Southwest Farm Press News Archive

Range monitoring focus of Sept. 20 Jones County workshop

Sep 18, 2007,

By Steve Byrns
Texas A&M University

Texas Cooperative Extension will hold a range monitoring workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 20 at the Longworth Community Center....

Bug 'explosion' may be coming for farmers and homeowners

Sep 17, 2007,

By Steve Byrns
Texas A&M University

Crickets, mosquitos, flies, fleas and spiders: Texans have seen them all this summer thanks to unprecedented wet weather. But a Texas Cooperative Extension entomologist says the worst may be yet to come. ...

To maximize biofuel potential, Texas researchers look for sorghum’s “sweet spot”

Sep 17, 2007

Picture this - IV (intravenous) lines in a sorghum field. It's not as far-fetched as it sounds. It's one way that scientists at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station are researching crops that may contribute to the biofuel revolution. ...

High quality, heart-healthy beef focus of international symposium

Sep 17, 2007,

By Blair Fannin
Texas A&M University

Producing beef with high levels of oleic acid and other heart-healthy traits for both domestic and Asian consumption will highlight an international symposium Oct. 15-16 at Texas A&M University. ...

Texas, crop and weather: Reports of armyworms in some areas

Sep 14, 2007,

By Robert Burns
Texas A&M University

Scattered storms brought rain to some parts of Texas, with many counties seeing warm days and cooler nights, reported Texas Cooperative Extension agents and specialists across the state. ...

Public feedback sought on Pecos River watershed protection plan

Sep 14, 2007,

By Steve Byrns
Texas A&M University

Persons interested in the future of the Pecos River are asked to give input to a draft plan aimed at improving the river and its watershed. ...

Export demand helps insulate U.S. corn producers

Sep 14, 2007

Despite drops in the estimated the amount of corn consumed by U.S. ethanol production in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 marketing years, strong export demand will minimize the impact, according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report released today. “The growing ethanol industry has been critical to corn producers’ profitability, but a diverse customer base is essential to the long-term success of U.S. farmers,” noted Ken Hobbie, president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council. ...

Selecting quality wheat seed critical with challenging year

Sep 13, 2007,

By Gaylon Morgan & Brent Bean
Texas A&M

Several regions of the state have endured weather conditions and diseases that are detrimental to wheat seed quality. This includes a late freeze in the Concho Valley and Rolling Plains, and extremely wet conditions in the Blacklands, Northeast Texas, and Rolling Plains that prevented or delayed harvest. These wet conditions have led to black point disease and pre-harvest sprouting in many areas of the state. Additionally, stinking smut (also called common bunt) and some loose smut have caused major problems in parts of the Panhandle. ...

Cotton Board approves Cotton Incorporated's 2008 budget

Sep 13, 2007

The Cotton Board approved Cotton Incorporated’s proposed 2008 budget of $78 million on September 6 during the Cotton Board's Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The allocated budget and plan will now be forwarded to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for final approval. ...

Feed grains exports forecast at record $24 billion

Sep 13, 2007

U.S. agricultural exports surpassed expectations last year generating a record $68.6 billion for U.S. farm families and the economy in general. ...

The good, bad of Texas rain

Sep 12, 2007,

By Harry Cline
Farm Press Editorial Staff

Texas Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend cotton farmers have been treading water and watching sorghum heads sprout. ...

Verticillium and Fusarium wilts gain ground on Texas High Plains

Sep 12, 2007

Rainfall amounts were well above average and heat units were considerably below average for the first several months of the cotton-growing season in 2007. ...

U.S. exports climbing on world supply shortage with record prices

Sep 12, 2007,

By Joe Sowers
U.S. Wheat Associates

The recent USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates showed further reductions in global wheat production as poor growing conditions around the world undermine harvests and further reduce global stocks, already at the lowest level seen in 36 years. ...

P.I.E. tour: Western cotton growers impressed with Texas crop

Sep 11, 2007,

By Ron Smith
Farm Press Editorial Staff

Cotton farmers from Arizona and California expressed surprise at the Texas dryland cotton crop prospects and near-amazement at the amount of rainfall they encountered recently on a National Cotton Council Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) tour. ...