June 2003 AgNews Links

June 30, 2003
“rawhide” Symposium To Address Ranching Viability On Aug. 4-5 And Aug. 7-8  
SAN ANGELO – A symposium on "Ranching Aimed at Wildlife Habitat Improvement and Diversification of Enterprises," otherwise known as RAWHIDE, is sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension and will be held in two West Texas locations in August.

June 27, 2003
Brazilian Grad Students Receive Tcfa Scholarships  
AMARILLO -- Brazilian graduate students Julio Cesar Silva and Judson Vasconcelos have been recognized by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association Education Foundation for their work involving the cattle feeding industry.

June 27, 2003
Lab Technician Awarded Grant For Graduate Research  
AMARILLO - Esther Villanueva of Amarillo, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station plant pathology research lab technician and graduate student at West Texas A&M University, has been awarded the school's Kilgore Graduate Research grant to support her thesis research through the summer.

June 26, 2003
Texas Cooperative Extension Hosts A Seminar On Childhood Obesity On July 15  
DALLAS -- Texas Cooperative Extension will host 'Wellness in Texas', a program to address the issues of childhood obesity, on July 15.

June 25, 2003
Texas Wildlife Damage Management Service Looks For Answers  
COLLEGE STATION - Two days after the veto of the entire budget of the Texas A&M University System's Texas Wildlife Damage Management Service, the agency's director says he still hopes to find a way to keep the doors open for the coming biennium.

June 25, 2003
Keep In Touch: Know Your Nails  
COLLEGE STATION – They are more than just fashion accessories.

June 25, 2003
Good Skin Health: Here’s The Skinny  
COLLEGE STATION – Weighing in somewhere around 8 pounds, it's the largest organ in the human body, according to the American Medical Association.

June 24, 2003
Texas Crop And Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION – Cantaloupe harvest in South Texas has come to a close with disappointing yields, Texas Cooperative Extension reports.

June 24, 2003
New Travel Kiosk Capturing Tourism Data  
COLLEGE STATION – Stopping at a highway rest area in Texas could help you discover some of the state's best kept secrets – all courtesy of a stand-alone computer kiosk.

June 23, 2003
Saltcedar Symposium Set For July 16-17 In San Angelo  
SAN ANGELO – Saltcedar, perhaps the most destructive woody plant species to invade the West, is the subject of a two-day symposium July 16-17.

June 20, 2003
Texas 4-H Names Recipients Of Meritorious Service Awards  
COLLEGE STATION – Texas 4-H is served by hundreds of volunteers who give thousands of hours of time and effort to help make the program the best it can be.

June 20, 2003
Master Naturalist Program Seeks Applicants  
COLLEGE STATION -- Fifteen chapters of the Texas Master Naturalist program are accepting applications for fall training classes.

June 19, 2003
Rio Grande Valley Onion, Melon Harvests Disappointing  
WESLACO -- Lower Rio Grande Valley onion and melon farmers were not able to cash in on what should have been one of their most profitable seasons in years. Instead, many just broke even. Disappointing yields due to cold snaps, heavy rains and hail are being blamed.

June 19, 2003
Texas Forest Service Making Community Forestry Grants Available  
COLLEGE STATION - Trees add value to life and property no matter where they are planted. The Texas Forest Service now is offering more than $400,000 in partnership grants to cities, towns, and community groups to begin or improve local tree programs. These competitive grants range from $1,000 to $20,000 and must be matched dollar-for-dollar.

June 18, 2003
Polish Fulbright Student To Join Department Of Forest Science  
COLLEGE STATION – The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has awarded a Fulbright research grant to Daniel J. Chmura, a Polish graduate student in forestry, to join the laboratory of Dr. Mark G. Tjoelker in Texas A&M University's department of forest science.

June 18, 2003
Project Hope Brings Health  
PRAIRIE VIEW – Working together brings hope.

