February 2005 AgNews Links

February 28, 2005
Livestock Specialist: Don’t Starve The Profit Out Of Your Cows  
CORPUS CHRISTI – An unusually mild and wet winter is taking its toll on beef cows across the southern and eastern parts of the state, said Dr. Joe Paschal, livestock specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension.

February 25, 2005
Texas A&M Honors Dean At Monterrey Tech  
WESLACO – A dean at one of Mexico's top agricultural schools was recently honored by Texas A&M University Agriculture Program officials for helping to build relations between the two universities.

February 25, 2005
Texas Economist: Time Is Right For 'Food Chain Event Gaming'  
ARLINGTON, Va. – A Texas Cooperative Extension economist said Friday the time is right to consider "food-chain event gaming" aimed at thwarting terrorist attacks on food supplies.

February 25, 2005
Beathard Wins Texas Dietetic Association Award  
COLLEGE STATION – Ask Karen Beathard what's the best part of her job, and she'll say it's working with the students.

February 25, 2005
Nation’s Beef Inventory Rising; Prices To Remain Steady For Producers  
COLLEGE STATION – An increase in the nation's cattle inventory has signaled a rebuilding phase among beef herds, according to a Texas Cooperative Extension livestock economist.

February 24, 2005
Bees Have Place In Literary Symbolism, 4-H'Ers Find  
LINDSAY – Sometimes writing about a subject can inspire a new interest.

February 24, 2005
Savell Wins Meat Science Award  
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Jeff Savell, professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University, has been given the E. Floyd Forbes Award by the National Meat Association. The award was presented on Feb. 21 at the association's annual meeting in Las Vegas.

February 24, 2005
Strategic Farming Program Set For March 28 In Fort Stockton  
FORT STOCKTON – Texas Cooperative Extension is sponsoring "Strategic Farming: A Compendium of Issues, Strategies and Alternatives" at 9:30 a.m. March 28 in the District 6 Extension Center here.

February 24, 2005
Murano Urges Food Safety Policies Based On Science  
ARLINGTON, Va. – Policymakers can only handle food safety issues adequately if they seek science-based answers, a former U.S. undersecretary of Agriculture said today.

February 23, 2005
Managing Price Risk Key To A Profitable Bottom Line  
AMARILLO – Marketing strategies have made a $60,000 difference in Karen Pshigoda's family farm's bottom line this year.

February 23, 2005
Medicare Changes Planned For Next Year  
AMARILLO – The new year is only a couple of months old. But it's not too early to start getting ready for Medicare changes scheduled for 2006, said a Texas Cooperative Extension program specialist.

February 22, 2005
Texas Crop And Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION -- Rain and sun have worked their grass-greening magic on pastures, but cattle producers know that too much of a good thing can be detrimental. Excess consumption of newly emerged wheat in pastures can cause bloating in cattle, Texas Cooperative Extension reports.

February 22, 2005
Wet Weather Is Worse Case Scenario For Cotton Gins, Quality  
LUBBOCK – Abundant rainfall and moisture from snow and ice prolonged the 2004 South Plains cotton harvest and presented gins a worst-case scenario.

February 22, 2005
Dr. Jim Cathey Named New Texas Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist At Uvalde  
UVALDE – Dr. Jim Cathey will become Texas Cooperative Extension's new wildlife specialist at Uvalde Mar. 1 according to an announcement made by Dr. Neal Wilkins, Extension project leader in Texas A&M University's wildlife and fisheries science department at College Station.

February 21, 2005
Fine-Tuning Calf Nutrition Could Reduce Nitrogen Pollution  
STEPHENVILLE – Dairying, like all forms of agriculture is a vicious treadmill, demanding ever increased efficiency to stay in place, said a dairy nutritionist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

February 21, 2005
Expanding Texas Entrepreneurship To Be Focus Of March 29 Austin Summit  
AUSTIN – Helping the Texas economy grow through business entrepreneurship will be the theme of a day-long summit on March 29 at the Austin Marriott at the Capitol.

February 18, 2005
Rainwater Collection Conference Slated  
WESLACO – It's not a new idea, but the latest trend among home gardeners is to collect rainwater from rooftops to irrigate their landscapes. A southern Texas horticulturist thinks it's such a great idea, she's organized a conference to bring in experts to help get the word out.

