The class will be held beginning at 8:30 AM on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at the Smith County Extension office (1517 W Front St, Ste 116, Tyler).
Cost for the course is $25 per person, which includes the study guide which should be purchased and read before the class. Call 903-590-2980 to register for this event.
This link to the Texas Department of Agriculture descibes the types of pesticide licenses in Texas.
This link to the TDA provides a list of Regulated Herbicides in Texas.
]]>Using herbicides to control pasture weeds can be very cost effective and efficient. The Smith, Rains, Van Zandt, and Wood County Extension offices have teamed up to conduct herbicide control plots for blackberry/dewberry plants in Rains County. This year, control plots for Carolina Horse Nettle have been added in a separate location in Wood County.
We are hosting a FREE tour and LUNCH of these plots on Friday, August 29, 2008, beginning at 8 AM and lasting until 1 PM. We will begin near Hogansville (Rains County) and conclude with lunch in Golden (Wood County).
You must RSVP by August 22 to either b-triplett@tamu.edu or by calling (903) 590 - 2980 in order to help us in the head count and to get directions to the first stop. Lunch is being sponsored by Dow AgroSciences.
If you are not sure of what blackberries or Carolina Horse Nettle look like, check out these links: Blackberry/Dewberry , Carolina Horse Nettle.
To view a copy of last year's demonstration report, click on the link: blackberrydemoreport2007.pdf
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The show is a platform for local producers to obtain forage test information on the hay they produced this year for a reduced price and to benefit local youth and conservation education efforts at the same time.
Entering the hay show is easy, all we need is a feed sack full of hay from a round bale or an entire square bale of hay from hay produced as small squares.
The hay is analyzed for Crude Protein and Digestibility and then ranked based on a pre-set formula. The top 25 entries are sold at a benefit auction that takes place September 22 during the Howdy Neighbor Barbecue event at the East Texas State Fair.
Hay can be entered at any one of 13 locations in Smith County on or before August 22.
Click on the document below for a complete set of rules for the 2008 show. 2008hayshowrules.pdf
]]>Most renovation programs utilize the piscicide (fish pesticide) rotenone in either liquid or powder form. Rotenone kills fish by suffocation, restricting the ability of blood vessels to take oxygen to the body through the gills. Hot water (at least 70 deg F or higher), which holds less oxygen than cold water, facilitates the pesticide's successful usage.
Fish killed by Rotenone should not be consumed and water from a pond recently treated should not be used to irrigate crops. Bodies of water treated are normally safe to restock 2 to 4 weeks after treatment. Rotenone is a Restricted Use pesticide in Texas and is only available for purchase by licensed pesticide applicators.
In order to be successful with a Rotenone program, a pond owner must accurately estimate the volume of water in their pond, which requires measuring both the average depth and the surface area.
The following publications will provide assistance for people planning to Rotenone a pond:
Using Rotenone to Renovate Fish Populations in Farm Ponds (MS State Univ. Ext. Service)
Calculating Water Volume in Ponds (Cornell Cooperative Extension) (Simple Steps) PondVolume.pdf
Calculating Area and Volume of Ponds and Tanks (Southern Regional Aquaculture Center) (More Complex) 183662-103fs.pdf
]]>The following are a few links to more information about raising broilers at home:
This publication from Texas AgriLife Extension discusses raising a Home Broiler Flock
This publication from Mississippi State University Extension discusses Feeding Chickens
This publication from Texas AgriLife Extension shows how to Process a Chicken at Home
This publication from ATTRA (the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) details Alternative Poultry Production Systems
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]]> The passage of the 2007 Farm Bill in May 2008 brought with it a provision that COOL would be implemented by September 30, 2008.
July 15, 2008, was selected in the compromise bill as a date to grandfather all livestock currently in the USA that originated in other countries.
Producers should consider taking inventory their herds and document the numbers of animals they have present (young and mature) on July 15, 2008, as this information might prove useful in the future.
Producers should also keep track of invoices for livestock purchased and brought into their herds after this date and keep records of where these animals originated.
It is not currently known how producers will be required to document the origin of their livestock for future sale, as the rules for COOL are still being written by the USDA.
