Texas A&M AgriLife Ranch to Retail

Dr. JD Ragland, Randall County Extension Agent, recently sat down with cotton experts Dr. Peter Dotray, Megan Singletary, and Blayne Reed to discuss management and control of weeds in Cotton.  These guests discussed the steps of managing weeds from starting clean, pre-plant, at plant, and post emergent weed control.  The conversations were outstanding as practical and research discussion created some outstanding information as we get wrap up planting in the Panhandle and South Plains Region of Texas.   Discussing the challenges and importance of such things as diversification, drift, water quality, resistance, incorportation, proper coverage, options of products, etc. really gave a complete coverage of the challenges and opportunites to have success with this pest. Thanks to all the speakers and Dr. Ragland for taking the time to share and I hope you enjoy the information.  

Dr. Andy Hart (Hale County) and Mark Carroll (Floyd County), County Extension Agents with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recently interviewed Dr. Kara Thorton-Kurth for their "The Graze" radio program.  We thought it was good information and wanted to share it with you on this platform so that you would have an opportunity to listen.  Dr. Kara Thorton-Kurth is a researcher with Utah State University and has been looking at the impact of minerals on the growth, health, and quality of beef animals in Utah.  Some interesting discoveries and I hope you will gain from the discussion.  Thanks to Andy and Mark for reaching out to Dr. Thorton-Kurth. For more information please see the podcast episode (Ranch to Retail) with Dr. Smith created last spring along with dozens of other topics related to nutrition and cattle.  Thanks.  

Caitlin Frederick (Crosby County) and Brant Baugh (Lubbock County), County Extension Agents with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service recently sat down with Dr. Calvin Trostle, Agronomist to discuss growing Camelina and then transitioned to the potential of using prussic acid free sorghum. This was outstanding conversation about two new alternatives being looked at in the area and Dr. Trostle discussed adaptation, production challenges, potential advantages and fit, along with research efforts underway.  Sounds like some information worth watching.   Hope you enjoy the discussion.  Danny

Dr. Smith discusses the importance of getting the most out of your calf crop through health and nutrition programs.  These are programs that improve the value of your calves and cost very little to implement.  There are numerous ways to increase this very valuable asset and spend very little doing it and Dr. Smith discusses all of them.  I hope you enjoy the discussion and if you have questions don't hesitate to contact us at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Amarillo.  Danny

This episode features an excellent update and reminder of terminology related to the insurance options available to producers in the coming year.  Dr. Andrew Wright and Will Keeling, economists with Texas A&M AgriLife recently previewed the decisions and what looks best under what scenarios.  I hope you enjoy the conversation with Kristie Keys facilitating.

Impressive presentation focused on management of pastures, growing grasses, tools available, research projects, and brush management.  Dr. Morgan Treadwell is a range specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and highly respected for the work she does in these areas.  Thank you to Dr. Treadwell for sharing 

Texas A&M Entomologists Dr. David Kerns, Dr. Suhas Vyavhare, and Dr. Patrick Porter discuss some problematic corn insects (Corn Leaf Hopper, Southwestern Corn Borer) and cotton insects that need to be prepared for in the coming growing season.  Thanks to these gentlemen for a excellent presentation.

Presentation from the North Region Production Risk Management Conference where Dr. Dotray discussed issues related to control and management of resistant weeds plus issues impacting producers related to pesticide use and options.

Second part of the two part series on Beef Cattle Needs and Supplementation Decisions.  Dr. Jason Smith details the decisions to be made based on protein and energy needs of your cattle and available forage.  Very good and timely information.  I hope you enjoy 

Outstanding discusion with Dr. Blake Bennett regarding Ag Tax Status and what you should know.  I really enjoyed this presentation and know that agents get a lot of questions regarding ag exemptions or reductions.  This episode will help you answer most of those quesitons and where to find answers locally.  Thank you Dr. Bennett

Dr. Jake Thorn, Extension Sheep and Goat Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife recently visited with County Extension Agents Andy Hart and Mark Carroll about the possibility of diversifying sheep or goats with cattle in the Panhandle and South Plains area of Texas.  The discussed topics related to economics, grazing preference and diversity, increased numbers of sheep, types of sheep, reproduction facts, challenges, etc.  Gaurding animals were a big topic of discussion in dealing with predators and these included gaurding dogs, donkeys, and Llama.  Predators and parasites are the biggest challenges along with fencing.  What about goats?  They get into that as well. Excellent discussion regarding a growing topic of producers in the area.  Thanks to Andy and Mark for recording this and Dr. Thorne for his expertise.  Enjoy!

