May AgNews Links

May 31, 2001
Rangeland Revitalizaton  
COLLEGE STATION -- Over the last century, Texas rangelands have been used for both farming and ranching, and in many cases good management practices have been lacking. Jennifer Regar explains how some ranchers are now giving back to the land.

May 31, 2001
Sensory Research: Trained To Taste-Test  
COLLEGE STATION – Question: Who gets paid to sample steak? Work for only two hours a day, three days a week? Not come to work if they don't want to? Never get fired?

May 30, 2001
Grasshopper Season Is Here  
COLLEGE STATION - Grasshopper populations are beginning to increase with the warmer temperatures and drier air in most of Texas, said Dr. Cliff Hoelscher, entomologist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

May 30, 2001
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION - Favorable growing conditions have produced the best blueberry crop in years, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports.

May 30, 2001
Sensory Research: Choosing The Panel  
COLLEGE STATION – Open the door and the irresistible and unmistakable fragrance of grilled beef floats out.

May 29, 2001
Water Summit 2001 To Be Held In Justin June 13-15  
JUSTIN -- Water Summit 2001, designed to help citizens and public officials consider future water needs of the state, has been set for June 13-15 at the Texas Lil's Dude Ranch in Justin in Denton County. The theme of the summit is "Water for Our Future: When Will the Well Run Dry?"

May 29, 2001
West Texas Ag Chemicals Institute Offers College Scholarships  
LUBBOCK – The West Texas Agricultural Chemicals Institute (WTACI) is looking for a few good college students who may qualify for a scholarship.

May 29, 2001
Project N.A.T.U.R.E Helps Teachers Understand Resource Ecology  
COLLEGE STATION – Whether spending time at home or jaunting off on vacation, a few select K-12 teachers will be able to earn graduate degree credits this summer through a unique distance education course.

May 29, 2001
Houston Master Gardeners Dedicate Millennium Garden  
HOUSTON — At 4 p.m. Tuesday, Diane Ballentine, a Harris County Master Gardener and project coordinator of sorts, was a nervous wreck.

May 28, 2001
Goat Producers To Gather July 24-26 In Kerrville  
SAN ANTONIO --A Gathering of Goat Producers is scheduled July 24-26 in Kerrville with the YO Ranch Resort Hotel serving as headquarters. Live animal activities and a trade show will be at the Hill Country Youth Exhibition Center.

May 25, 2001
Cotton And 2,4-D Drift Don'T Mix  
AMARILLO -- With cotton production's gradual move north into the Texas Panhandle, Dr. Brent Bean, agronomist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service wants growers to take good care when this crop is planted near corn and sorghum.

May 24, 2001
Stiles Farm Field Day Set For June 19  
THRALL -- Conservation tillage, weed control and management procedures for feeder calves are just a few of several topics that will be featured at the 38th annual Stiles Farm Foundation Field Day June 19.

May 24, 2001
Valley Cotton Growers Facing Tough Decisions  
WESLACO — Lower Rio Grande Valley cotton growers are having to make tough decisions about how much money to spend on a crop that probably won't bring a profit, agricultural experts say.

May 23, 2001
Brazoria County 5th Graders Release Redfish  
SURFSIDE -- Eleven-year-old Stephanie Montoya didn't cry when her favorite redfish, the 'itty-bitty one', was released into the wild. Instead, she and her classmates were excited about what they had learned, such as what fish eat and how to properly care for them.

May 23, 2001
School Kids Shedding Pounds With Extension Program  
WESLACO — The Texas Agricultural Extension Service is a lot more than crops and gardens. Just ask 11-year old David Hobbs, a fifth grader at Del Castillo Elementary School in Brownsville.

May 22, 2001
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION - Warm conditions with little rainfall has benefitted the state's oat crop, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports.

May 22, 2001
Even Couch Potatoes Can Work Out Too  
COLLEGE STATION – No excuses now: Getting the exercise necessary for good health doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. Even couch potatoes can improve their physical fitness without breaking a sweat.