I will try to update COOL information in this blog as more becomes available this summer.
For more information on COOL, you might consider reading the following link:
Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods CRS Report for Congress (May 2008)
]]>First - just because you have grasshoppers in a field, does not mean that they are causing you economic harm. You need to find at least 25 grasshoppers per square yard (which equals about 120,000 per acre) before they are eating enough to cause you economic damage. You can make this estimate by walking in a pasture and trying to estimate the number of grasshoppers in a 1 square foot area. Take this count 18 times. Total the number of grasshoppers from all 18 observations and divide by 2. This number is the number per square yard.
Second - decide whether or not you need the forage the grasshoppers are eating. If you have reduced stocking rates of livestock due to higher input costs, you may be ok in not treating. If you have kept the same number of livestock, but cut back on fertilizing because of high input costs, you may need to treat. If you have cut back on you hay field acreage this year and are dependent upon the smaller area for your winter feed source, you may need to treat.
Third - consider the timing of the application. The primary grasshopper control products used on pastures in East Texas include Malathion, Carbaryl, and Diflubenzuron. Malathion has no waiting period from spraying to grazing or cutting for hay. Carbaryl has a 14 day waiting period from spraying to grazing or cutting for hay. Diflubenzuron is not effective on grasshoppers once they have matured (developed wings and can fly) and it is probably too late to use this product this year. Spraying will cost up to around $10 per acre, depending upon product used and rate applied. If you are close to cutting hay in a field and are seeing grasshoppers in great numbers, you might consider cutting a little early. Cutting early will sacrifice a little yield, but will provide you with a little better quality hay.
]]>Under normal conditions, you can plan for at least 3 to 6 eggs per hen per week, so plan your final number of hens based on your family's normal egg consumption or if you plan to sell some to the neighbors.
]]> The following links are useful to search when planning to raise your own eggs at home:Oklahoma State University has a web site that describes most of the major, and some of the more unusual breeds of chickens in the US and world that includes information on mature size and often egg color. As a rule of thumb, chickens with white ear lobes lay white eggs and those with red ear lobes lay colored eggs.
Mississippi State University has a web site that contains information on starting a laying flock, youth poultry projects, and has great information on poultry diseases.
Texas A&M University has a web site with a lot of information on poultry related topics, including how to process poultry at home.
For those interested in Pasture Poultry, here is a good publication on that topic from ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service).
]]>]]> FAMACHA requires frequent handling of all the animals in the flock in order to examine the inside of the eyelid for signs of anemia. Anemic animals are often infested with Haemonchus and are in need of de-worming. Non-anemic animals are skipped during the de-worming cycle, saving the producer money and helping extend the useful life of the de-wormer in the flock.
The East Texas Farm & Ranch Club, in conjunction with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service is offering a FAMACHA training on Tuesday, July 1, beginning at 5:30 PM in the Activities Building on the East Texas State Fairgrounds in Tyler (2112 West Front Street).
The training will be conducted by Dr. Frank Craddock, Extension Sheep and Goat Specialist from San Angelo, and will include both indoor and outdoor hands-on components.
Cost is $20 per person or $25 per couple, which includes the evening meal and the FAMACHA chart and training materials. Pre-registration by June 27 is requested by calling 903-597-2501. Persons with special needs are asked to call at least 5 days in advance so that accommodations can be made.
Educational programs sponsored by Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, religion, disability, age or national origin.
For more information on FAMACHA, visit the following web site.
For directions to the East Texas State Fairgrounds in Tyler, visit their web site.
]]>A link to a Temperature Humidity Index for cattle can be found on the following web site.
Tips for reducing cattle handling stress can be found on the following web site.
]]>College Station, Texas - May 29, 2008 - John Fuston, State Director of U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Texas, reminds Texas producers they have until July 18, 2008, to enroll in the 2005 - 2007 Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and Livestock Indemnity program (LIP). Signup began on September 10, 2007, for the two programs that provide aid to livestock producers who suffered eligible livestock or livestock feed losses between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007 because of natural disaster.