February 18, 2005
Check Cotton Seed Quality Carefully This Year  
LUBBOCK – Cotton producers who catch their own seed for planting should pay particular attention to seed quality this year, said a Texas Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist.

February 17, 2005
Food Choices Can Affect Health In More Ways Than One  
COLLEGE STATION – You've read the stories about improving health through proper nutrition and exercise, and you're all ready to get started. You read about the updated Food Guide Pyramid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are determined to use it as your basis for a more healthful diet. You have decided to do everything you can to improve your health.

February 17, 2005
Armstrong County Hires New Extension Agriculture Agent  
AMARILLO – Kyle Stewart is ready to call Texas home.

February 17, 2005
Asian Interest Provides Opportunities For U.s. Hard White Wheats  
AMARILLO – The United States could sell 1 million metric tons of hard white wheat to Asian countries now if the wheat was available, said Texas Agricultural Experiment Station state wheat breeder.

February 17, 2005
Student Poster Awards  
COLLEGE STATION – Winners of this year's Student Research Poster Competition were announced in January at Texas A&M University.

February 16, 2005
Texas Cooperative Extension Names New Irion County Agent  
MERTZON – Joe M. Self, Jr. becomes Texas Cooperative Extension's new agriculture and natural resources agent for Irion County Feb. 15, according to a joint announcement made by County Judge Leon Standard and Scott Durham, Extension district administrator.

February 16, 2005
Depression Knows No Age Limit  
AMARILLO – Life is full of changes. But as a person ages, those changes may come more frequently and be harder to face, said an expert from Texas Cooperative Extension.

February 15, 2005
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION – Millions of dollars in agriculture production savings poured from the sky in southern regions of Texas recently, according to Texas Cooperative Extension experts.

February 15, 2005
Texas Brigades Seek Adult Leaders  
SAN ANGELO – Love the outdoors and working with young people? Consider becoming a Texas Brigades adult volunteer this summer.

February 15, 2005
Boone And Crockett Club Endows $1 Million Wildlife Policy Chair At Texas A&M  
COLLEGE STATION – A $1 million Wildlife and Conservation Policy chair has been endowed at Texas A&M University's department of wildlife and fisheries sciences with a gift from the Boone and Crockett Club.

February 14, 2005
Texas Food And Fiber System Contributes $73 Billion To State’s Economy  
COLLEGE STATION – Texas' food and fiber system contributed approximately $73 billion to the state's economy in 2001, according to a joint study by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Cooperative Extension, and the State Office of the Comptroller.

February 11, 2005
Protected Seed Varieties Require Proper Labeling  
AMARILLO - Picking up a load of elevator-run seed wheat used to be a common practice, but today it could be a costly one - and not just for the producer. That's because the Plant Variety Protection Act is being enforced.

February 11, 2005
$1 Million Grant Awarded For Cattle Genome Research  
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. James Womack, director of the Center for Animal Biotechnology and Genomics at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded a $1 million research grant from the Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation.

February 11, 2005
Quality Does Count  
COLLEGE STATION – 4-H and FFA members all over the state are becoming better stewards of their animals through Quality Counts, a program developed by Texas Cooperative Extension and FFA.

February 11, 2005
Pyramiding Genes Leads to Better Wheats and TAMU Regents Award  
OVERTON – The Texas A&M University Board of Regents has named Dr. Lloyd Nelson as the recipient of the Regents Fellow Service Award. Nelson is an Overton-based researcher and plant breeder with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

February 11, 2005
Ipm Entomologist Cottons Up To New Position  
WESLACO – Manda Cattaneo is so new to the Lower Rio Grande Valley she hasn't formed an opinion about the area. She started her new job Jan. 18 and is still getting familiar with her office at the Texas A&M Agricultural University System Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.

February 10, 2005
Karnal Bunt Could Rear Its Ugly Spores Again  
AMARILLO - Weigh it, test it for moisture and put it under the microscope?

