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Farm & Ranch Happenings

published: October 17th 2008
by: Harvey Buehring

“October Opportunities Abound For Area Farmers & Ranchers”
    As mid-October arrived much of the Coastal Bend was in need of a good soaking rain.  Fortunately, the chance of scattered showers are in the forecast. It is hoped that several days of showers will improve the soil moisture across all farm and ranchlands in need of moisture. Pastureland began turning brown due to inadequate soil moisture earlier in the month. Many locations have only had between a quarter inch and four tenths of an inch of precipitation in the past six to seven weeks. With daily high temperatures hovering in the upper 80's , ranchers could still see some green-up and growth of permanent pasture grasses with help from some rain.
    The many weeks of dry conditions during late summer and early fall did allow area farmers to harvest their crops with few weather delays.   The major reason for the late harvest  was the late planting situations.  Some grain sorghum fields were planted as late as mid-May.  Also being seeded around the same time-frame were catch-crops like sunflowers and sesame.   Those crops were planted  following failed cotton once adequate planting moisture became available following late-April rains.    Harvest of these specialty crops was completed during the first week of October.  
    Cotton was slow to reach harvest completion this season in the Coastal Bend area.    Cotton acres and yields were down from previous years.   Many growers in locations west of Hwy 77 in the dryer areas of Nueces, Kleberg and San Patricio reported yields generally ranging from three-quarters of a bale to the acre,  up to a bale and a quarter.   Some of the later planted fields benefitted from late showers in August and produced above one and a half bales to the acre.   The October  9th weekly report on the South Texas region’s cotton production prepared by the USDA’s Cotton Classification Office in Corpus Christi indicated they had finally reached the 500,000 bale mark for the season.
Although most Coastal Bend area gins had wrapped-up ginning activities in late September,   a few  gins were still operating on a sporadic schedule to accommodate customers with very late maturing fields.  Harvest is still in progress in the Uvalde and Winter Garden areas.  That portion of South Texas cotton production is also classified in the USDA’s Corpus Christi Classing Office.  Their production  may push this seasons crop size for the South Texas region above 515,000 bales.  The devastating losses suffered by Rio Grande Valley cotton growers in late June with the direct blow from Hurricane Dolly greatly reduced production analysts’ estimates for the size of the South Texas cotton crop.  Some analysis were fearful that the half-million bale mark would be difficult to achieve this season because of all the negative weather conditions across the region.
     Cattle producers and wildlife managers depend on cotton seed production and its meal used to make protein  pellets and range cubes to supplement animals during the winter and when drought diminishes range conditions.  Since cotton acreage is expected to decline in the Coastal Bend again next season, cotton seed products may continue to be expensive due to even tighter supplies. 
    As harvest and field work wrap-up, cleaning pesticide containers and preparing old and unwanted pesticide products for proper disposal is worth while activity.    Doing so will allow South Texas farmers and ranchers to take containers and unwanted pesticide products to collection days being coordinated by TCEQ and agents of Texas Agrilife Extension across the region in late October.  All of the collections are free to agricultural producers and will run from 8 a.m. through 1 p.m.  The first will be held in Mercedes, Hidalgo County on October 21 at Ross Gin Co.   The nest day the collection moves to the Live Oak County Fairgrounds between George West and Three Rivers on HWY 281.  The following morning, October 23rd the collection will be operating in Victoria on the back side of the Victoria Community Center.
    The Victoria collection event will coincide with the South Texas Farm and Ranch Show.  That event is also free and will feature over 125 exhibit booths. For more details on the full schedule of events  check out their web site at http://southtexasfarmandranchshow.com or call the show office at 361-575-4581 for more details on the many “CEU” earning opportunities at the two day show.