An excellent update regarding the wrapup of the 2024 cotton harvest season.  In this episode, Ken, Brant, and Caitlin got into final yields but more importantly discussion on how imputs (population, planting dates, irrigation, etc.) impacted the outcome.  It was indeed a challenging year for cotton with a great start, an extremely hot finish to the summer, and a wet November.  Strange year!!!

Excellent discussion and education related to Beef Nutrition.  This is the first of a two part series were we talk about protein and energy needs of cows and heifers during different times of year and reproduction.  We also discussed knowing your hay.  This discussion included hay testing, understanding test results, sampling, important results to make decisions on supplementation, examples of hay tested after the recent wildfires, testing variations and types of hay, risk avoidance from prussic acid and nitrates in certain hay, and frost/drought issues that might impact these risk factors.  Dr. Jason Smith, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension led the discussion and provided outstanding information.   We will be following this program up with the second program focused on decisions on supplementation and feed sources available.  This should be a great followup to this program.

Excellent update on early returns on yield and grade from the 2024 Cotton harvest.  Outstanding discussion on what they are seeing and what to expect going forward.  Excellent conversation

The duo of Caitlin Frederick and Brant Baugh, AgriLife Extension Agents in Crosby and Lubbock Counties respectively, bring you another informative episode.  Their discussion is about tools available to determine or estimate the Net Return of the current cotton crop based on your projections of costs and returns.  They visit with AgriLife Extension Economist Dr. Andrew Wright on how to use the Harvest Decison Budget Analyzer to find these answers.  This is very usefull and timely information.  The location of this analyzer tool is at lubbock.tamu.edu.  Dr. Wright also discussed this information in his latest blog post, Ag Economics on the Plains, and can be located at AgriLife.org/AgEco.

Excellent discussion on the harvest aide decisions being made in the area and the challenges, weather impact, drift safety precautions, and general information related to using harvest aides and products.  There was also discussion on the upcoming tour in Crosby and Lubbock Counties on October 9 where producers will have an opportunity to see variety trials on drip and research trials comparing row spacings and seeding rates under pivot.   Great information.  Danny

Outstanding discussion related to current conditions and issues (recorded on August 9) to decisions that can be made related to harvest aides, defoliants, and much more (recorded August 22)  This conversation with Dr. Ken Lege, Texas A&M Cotton Specialist in Lubbock, Brant Baugh (Lubbock County CEA-Ag/NR), and Caitlin Frederick (Crosby County CEA-Ag/NR) deals with the current status of the crop, current string of 100 degree days and its impact, foliar/fertility decisions and timing, variety drought stress capabilities, enhancing an early harvest with harvest aides, penetrating hardened leaves, nodes above cracked boles (timing), and the purpose of harvest aide decisions and economics.   This is incredible informatioin that is timely and relevant to decisions producers are facing to complete this cotton crop.  I hope you enjoy the discussion.

Outstanding information provided with Dr. Tiffany Lashmet and Mark Carroll as they discuss lease agreements and details regarding how to set them up and where to get quality information.  This was part of the regular radio interview that County Extension agents Mark Carroll and Andy Hart deliver regarding livestock and ranching information.  Their program is called "The Graze".  I hope you enjoy this discussion.

