extension urban water specialist, Dallas, said. This pro

gram will focus on management practices such as using irrigation delivery equipment, interpreting soil test results and understanding nutrient applications to help reduce runoff and make efficient use of applied landscape irrigation water. Dr. Diane Boellstorff, AgriLife Extension water resource specialist in the soil and crop sciences department, College Station, said proper fertilizer application and efficient water irrigation can protect and improve water quality in area creeks and collecting rainwater for lawn and landscape needs reduces stormwater runoff. After the program, these resources can be accessed at https://hlhw. tamu.edu/. Jaime Flores, watershed coordinator for the Arroyo Colorado Watershed, will discuss updates on watershed protection plan activities to improve and protect water quality in this watershed.

For more information about the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan, go to: https://arroyocolorado.org/water

Funding for the Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program is provided in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through a Clean Water Act grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the Texas Water Resources Institute.

Ranchers and hay producers will want to sign up for the 4th Annual LRGV Forage Field Day. This virtual program will be held October 8th from 9 a.m. – noon. To register for this event, please provide contact information using the form Victor Gutierrez, Texas Water Resources Institute’s Extension Associate in Weslaco and one of the program organizers, said that this program will cover a variety of topics including grass planting, brush management, technical and financial assistance opportunities, and pasture, range, and forage (PRF) insurance.

“This the 4th year we’ve hosted this event and it has gotten better every year,” Gutierrez said. “Even though this year’s event will be virtual, it will still cover a lot of ground and will even include a virtual field tour of a pasture and land demonstration project.”

While this program will focus primarily on forage development, management, and risk reduction, the content of the program will also have positive environmental considerations when producers implement practices on their properties. Well managed and properly stocked grazing lands provide a host of benefits to both the producer and society in the form of higher livestock productivity, improved water storage and water quality, and decreased flood risk. This program is a joint effort between Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Partial funding support is provided by a U.S EPA Clean Water Act grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board to the Texas Water Resources Institute.

Lawn watering with pop-up sprinkler.

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