June 17, 2003
Texas Crop And Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION – This year's corn crop in the Rio Grande Valley and lower Gulf Coast may still produce average yields despite adverse weather conditions, Texas Cooperative Extension reports.

June 17, 2003
Keep It Or Replant? Online Information Helps Farmers Evaluate Their Options  
LUBBOCK – South Plains farmers with damaged or failed cotton acres have some hard decisions to make in the next two weeks. Some will take their chances with what's left in the field. Others will simply have to plow it under and try again.

June 16, 2003
Fashion Makes A Splash At Texas 2003 4-H Roundup  
COLLEGE STATION – Where can you find elegant young ladies in sparkling formal gowns, the holder of a black belt demonstrating a few karate kicks, and a drum major showing some of his marching moves?

June 16, 2003
Performance Entertains While Focusing On Education  
COLLEGE STATION – A group of young thespians from 4-H's Go Theater Project have proved that serious discussions about going to college can be entertaining too.

June 16, 2003
Texas 4-H Roundup 2003 Spirit Rally Is Hit With Audience  
COLLEGE STATION – It's not easy, getting – and holding – the attention of several hundred young people, early in the morning on a non-school day.

June 16, 2003
Mother Nature Pounds West Texas Cotton  
LUBBOCK – Five hundred thousand to 725,000 acres was the "best-guess" estimate of damaged cotton resulting from violent weather that has wracked West Texas since May 31.

June 13, 2003
Storms Rip Through Texas Panhandle With Good Rain, Bad Hail  
AMARILLO -- Big smiles have replaced some frowns on the faces of many Texas High Plains farmers. Finally, the rains came. But the news isn't all good. Mother Nature's gift package had some surprises tucked inside -- damaging hail and severe winds.

June 13, 2003
Deer Habitat Workshop Scheduled For July  
SONORA – A workshop focusing on the tools, techniques and strategies used in deer habitat management is scheduled for July 10-12 at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Sonora.

June 12, 2003
U.s. Health Officials Restrict Importation, Sales Of All Rodents From Africa  
COLLEGE STATION – Individuals are urged not to release animals exposed or infected with monkeypox into the wild, a Texas Cooperative Extension veterinarian said Thursday.

June 12, 2003
Formosan Subterranean Termites Making Deeper Inroads Into Texas  
OVERTON – After jumping ship during World War II, Formosan termites are now spreading rapidly throughout Texas.

June 12, 2003
Impact Center Field Tour Set For June 24  
COLLEGE STATION – Central Texas producers will have the opportunity to learn more about watermelon production in the Brazos bottom and see various field crop experiments in sorghum and cotton production at the Tri-County/IMPACT Center Field Tour scheduled June 24.

June 11, 2003
Valley Cotton Crop Still Looks Promising, But Rain Sorely Needed  
WESLACO -- Midway through the Lower Rio Grande Valley's cotton growing season, the crop is much better off than it was last year at this time, but rain is badly needed.

June 10, 2003
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION -- Drought has damaged crops in many areas of the state, while cotton, corn and grain sorghum in other areas were pummeled by recent hail, wind and blowing sand, Texas Cooperative Extension reports.

June 10, 2003
Ag Administrator Honored With Student Assistance Fund  
COLLEGE STATION -- As an associate dean in Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Dr. Joe D. Townsend has made a career out of helping students succeed.

June 10, 2003
Media Advisory: 40th Stiles Farm Field Day Set For June 17  
THRALL -- The 40th Stiles Farm Field Day scheduled for June 17, will feature programs on conservation tillage, insect management, forages for stocker cattle and other topics.

June 10, 2003
Skaggs Awarded Outstanding Advising Certificate Of Merit  
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Chris Skaggs, associate professor with the department of animal science at Texas A&M University, received the Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit in the faculty academic advising category. The presentation is part of the 2003 National Academic Advising Association's national awards program.

June 09, 2003
Women Take Rodeo Competition Crown  
COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M Women's Rodeo Team took the year-end crown at the last of 10 rodeos in the Southern Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.