Outstanding conversation and discussions with Dr. Peter Dotray and agents regarding the current weed situation and potential issues following rains.  This conversation is very timely and important as we anticipate weed breaks earlier than normal due to abundance of rains in the area and potential of early breakdown of pre and at plant applications.  I always enjoy the discussions with agents as they visit about the current landscape they are seeing in their counties.  We are extremely fortunate to have the expertise of Dr. Dotray and others to analyze and discuss whats needed now and going forward in dealing with these issues.

Excellent discussion on the use of PGR's in Cotton with County Extension Agents Dr. Caitlin Frederick and Brant Baugh along with AgriLife Cotton Specialist Dr. Ken Lege.  Enjoy the discussion related to timing, products, effectiveness and much more.  Outstanding job of breaking it down. 

Andy Hart (Hale County) and Mark Carroll (Floyd County) Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agents recently interviewed Dr. Morgan Treadwell (Range Specialist) with AgriLife Extension about grazing management.  Thier discussion covered the stocking rates, perfered forages, fencing and infastructure, grazing decisions, etc. Dr. Treadwell does a good job of discussing the advantage to sheep, goats, cattle and some management decisions necessary when utilizing all species of livestock in pastures.  Enjoy the discussion on a growing topic for our are in implementing sheep and goats with our traditional cattle and farming operation.  

Great early season discussion on where we are with weed control and some great information related to BMP's going forward (following labels, boom heights, speed when spraying, etc.).  There was some discussion on weeds control in Organic Cotton, Conventional Cotton, and Improved varieties.  Megan is a grad student with Dr. Peter Dotray and starting her pHd work at TTU, Caitlin is the AgriLife Extension Agent in Crosby County and Brant is the agent in Lubbock County.  Enjoy and if you have any questions, call them or your local agent

Kerry Siders and Ken Lege discuss potential issues for early cotton with nematodes, insects, and disease issues to be looking for in cotton fields.  Great information as we join North Region Extension agents who are learning from these experts.

Dr. Smith goes into great detail regarding the use of minerals and vitamins in beef herds and at all stages of development.  He indicates the requirments for all stages and how to make sure we are providing enough to our herds.  This is a bit longer than an hour but well worth it because of the detail and discussion surrounding this important topic.  

Dr. Jason Smith, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Amarillo discusses opportunities to enhance the value of your calves through management and marketing.  Great discussion and questions as well.

Dr. Jenna Funk is an instructor in with VERO at the Texas A&M Vet School located at WTAMU and instructs 4th year vet students.  She is a Beef Cattle Vet and certified Beef Cattle Specialist.  She recently visited with AgriLife Extension Agents Andy Hart (Hale) and Mark Carroll (Floyd) on their radio interview "The Graze".   Dr. Funk discussed calf losses to pneumonia and went into detail regarding the differences in AIP and BRD pneumonia.  She discussed the causes of death, symptoms of the problems, diagnosis, and prevention.  This is a very good discussion and I hope you will enjoy.

Incredible information presented by Dr. Jourdan Bell and Dr. Kevin Heflin related to Corn and Sorghum Hybrids.  The emphasis was on the impact of production decisions on yield and selection hybrids based on these influences.  Hybrid differences, history, inputs, ear flex, and other agronomic influences were talked about in detail.  Emphasis was also placed on weed control, transpiration of the plant, water needs, soil holding capacity, optimizing your water, and irrigation strategies.  Sorghum stress benefits vs. corn, limited irrigation, diseases, maturity, growth and development, planting dates, etc.   This was an excellent conversation and presentation from our December on-line meeting.

Learn from Dr. Morgan Treadwell some of the management tools and resources available to help with control of problem weeds and brush.  Dr. Treadwell starts with management of your grasses and provides a great run down of all the tools available to you.  This an excellent presentation that we capture at our recent AgriLife North Region on-line program in December.  Enjoy!

Management of weeds in the High Plains is challenging and much of the success with control is because of the tools available.  Dr. Dotray discusses these options and some of the issues you might face that can contribute to the challenges and some of the management decisions that can help deal with these challenges.  