February 09, 2005
Deer Management Workshop Slated March 3 In Sonora  
SONORA – Texas Cooperative Extension offices in three of the state's top deer-hunting counties are pooling their efforts to present a deer management workshop beginning at 8:30 a.m. Mar. 3 in the Sutton County Civic Center here.

February 09, 2005
Concho Valley Cotton Conference Set For March 1 In San Angelo  
SAN ANGELO – The sixth Concho Valley Cotton Conference is set for March 1 in the San Angelo Convention Center here.

February 08, 2005
Texas Crop And Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION -- Texas is wet! Unusually heavy precipitation this past year has left most of the state saturated. Many fields are waterlogged, but specialists at Texas Cooperative Extension say spring planting is several months away so fields should have a chance to dry before then.

February 08, 2005
March 8 Conference Promises Increased Agricultural Income On Small Acreages  
PALESTINE – Interested in realizing additional income on your small acreage? If so, Texas Cooperative Extension's Spring Conference, set for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 8 at Elmwood Gardens here, is for you, said Truman Lamb, Extension agent in Anderson County.

February 07, 2005
Texas Cooperative Extension And Howard College Partner On Business Development Project  
SAN ANGELO – Texas Cooperative Extension and Howard College at Big Spring are partnering in a pilot project to provide area-wide business development assistance throughout the Howard College service area.

February 07, 2005
Introductory Quickbooks Short Course Slated In March  
VERNON – Next month, Texas Cooperative Extension will offer an Introduction to QuickBooks Pro computer short course at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center here. QuickBooks Pro is financial and record keeping software.

February 05, 2005
Body Of Texas A&M Wildlife Research Technician Found Off Texas Coast  
ROCKPORT -- Searchers on Friday afternoon found the body of a Texas A&M University wildlife research technician who had apparently drowned Thursday in Sundown Bay at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas.

February 04, 2005
“thinking Dirty” Near Valentine’s Day Can Help Lawn, Garden  
AUSTIN – What are Travis County residents going to get their lawn or garden for Valentine's Day? With spring just around the corner, now is an ideal time to "send your lawn or garden a valentine" by having your soil tested, said Skip Richter, agent for horticulture at Texas Cooperative Extension in Travis County.

February 04, 2005
Leadership Program Names Outstanding Alumnus  
AUSTIN – Barry Evans of Kress was named the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Alumnus of the Year.

February 04, 2005
Love Your Kids: Buckle Them Up  
COLLEGE STATION – Sharing candy, flowers, hearts and other symbols of love is the way most Americans celebrate Valentine's Day, Feb. 14.

February 04, 2005
Spencer Receives 2005 Young Investigator Award  
COLLEGE STATION –Thomas E. Spencer, Texas A&M University assistant professor of animal science, has been named recipient of the Young Investigator Award in life and social sciences. The award is given by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.

February 03, 2005
Extension's Lemon, Bynum Receive Tppa Awards  
COLLEGE STATION - Dr. Robert Lemon, Texas Cooperative Extension state cotton specialist, and Josh Bynum, a Texas A&M University graduate student, received awards recently at the 16th Annual Texas Plant Protection Conference.

February 03, 2005
Forget Waltzing ... Walk Across Texas Instead  
COLLEGE STATION – Tired of burning gas and wearing out tires? Try burning calories and wearing out walking shoes instead.

February 03, 2005
Time To Top Dress Winter Wheat  
AMARILLO - Wet fall and winter weather has wheat in excellent shape across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. But with the moisture come a few problems, area Texas Cooperative Extension agronomists say.

February 03, 2005
Texas Crop And Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION - This little piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home. But at least 26,000 Texas pigs will go to a show this year, adding millions to the state economy, Texas Cooperative Extension reports.

February 02, 2005
Energy Prices Inflate Fertilizer Costs  
OVERTON - Farmers considering poultry litter as fertilizer this year had better go ahead "get 'r done" as springtime supplies may be limited.

February 01, 2005
Extension Helps Get The Bugs Out Of Insect, Weed Control  
SAN ANTONIO - Does finding the right pesticide or herbicide and figuring out the most effective way to mix and apply it drive you buggy? Proper insect and weed control means using the right product at the right rate and delivering it only where you want it to go, said Charles Stichler, Texas Cooperative Extension agronomist at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Uvalde.