Category Archives: May
Pricing for 2022 Summer Texas Crops—Some at Record Highshs
This document provides recent market and contract pricing and contacts for a dozen Texas crops. Prices for major commodity crops corn, cotton, and grain sorghum are especially strong at this point in 2022. AgriLife Extension economists Dr. John Robinson, cotton, john.robinson@ag.tamu.edu and Dr. Mark Welch, corn and sorghum, mark.welch@ag.tamu.edu, are writing and speaking frequently on high prices and strategies for crop marketing. The February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has shaken world markets especially for wheat. Ukraine is a large exporter of winter wheat. The country also… Read More →
Texas A&M AgriLife Hemp Projects for 2022
Funding is very limited for any hemp work this year. I have received neither inquiries nor funding for any cannabinoid work so at this time I will not be planting any CBD variety trials. Here are the current projects and locations. If you wish to learn more about any of these trial sites, please e-mail me. Fiber & Grain Variety Yield Trial—Texas A&M AgriLife, Lubbock, 33.5° N Fifteen hemp fiber and grain varieties have been chosen by Trostle for planting three-rep randomized trials to… Read More →
On-Line Calculator to get Texas A&M Soil Test Recommendations based on Other Labs’ Test Values
Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy/TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Dr. Tony Provin, Extension Soil Testing,/TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, College Station, (979) 845-4816, t-provin@tamu.edu May 4, 2021 Texas farmers have many choices for laboratories conducting their soil analyses. If you work with a fertilizer dealer, they may collect your soil samples, pay for analysis, and draw from the information to make recommendations. This is fine, just know there is a possible conflict of interest (sales). If someone does your soil… Read More →
Guar & Crop Insurance—USDA-RMA Feasibility Study: Follow-up
Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Last September I noted the process underway to study the potential for guar to be added as a program crop for federal crop insurance. That earlier report is at https://agrilife.org/texasrowcrops/news/page/2/ USDA Risk Management Agency is currently administering a contract with Agralytica, Alexandria, VA to evaluate the feasibility of a guar crop insurance program. This has included face-to-face visits with farmers, documenting perils the crop may face, etc. Texas A&M AgriLife… Read More →
Preserving Our Weed Management Tools Through Good Stewardship
by Gaylon Morgan, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX; gdmorgan@tamu.edu; Paul Baumann, Texas A&N AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX; p-baumann@tamu.edu; Josh McGinty, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Corpus Christi, TX, joshua.mcginty@ag.tamu.edu Large farms and erratic weather makes it difficult for producers to cover all their acres for nutrient and pest management. So, everyone is looking for ways to cut trips across the fields to save money and time. However, if we are not careful, we could be doing more harm than good and costing ourselves… Read More →
Potential Income Losses in Harvesting Dry Wheat Grain
by Dr. Calvin Trostle, Professor & Extension Agronomist, Lubbock, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu; Dr. Clark Neely, Assistant Professor & State Extension Small Grains Agronomist, cbneely@tamu.edu The standard moisture for wheat grain at harvest time is 13.5%. If your wheat moisture is above 13.5% you will be docked for the moisture. If you are too much above standard moisture content for wheat your delivery point may reject the grain, especially if they do not have the capacity to dry grain. Common incentives that drive harvesting wheat as soon as possible include minimizing… Read More →
Mild Winter and Wet Spring Provide Challenges for Wheat Producers
by Dr. Clark Neely, Statewide Small Grains Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station, TX, Dr. Ron French, Extension Plant Pathologist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Amarillo, TX, Dr. Josh McGinty, Regional Extension Agronomist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Corpus Christi, TX Wheat rusts have been another hot topic in wheat production for 2016. Following a severe stripe rust outbreak in 2015, most of Texas is once again seeing the effects of this disease on the state’s crop for 2016 (Fig 1). Mild winter temperatures allowed for the establishment… Read More →
Early-season Insect Management for South Texas Cotton
by Robert Bowling, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and AgriLife Extension Entomology Specialist Cotton: Much of the Coastal Bend and Wintergarden cotton is out of danger for thrips injury. It has been a quiet year for thrips and may give credence that cotton insecticide seed treatments are working fine in Texas. However, frequent heavy rain events around the area have likely helped keep their populations in check. The cotton aphid is on the prowl. There are reports of cotton aphids building on cotton growing in the Valley. Late last week… Read More →
Considerations for Cotton Planting and Early Season Growth
by Seth Byrd, Assistant Professor & Extension Cotton Specialist, Lubbock, TX As we near the time of the year when cotton planting will start in the High Plains and Rolling Plains region, it is always helpful to remind ourselves of early-season growth and development of cotton in order to start-off the season strong. Two of the primary drivers behind the growth of cotton, both at early growth stages and throughout the season, are water and temperature. While warm days certainly signal the onset of planting season, be careful… Read More →