Ionophores have been around and research has indicated they are an effective tool for economical and efficient growth in growing cattle.  Dr. Jason Smith covers some of those results but also dives into the impact ionophores can have on cattle on forage.  Interesting information on how these products can be used to decrease intake and maintain body condition.  Think of the possiblities for some to extend forage (grass or hay) or to increase stocking rates.  Great information and discussion regarding these findings.  He also got into the background and how ionophores work along with economics of the products.  We talked about the positive impact of these on weaned cattle, heifers, and in conjuction with the use of implants.   Some of the best information we have delivered via this podcast and I hope you enjoy it.  Just a hint it pays in almost every situation.  

Discussion with County Extension Agents Marcus Preuninger (Gray County) and Andy Holloway (Hemphill County) about the upcoming program focused on preparing and response to potential wildfires in the region.  Information on preparation through grazing management, utilization of prescribed burns, and controlling brush.  We will here from Extension specialist and local ranchers on these topics.  We also talked about the involvement of a panel of producers, firemen, local officials, and Texas A&M Forest Service who will share experiences and preparation for the next fire event in our area.   I'm excited about the meeting to be held on November 9 in Pampa (in-person) and satellite sites in Post, Lubbock, Crosbyton, Amarillo, and Spearman.  Get all the details in this podcast.

Caitlin Frederick (County Extension Agent for Ag/NR) and Malory Lindsey (Crosby and Garza County Game Warden) discuss everything you need to know for the upcoming hunting season.  These ladies have a great time discussing preparation for hunting season, licensing , requirments for mandatory testing in CWD zones, CWD in general, youth license requirements, digital licensing, available apps, Wast of Game regulations, and much more. This was a fun podcast loaded with outstanding information.

Excellent conversation with Katie Rivers and Rock River Labs.  Mark Carroll, CEA-Ag in Floyd County and Andy Hart in Hale County interviewed Katie and discussed the labs services, current testing results, and additional information regarding nitrates, prussic acid, and feed samples.  Great information and thanks to Andy and Mark for this interview.

Dr. Thomas Hairgrove and Mark Carroll discuss everything about parasite control in cattle and decisions impacting this topic.  They get into resistance to products, specific worm issues, life cycle of these parasites, wormer classes and options, nutritional impact on parasite load, grazing management impact, and proper care of products. Good and timely information provided by Mark Carroll, CEA-Ag in Floyd County.  

The third in a series of wheat focused podcasts features Dr. Jourdan Bell, Agronomist with AgriLife Extension in the Amarillo area.  Dr. Bell discusses a wide range of topics and issues related to wheat and small grains as an option for forage along with issues related to growing this crop.  We also get into some conversation regarding sorghum and corn silage harvest and even a little cotton in the area.  Great job by Dr. Bell, Dr. Trostle, Dr. Rudd, and Steelee Fischbacher for contributing to this series about wheat.

This is the 2nd in a series of 3 discussion related to wheat and small grains.  We talk with Steelee Fischbacher who is the Policy Director with Texas Wheat Producers Board and Association.  She talks about the role of these organizations, the history and role of these, the wheat checkoff, and the work they are doing in policy, marketing, and research.   Speaking of research, Dr. Jackie Rudd is one of the best and his group has been developing the famous TAM varieties that are planted throughout our area and beyond.  His gets into the history of TAM varieties, breeding decisions along the way that eventually end up as a marketable variety, changes due to producer and industry priorities that influence direction of the development of certain traits such as yield, insects, disease, viruses, drought, quality, etc.,  Great discussion. Sorry we went a tad over an hour but it was too interesting to stop.  Enjoy the conversation.

We will be uploading a 3 part series on Small Grain/Wheat production starting with a discussion with Dr. Calvin Trostle.  Dr. Trostle is an agronomist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and works in a variety of cropping systems including small grains.  He talks about variety testing, the "pick list" and how it is determined, fertility needs and timing, seed treatment, certified seed, and much more.   We will be following this discussion up with more from Dr. Jourdan Bell, Dr. Jackie Rudd, and Steelee Fischbacher.  You will want to here all of these in the coming days.