May 22, 2001
New Prairie View Extension Agent On Board In Bexar County  
SAN ANTONIO--Grace Guerra has been named extension agent-family and consumer sciences for the Prairie View Cooperative Extension Service in San Antonio. She will be responsible for promoting family nutrition and wellness systems to limited-resource families.

May 21, 2001
Two Counties Added To Quarantine List For Africanized Bees  
CALDWELL – Burleson and Lee counties were added Monday to the state quarantine, restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees near Caldwell.

May 21, 2001
Fresh Produce Food Safety Training May Become Essential For Growers  
OVERTON – Unless growers become proactive in preventing food-borne pathogens in the field, current food safety guidelines could quickly become law, says a Texas A&M University professor of horticulture.

May 18, 2001
Bse And Food-And-Mouth: Consumer Issues?  
COLLEGE STATION – The pictures are haunting – piles of charred livestock carcasses, and frightened farmers watching their livelihood literally go up in smoke. England seems to have suffered the most from recent epidemics affecting some farm animals. About 2.4 million head of livestock have been destroyed in that country alone, mostly because of foot-and-mouth disease, which strikes cloven-footed animals.

May 17, 2001
Dryland, Irrigated Wheat Featured On Tour May 31  
AMARILLO -- A producers' tour on May 31 will showcase how farmers themselves are taking advantage of the region's unique growing conditions to produce dryland and irrigated wheat at two Panhandle farms. The tour is sponsored by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

May 17, 2001
Intensive Grazing System Benefitting Iola Rancher  
IOLA -- Grazing 100 head of cattle on just 54 acres might raise the eyebrows of a few ranchers, but Gene Sollock is proving it can be done, thanks to an intensive grazing management program.

May 16, 2001
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION - Agricultural producers in northern areas of the state are expressing growing concerns about the worst armyworm infestation in years, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports.

May 16, 2001
White-Washing Plants May Change Pest Control  
WESLACO - Snow-covered fields of Rio Grande Valley vegetable, cotton and citrus trees could soon be a reality there. But it's not the weather that's changing; what could soon change is the way local growers protect their crops from profit-robbing insects and plant diseases.

May 15, 2001
Max Summers' Contributions Recognized  
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Max Summers of Bryan, Texas A&M University distinguished professor and associate vice president for research, has been identified by ISI:Fully Integrated e-Information Solutions as one of the world's most cited authors and as one of the top 250 researchers in microbiology worldwide.

May 15, 2001
Gulf Coast 5th Graders Learning From 'Schools' In School  
ANGLETON - Saltwater aquariums filled with redfish are capturing the attention of Brazosport fifth-graders and helping teachers get students excited about studying science and conservation.

May 14, 2001
Lock In Tomorrow's Tuition Costs Today  
COLLEGE STATION – Never before in history has higher education been a more important factor in financial success ... never before has higher education been so costly.

May 14, 2001
Limited Late-Season Irrigation Can Benefit Wheat  
LUBBOCK – "How much, if any, should I water my wheat crop?" That's the question many South Plains producers are asking now, according to a Texas A&M agronomist based at the Agricultural Research and Extension Center here.

May 12, 2001
Research: Pecan-Rich Diet As Effective As Lower-Fat AHA Diet  
COLLEGE STATION – Consumers who find that a low-fat diet may not be for them might be interested in new research from Texas A&M University. Researchers recently discovered a heart-healthy diet containing pecans can help control cholesterol levels and other biomarkers of heart disease risk as effectively as the American Heart Association's (AHA) Step I diet.

May 11, 2001
Melon Harvest Starts; Field Day Scheduled May 24  
WESLACO — Harvesting has begun of nature's answer to the Lone Star State's hot summer days. By mid-month, Rio Grande Valley packing sheds should be brimming with truckloads of sweet, cool cantaloupes and honeydews. So far, experts say the crop is a good one.

