The O. D. Butler, Jr. Animal Science Complex on Thursday, Aug 21, 2025 in College Station, Texas. (Hannah Harrison/Texas A&M AgriLife)
Welcome to our final post of the year. Today, we will review the economic topics that garnered the most attention in 2025 and discuss some of the challenges we anticipate in the upcoming year. Enjoy this Holiday Season, and see you all next year! [Read more…] about Looking Back on 2025: A Year in Review
On Monday, December 8th, President Trump and Secretary Rollins announced that the USDA will provide $12 billion in one-time payments to American farmers. This announcement follows several financially tough years for row crop producers, with the goal of providing some support until investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) can bring relief to eligible farmers next year. In today’s article, we discuss the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program and upcoming deadlines to apply for assistance. [Read more…] about A Look at the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program: What You Need to Know
Agriculture has always faced uncertainty. Although agricultural risk management has come a long way in recent years, producers face a multifaceted risk landscape that is constantly changing due to unpredictable weather, evolving regulatory frameworks, and volatile markets. In this article, we address some factors that make today’s risk environment increasingly complex, discuss common “blind spots”, and provide tips for distinguishing market signals from noise.  [Read more…] about Seeing What Others Miss: Making Sense of Agricultural Risk Today
As defined by USDA-NRCS, a Grazing Management Plan (GMP) is “a site-specific conservation plan that contains planned grazing related conservation treatment activities for one or more resource concerns.” (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/). The element of conservation is what sets apart a GMP from a general management plan for your operation. In this article, we discuss the essential elements of a GMP and how developing a GMP specific to your operation can help in planning for pasture, profit, and performance.
[Read more…] about Grazing Management Plans: Planning for Pasture, Performance, and Profit
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The law included changes to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. In a previous post, we covered what changed for the PLC program. This post explains what has changed for the ARC program and how payments under these programs might be affected. [Read more…] about Changes to the ARC-CO Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Photo by Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications
For the past 25 years, a significant portion of Texas has faced drought conditions nearly every year. According to the latest Drought Monitor report of October 30, around 77% of Texas is currently experiencing some level of drought. The USDA provides a tool to assist ranchers during these challenging times. [Read more…] about Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance Deadline is Coming Soon
President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law on July 4, 2025. The law included changes to two disaster programs administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency: the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). In this post, we explain the changes to these programs and how those might affect Panhandle livestock producers.
[Read more…] about Changes to the LIP and LFP Programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The law included changes to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. In this post, we explain what has changed for PLC and how payments under this program might be affected. [Read more…] about Changes to the PLC Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Let Your Numbers Do the Talking
Beef Cattle Short Course on Aug. 3, 2022 in College Station, Texas. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
With cattle markets constantly shifting and production costs on the rise, making sound financial decisions in your cow-calf or stocker operation is more important than ever. Whether you’re thinking about purchasing replacement females, retaining ownership past weaning, or evaluating a preconditioning program, there’s a tool available to help guide those decisions. The Beef Cattle Decision Aids walk you through all of these topics and much more! [Read more…] about Beef Cattle Decision Aids: Let Your Numbers Do the Talking
Cotton harvest on Oct. 20, 2021. (Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
As harvest time approaches, the outlook for the 2025/26 cotton crop is starting to become clearer. In this post, we examine what the latest reports from the USDA reveal about cotton production this year. [Read more…] about Fall 2025 Cotton Production and Market Outlook