Mark Carroll, AgriLife Extension Agent in Floyd County and Dr. Juan Pineiro', AgriLife Extension Dairy Specialist discuss the pro's and con's of growing and feeding sorghum silage as an option for dairies.  Silage demand has increased tremendously in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of Texas due to increased dairy cows and dairies.  Due to drought and limiting irrigation to meet this demand, research has been looking at sorghum as an alternative.  Dr. Pineiro' gets into the specifics of how corn and sorghum differ and what is important to know if you are growing these crops for silage. 

Outstanding conversation with Range Management Specialist Dr. Tim Steffens, North Region AgriLife Extension Agents, and a few producers.  Dr. Steffens is with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and West Texas A&M and brings a variety of experiences and knowledge with drought, grasses, livestock, and management.  He gets into all aspects of manageing rangelands and decisions related to grazing and livestock during this conversation and answers questions from the participants during the presentation.  I think you will enjoy the conversation and thought provoking discussion.    

This podcast covers the conversation regarding corn, sorghum, and small grain diseases and viruses.  Dr. Tom Isakeit, Dr. Ken Obasa, and Dr. Terry Wheeler focus on management, recognition, and control of these issues.  Dr. Isakeit starts us off with Corn and Sorghum, Dr. Ken Obasa with Small Grains, and Dr. Wheeler discusses cotton and also Nematodes.   There is some excellent information that will help with pre-plant decisions and in-season management.  There are slides referenced in the discussion at times but the conversation is very good.  If you have questions about the information please contact your county Extension agent or these individuals directly.  

This podcast episode focuses on everything risk and decisions related to insects.  Dr. David Kerns and Dr. Pat Porter discuss the background and effectiveness of Bt technologies in control, how economic thresholds are developed and utilized, the efficacy of insecticide use in crops, importance of scouting, seed treatments and layby treatments in your insect management strategies, and more.  This topic was part of our Crop Production and Plant Protection Clinic held on December 20.  It is the 2nd podcast presentation from that meeting.  Dr. Dotray's resistant weed management presentation is already loaded if you missed it.  There will be future podcasts from that meeting related to plant pathology (disease, viruses, and nematodes), knowing your varieties, and knowing the TDA laws and regulations for pesticide application.

The Hansford County AgriLife Extension Committee and County Extension Agent Kristy Slough identified the need for education related to Natural Gas prices and considerations for locking in prices or developing risk strategies to control input costs related to irrigation on the High Plains.  Kristy and committee member and Hansford County farmer, Quentin Shieldknight, led this podcast.  Joining them were members of the StoneX marketing team to discuss gather information about the possible opportunities available to producers.  Representing StoneX were Jim Schall, Dan Conrath and Rick Wordekemper.  I think you will enjoy the conversation with these individuals and there are certainly some important discussions that could be very valuable to producers dealing with volatile input costs and erratic natural gas prices.  Great Podcast.  Hope you enjoy.  Danny

This episode will feature Dr. Peter Dotray, Weed Specialist with Texas A&M Extension and Research and Texas Tech University discussing some very important points about resistance.  Dr. Dotray has done some interesting research related to resistance and gets into the best management decisions to contain these weeds.  This is a very timely issue and there is nobody better to discuss this than Dr. Peter Dotray. This presentation was part of our December 20 Crop Production and Plant Protection Conference held in 35 AgriLife counties in the Panhandle and South Plains.  Future discussions will include variety selection in cotton, small grains, and feed grains; disease/virus issues in cotton, feed grain, and small grain.  Be looking for those in the coming weeks.    

Dr. Jason Smith, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist and Mason Carter, County Extension Agent in Oldham County discuss bull development, management, and purchasing.  Great discussion by these Extension professionals.  

You don't want to miss the discussion between Dr. Jason Smith, Dr. Justin Benavidez, and Mason Carter about this topic.  When the rain returns and your grass is gets back to health, decisions to buy or keep heifers or buy replacements will be impacted by a number of variables.  These include grass availability, cost of replacements, value of heifers, input costs for management and nutrition, etc. are only a few.  Each of these scenarios were discussed and evaluated by these three gentlemen.  Its actually a great time to start thinking about what to do when it starts to rain and we get back to normalcy.  There could be real opportunities to impact the future of your business.