May 10, 2001
Skaggs Named Holder of San Antonio Livestock Exposition Chair  
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Chris Skaggs, associate professor with the department of animal science at Texas A&M University, has been selected as holder of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition Inc. chair in animal science, effective May 1.

May 10, 2001
South Texas Farm & Range Forum to Examine Sustainable Agriculture, Range Management Issues on May 12  
SAN ANTONIO--"Some people think it is odd that the Bexar Audubon Society -- an organization dedicated to birds, other wildlife, and their habitats -- would be sponsoring a farm and range forum," says Susan Hughes, an officer of the Society. But according to Hughes, it's easy to explain:

May 09, 2001
Extension's Baugh Named Outstanding Cotton Agent  
LUBBOCK – Brant Baugh, Lubbock County's Extension integrated pest management (IPM) agent, recently received the Plains Cotton Growers (PCG) Outstanding Cotton Agent award.

May 09, 2001
Forestry Club Wins Sportsmanship Award at Conclave  
COLLEGE STATION -- Eight Texas A&M University forest science students have received the Team Sportsmanship award at the recent 44th annual Conclave in Jackson Gap, Ala.

May 08, 2001
Texas Crop and Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION - Harvesting of melons in the Rio Grande Valley and the Winter Garden has begun due to warm, sunny conditions, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports.

May 08, 2001
Rice DNA Finds Breeding Traits to Hasten Better Varieties  
COLLEGE STATION -- It's not cloning, and it's not genetic modification. But new research by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station uses biotechnology to diagnose desired traits in rice so that plant breeders can be sure new varieties have those components at the DNA level.

May 07, 2001
Researchers Urge Containment of Broomrape Weed to Prevent Future Threat to Ag Production  
COLLEGE STATION -- Motorists traveling along Texas highways this spring have enjoyed the sights of beautiful bluebonnets, wine cups, Indian paint brushes and other seasonal wildflowers.

May 04, 2001
Milam County 4-H'ers Study Veterinary Medicine  
CAMERON – Kids and pets just naturally go together. But too often children don't know enough about animals to be conscientious care givers, and the owner-pet relationship turns out to be less happy than it should be.

May 04, 2001
Imported Fire Ant Community-Wide Management Kit Available  
COLLEGE STATION – Spring is here, and imported fire ants are becoming active.

May 03, 2001
Vegetable, Fruit Improvement Center Annual Meet Set June 21-23  
COLLEGE STATION – The Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center's annual meeting will be held June 21-23 at Texas A&M University. Highlights will be tours, presentations and workshops to bring participants up to date on research, graduate education and center activities.

May 03, 2001
June 6 Safety Camp Sets Priorities for Outdoor Youth Activities  
SAN ANGELO – Helping children experience a safe summer is the goal of the Texas Farm Safety Day Camp set for June 6 at Angelo State University.

May 02, 2001
Internet Learning Center to be Established in Hutchinson County  
BORGER – Providing wider public access to valuable online information is the goal of three partners signing an agreement to establish a new community Internet learning center here on May 4.

May 02, 2001
A&M Poultry Judging Team Wins Collegiate Judging Contest  
COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M University Collegiate Poultry and Poultry Products Judging Team won the Southern Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest on April 5-6 held at Louisiana State University.

May 02, 2001
Drinking Water Week Set for May  
Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink – "The Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
COLLEGE STATION – Water is everywhere – oceans, ponds, lakes, even wells and municipal water supplies. But is it safe to drink?

May 01, 2001
Texas Crop, Weather Report  
COLLEGE STATION - Low humidity and good drying conditions have made it possible for Texas producers to begin baling hay, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service reports.

May 01, 2001
Recruits Get Fired Up about Texas Pest  
COLLEGE STATION – Some Bell County volunteers recently spent the day getting fired up about an old Texas pest – the red imported fire ant.