Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wheat and Oat Field Day Set for April 23

April 23, 9am to noon, this is a joint effort between Hill and Navarro Counties with four demonstrations setup from Barry to Brandon. Demonstrations include: oat variety trial, 2 wheat variety trials and a wheat plant population study. 3 CEU’s will be offered: 2 General and 1 L&R. If you grow wheat or oats, this will be a tour that you will not want to miss.

Schedule
9:15 am – #1 Oat Variety Plots – Reed Farms - Barry, TX
10:00 am – #2 Wheat Variety Plots – Martin Farms – Frost, TX
10:45 am – #3 Wheat Variety Plots – Degner Farms – Mertens, TX
11:15 am – #4 Wheat Plant Population Study – Surovik Farms – Brandon, TX
12:00 pm – #5 Lunch at Brandon Community Center
· Texas Wheat Producers Association Presentation – Kody Bessent – Lubbock, TX
· Laws and Regulations Presentation

*Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Texas AgriLife Extension Service Small Grains Specialist will be on hand to provide updates on varieties, diseases, conditions and yields.

Remember 3 CEU’s will be offered (2 General and 1 Laws and Regulations)

Please call and RSVP to 903-654-3075 or 254-582-4022 by 5pm April 21st.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Calculating Break-Even Costs for Row Crop Producers and Market Reports

At Row Crop Commodity Marketing Training, held in mid-February we received assistance from Extension Agricultural Economists on calculating break-even costs for certain row crops. Calculating your break-even cost can be the critical first step to developing your marketing plan. By knowing your costs of production and the yields and commodity prices needed to break-even or "stay out of the red" you can then set price goals. This will help you know when to move on an opportunity to sell when the price is sufficient to cover your costs. One mistake producers make is to watch the price go up, up, up and never pull the trigger. As it goes up you may decide to sell a percentage of your crop here and there when you know it is profitable. It may not be the most profitable but it can help you to avoid a loss if and when prices drop.

To access the Microsoft Excel spreadsheets used go to the following website:
http://agfacts.tamu.edu/~lfalcone/newweb/cropbudgets.htm

To access the spreadsheet we developed specifically for dryland corn in Navarro County go to:
http://navarro-co.tamu.edu/pubcat.cfm?COUNTY=Navarro&CatID=2021 and click on "Corn Break Even Spreadsheet"

Also, for the latest Market Outlook Reports from Texas AgriLife Extension Service Agriculture Economists go to: http://agecoext.tamu.edu/resources/market-outlook.html
New Trichomoniasis Program Adopted in Texas for Beef Cattle

If you are a cattle producer but don’t know what Trichomoniasis (commonly called Trich) is, then you soon will. According to a recent Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) report, Texas has adopted a Trichomoniasis regulatory program. Beginning April 1, 2009, breeding bulls entering Texas from any other state must be either 24 months of age or younger and certified as a virgin, or be tested negative for cattle trichomoniasis within 30 days prior to entry. The adoption of this program occurred February 24 by the Texas Animal Health Commission to address Trichomoniasis which is a venereal disease in cattle that causes infertility and abortions. Other effects of the disease include extended breeding seasons, reduced calf crops and ultimately loss of income to producers. A second phase of the program will go into effect January 1, 2010 and will address the in-state movement of Texas breeding bulls. Part of the reason for the new program is when breeding bulls are infected, they may continue to appear and act normally. The new regulations also have deemed Trich as a reportable disease in the state of Texas. According to Dr. Bob Hillman, TAHC executive director, "... this will give us more information on where and how much infection already is in the state". Why aren’t cows included in this program you might ask? The reason is if a cow is infected during breeding and loses a fetus she still has a chance to clear the disease. A majority of infected cows will clear the infection if they are given 120 to 150 days of sexual rest. A vaccine can also be administered to infected cows to help control the disease in the cow herd. For more details on this subject and to read the entire Texas Animal Health Commission report go online to http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/news/pr/2009/2009Feb_TrichomoniasisProgramAdopted.pdf