June 09, 2003
Tourism Business Development Seminar June 18 In Bay City  
CORPUS CHRISTI--The Matagorda County Tourism Consortium will conduct a seminar on June 18 in Bay City to help aspiring entrepreneurs learn the basics of creating a tourism-based business.

June 06, 2003
"Helmets For Kids" Event Brings Neighbors Together  
LOCKHART – Take one community issue. Stir in one good idea and add a committee with a dedicated chairman and concerned members from different agencies. Blend in some local and area support, focused fund-raising efforts and a beautiful late-spring day. The result is a community service project as successful as the May 17 "Helmets for Kids" safety rodeo in Lockhart.

June 06, 2003
Water Experts Meet To Discuss Future Of Rio Grande Basin  
WESLACO -- Water experts and officials from throughout Texas and New Mexico gathered recently at a conference here to discuss progress and goals of the Rio Grande Basin Initiative, a federally funded effort focused on efficient irrigation and water conservation in the region.

June 05, 2003
Texas A&M System Universities Sign Joint Enrollment Agreement  
COLLEGE STATION -- Agriculture leaders from the Texas A&M University System's largest university, Texas A&M at College Station - and its fastest growing university, Texas A&M-Kingsville, will shake hands this week on an agreement that will make earning a degree through courses at both locations administratively easier.

June 05, 2003
Rosson Named To Key Agricultural Trade Committee  
WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick announced the private sector appointees to seven agricultural trade advisory committees recently. Dr. C. Parr Rosson III, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University and economist with Texas Cooperative Extension, was appointed to a two-year term on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in grains, feed and oilseeds.

June 05, 2003
Inspections Of Feed Mills Helps Ensure Safe Food Supply  
COLLEGE STATION - In 1998 when the Food and Drug Administration announced its regulations to prevent any possibility of an outbreak of mad cow disease in the United States, investigators from The Feed and Fertilizer Control Service - a part of the Office of the Texas State Chemist at Texas A&M University - immediately began an extensive inspection program of all of Texas' 750 feed mills.

June 05, 2003
Pasture To Packer Lamb Feeding Program Set For June 27  
VANCOURT – Texas Cooperative Extension is getting set for its 2003 "Pasture to Packer" lamb feeding program. The program begins with delivery of lambs to Denis Feedlot from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 27. A $3 per head entry fee is payable upon delivery.

June 04, 2003
Reeves County Quarantined For Africanized Honey Bees  
PECOS – Reeves County was added today to the state quarantine, restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees.

June 04, 2003
Texas A&M Prosper Station Crop Management Field Day Slated For June 25  
PROSPER - Agricultural producers in North Texas are invited to the Crop Management Field Day and Open House, scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon on June 25 at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center Field Station, 11466 Country Road 5 in Prosper.

June 04, 2003
Pest Detectives: Importation Control Works  
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Julio Bernal likens his work to being a pest detective.

June 03, 2003
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION – The drought that has been plaguing Texas this year is putting a damper on this season's watermelon crops, Texas Cooperative Extension reports.

June 03, 2003
New Guinea Impatiens Featured At Overton Horticultural Field Day June 25  
OVERTON -- East Texas nursery growers, greenhouse managers, Master Gardeners and home gardeners will have the chance on June 25 to see horticultural field trials of hundreds of ornamental varieties, including 65 varieties of New Guinea impatiens.

June 02, 2003
Biological Agents International Forum Set For Houston  
HOUSTON - An international forum on accidental release or deliberate use of biological agents affecting food and agriculture, hosted by the Texas A&M University System Integrative Center for Homeland Security, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Houston Hotel Oct.14-15.

June 02, 2003
During Texas 4-H Roundup, Fun Is In Style At Fashion Show  
COLLEGE STATION – Forget Paris, Milan, New York. To find out what's fun and fashionable in Texas this year, visit the 2003 Texas 4-H Fashion Show.