Today’s youth train to become tomorrow’s beef cattle producers

COLLEGE STATION — The youth track for the 2019 Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course, held recently in College Station, gave real-world experience, hours of education and a beef quality assurance certification to 30 youth interested in expanding their beef cattle knowledge.  “One goal for our youth track is to allow students to have a hands-on experience with the beef industry,” said Victoria Heller, youth track co-facilitator and Texas Beef Council industry outreach manager, Austin. “This allows them to discover aspects of our industry they may not be familiar… Read More →

Southwest Dairy Days set Nov. 7 at T&K Dairy near Snyder

The newly constructed barn at T&K Dairy will be a part of the Southwest Dairy Day on Nov. 7 near Snyder. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Juan Piñeiro)

SNYDER – After a year off, the annual Southwest Dairy Day will return Nov. 7 at the T&K Dairy and will be hosted by the Collier family and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. T&K Dairy is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 84 East and County Road 1673 east of Snyder. The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. and feature tours, exhibitor booths and lunch courtesy of Hi-Pro Feeds. It will conclude at 3 p.m. Online registration is available at agriliferegister@tamu.edu. “Southwest Dairy… Read More →

The Search for Stockmen

By Kylee Kohls The future of food is in our hands, but do we have enough hands to help feed the world? Courtney Daigle, assistant professor of animal welfare at Texas A&M University, shares ideas on the narrowing supply of quality stockmen and how cattlemen might find more top hands. “There are fewer people working in agriculture, so there’s a limited awareness that stockmanship is a potential occupation,” she says. “A lot of our workforce is made up of immigrants, and some of the challenges we have in… Read More →

Backstory fodder for future

By Kevin Schulz Jeff Wiegert doesn’t want to be the poster child for where swine specialists can originate, but he does feel that his backstory has some merit in being shared. He is just a couple months into a new position at Texas A&M University as an assistant professor and swine Extension specialist, after completing his doctorate this spring at North Carolina State University under the guidance and mentorship of Mark Knauer. Wiegert’s path to being a swine specialist began in the Midwest, but not with hogs. “I… Read More →

46th annual AgriLife Research Sheep and Goat Field Day, AgriLife Extension Texas Sheep and Goat Expo held in San Angelo

Molly Walker, wife of center director John Walker, Ph.D., unveiled the center’s sheep statue during the field day. (AgriLife Extension photo by Blair Fannin)

By Susan Himes SAN ANGELO —  The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Centerin San Angelo held their annual sheep and goat events over the weekend, attracting over 300 participants. Sheep and Goat Field Day The morning of Aug. 16, the 46th Sheep and Goat Field Day was held at the center. Attendees toured the center and listened to Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists discussing their work related to small ruminants being done at the center. “The field day was a great success,  and attendees learned about… Read More →

San Angelo hosts 46th annual Sheep and Goat Expo

Attendees from as far away as Australia were in San Angelo last weekend for the 46th annual Texas A&M AgriLife Research Field Day and the Texas Sheep and Goat Expo at the Spur Arena. According to organizer Susan Himes, more than 300 participants and dozens of vendors were on hand for the occasion. Events kicked off the morning of Aug. 16 with the Sheep and Goat Field Day held at the AgriLife Research center, offering tours of the center and talks with the center’s specialists discussing their work…. Read More →

Anthrax a growing concern as Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory confirms 20th case

The “anthrax triangle” is the area of Texas where cases are traditionally seen. Shaded counties represent where 2019 cases have occurred. (Texas Animal Health Commission map)

By Susan Himes SAN ANGELO — Anthrax continues to be a growing concern in Texas, especially through the “anthrax triangle” region, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist. The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, has now confirmed 20 positive cases of anthrax in animals, the Texas Animal Health Commission announced in their fifth situational update report. The first case was confirmed June 21 and the most recent case was confirmed Aug.13. In an average year, TVMDL diagnoses two to three cases. However this year’s wet… Read More →

AgriLife Extension offers 12-week online training for new agriculture businesses

By Kay Ledbetter COLLEGE STATION – Generation Next: Our Turn to Ranch is a 12-week online course to be offered Aug.18-Nov. 9 by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “This curriculum is perfect for new landowners or those who are looking to start a new agricultural operation on an existing ranch,” said Dr. Megan Clayton, AgriLife Extension range specialist, Corpus Christi. “With more and more people venturing into new areas of agribusiness, we want to provide them with access to experts in the areas that will be critical… Read More →

65th Beef Cattle Short Course wrapped in College Station

Auditorium full of people

By Adam Russell COLLEGE STATION – The 2019 Texas A&M AgriLife Beef Cattle Short Course Aug. 5-7 at Texas A&M University featured a full slate of educational presentations and discussions focused on the beef cattle industry. Dr. Jason Cleere, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist, College Station, said the 65th annual Beef Cattle Short Course continued the event’s history of growth. Cleere said there were more than 2,300 attendees and more than 140 exhibitors, including ranchers from all over Texas, the country and 15 nations around… Read More →

Nitrate toxicity becomes a factor during hot, dry conditions

Certain plant species such as corn, sorghum species, pearl millet, winter annual cereal grains like wheat, oats, and small grain rye, as well as weeds like pig weed, have a tendency to accumulate nitrates more than others. (Journal photo by Lacey Newlin.)

By Lacey Newlin When the rain stops, the heat persists and the plants start to stress, nitrate toxicity concern starts to creep to the surface. “With nitrate toxicity, the plant will either absorb nitrate or ammonia from the soil,” explained Jason Banta, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist. “In the case of nitrate, when the plant is absorbing it through the roots and if, for some reason, the plant stops growing normally, then it will not convert that nitrate to amino acids and then protein so we… Read More →