The focus of this podcast was Chronic Waste Disease in Deer.  Dr. Jacob Dykes, AgriLife Extension Wildlife Specialist and Robert Scott, AgriLife Extension Agent in Lubbock County discuss everything there is to know about this disease.  The discussion focused on understanding this disease and some of the misconceptions.  Dr. Dykes discussed where it came from, how to handle testing and carcasses, how it spreads, guidelines for keeping it from spreading, and other important aspects of control and safety.  There was a lot of conversation and frequently asked questions.  This is an important topic and great information for ranchers and hunters so I hope you enjoy.

Third presentation in the Drought Management Series focusing on Supplementation Decisions.  Dr. Jason Smith and Dr. Justin Benavidez discuss decisions related to supplementation and economic decisions during a drought.  Tremendous in-depth discussion regarding decisions and considerations while moving through drought conditions. Dr. Smith got into why we might decide to supplement.  What are some reasons to supplement?  1) you have a nutrient void because of lack of forage 2) you want to preserve and stretch your forages 3) you might need to improve the utilization of your forages.  He discusses "associative effects of supplementation" and how one size does not fit all.  He and Dr. Steffens had a very interesting discussion about the role of fat and products to meet the needs of cows.  He touched on important consideration when considering supplementation such as; work with a nutritionist, goal of sustaining operation through a drought, additional experiences/savings, and most economic decisions on need and supplement value.  We discussed tools available to make decisions, hidden cost of supplementation, Ionophores, mineral/vitamin requirements, creep feeding, alternative forage options, hay quality, and water quality.   Dr. Benavidez discussed market trends and future market considerations based on history, supply, and future demand.  Inventory vs. price, cost of feeding calves vs. on grass, retained ownership opportunities, grain and hay stocks going forward, and the economics of all of these decisions.  I think you will find some opportunities from Dr. Benavidez discussion.

This is one of the most informative podcast sessions we've provided up to this point as Dr. Jason Smith discussed implications of "Early Weaning as a Drought Strategy".  This strategy looks at three key areas for potential success and implementation including:  Minimizing Risk of Production Failures which includes reproduction failure and loss of revenue, Extending Grazing Time for animals, and Capturing Calf Value.  Dr. Smith also discussed health programs for both calves and cows.  Dr. Justin Benavidez went into great detail in comparing weaning at 120 days and typical weaning of 210 days.  He discusses how he set up the comparisons.  With increasing hay prices and decreasing grain prices, these values become very important in determining the benefits of weaning early and selling calves, backgrounding and selling calves, and retaining ownership.  Great information from both Jason and Justin.  Hope you enjoy the information.  

Mason Carter and Dr. Jason Smith discuss what to expect from future FDA antimicrobial regulations including procedures producers can take to be prepared and products that will be impacted.  This is an excellent update for everyone.

Making decisions based on drought that relates to marketing females to meet your available long-term forage goals was the focus of this discussion.  This was the first of a series of 3 on-line discussions focusing on drought.  Dr. Jason Smith and Dr. Justin Benavidez led the discussion and did an outstanding job of looking at all potential decisions.  They also discussed economic implications and resources available for use in making decisions. 

It has been a very challenging year for producers with drought and the environmental roller coaster, global unrest, and high input costs.  The one thing that is encouraging is the price potential if we can get a crop in and grown successfully.  Dr. Mark Welch and Dr. John Robinson discuss this topic ahead of the June acreage reports and current global environment.  Their discussion was outstanding and they provided excellent information that should be useful to producers.  Both Drs. Welch and Robinson are experts in marketing of grains and cotton and both are Extension economists with Texas A&M AgriLife.  We also heard from Rodney Mosier with Texas Wheat and Angie Martin with Texas Corn to get updates from their producers.  Thanks to everyone that participated.