"The deadline to enroll in the 2005 - 2007 Livestock Compensation Program and Livestock Indemnity Program is rapidly approaching," said Mr. Fuston. "I encourage all eligible producers to enroll soon because sign-up ends on July 18, 2008."
LIP provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who incurred death of livestock because of natural disaster. LCP provides payments to eligible livestock owners and cash lessees who suffered feed losses or increased feed costs because of natural disaster.
More information about LCP and LIP is available online at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. For more information on FSA programs, visit your local
The Smith County FSA office is located at 4209 Republic Drive and can be reached by calling 903-561-2050.
]]>Fortunately, most of the snakes you might encounter around the home will be of the non-venomous variety. But any encounter with a snake can be traumatic - for both the snake and the human.
The 'call of the spring' so far has been a shed snake skin of about 3 feet in length that was brought in by a very concerned father whose 5 year old had found it hanging from a shoe tree on the back of her bedroom closet. The shed keyed out to be from a non-venomous snake (most likely a Texas Rat snake) but that did little to quell concerns because they had not yet seen nor caught the home invading snake that left the shed skin behind.
]]> Texas is home to some 110 species of snakes. Lucky for us, only two snake families are venomous. Three of the venomous snakes found in the state are pit vipers - copperheads, water moccasins, rattlesnakes. The other venomous snake is the coral snake. The non-venomous ones; however, may look scary. Some non-venomous snakes are very aggressive and will readily strike when cornered. Annually, 1 to 2 Texans die from venomous snake bites. One tip for telling the venomous snakes from the non-venomous varieties is to look at the eyes. The pit vipers have cat like eyes (elliptical pupils) and a loreal pit between the eye and the nostril. Non-venomous snakes have human like eyes (round pupils) and lack the loreal pit.The only exception to this rule is the coral snake, which has round pupils and no loreal pit (because it is not a pit viper). Coral snakes have alternating red, yellow, and black bands. Remember the saying, "red touch yellow, kill a fellow, red touch black, venom lack," and you will be able to tell the coral snake from the several other Texas snakes with red, yellow, and black bands.
This Herps of Texas web site maintained by UT in Austin has a very complete listing of the snakes found in the state, by family, but you must first click on the snake's Latin name to get a picture and a map depicting its distribution in the state. One tip, the pit vipers (family Viperidae) and the coral snake (family Elapidae) are found at the end of the list.
The following publication, Snakes and Their Control, lists the four varieties of venomous snakes found in Texas, as well as ways to control them around the home. Eliminating piles of leaves, rocks, wood, etc. and keeping grass mowed short (thus reducing rodent habitat) are good at discouraging snakes from setting up home around your house. This publication also describes how to use rodent glue traps to catch snakes that have wandered into the home.
This online publication, Coping With Snakes, from Colorado State University Extension also discusses control tips (including information on snake repellents) and first aide tips for dealing with snake bites. Even bites from non-venomous snakes should looked at by a health care professional because of the risk of bacterial infection.
Teach children to have a healthy respect for snakes. In nature, snakes help keep rodent populations in check and feed on a variety of insects. Left alone, most snakes would rather get away from you than have a confrontation with you. This Texas Parks and Wildlife Junior Naturalist page can help you teach young ones about the snakes that live among us.
Next time you see a snake remember the mantra: Know - Don't Hoe!
]]>Topics to be discussed include: aquatic weed Identification and control options for private waters, maintaining pond water quality, and invasive aquatic vegetation in Texas.
Speakers will be Drs. Rick Ott (Texas Parks and Wildlife) and Billy Higginbotham (Texas AgriLife Extension).
Bring: Water Samples from your pond(s) for free water quality analysis and aquatic weeds for identification and control recommendations.
For more information call (903) 590 - 2980.
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Fixing bare areas that are in your control or waiting out nearby construction projects may be necessary before trying in earnest to get the water cleared up. Restricting livestock access to the pond via fencing and using a trough, or creating a designated watering pad in the pond may enable the shoreline to regrow vegetation and help clear the water up.
The muddy appearance of the water is typically the result of negatively charged, suspended clay particles in the water. Once you have taken care of the muddy runoff situation, you can focus your attention on trying to clear the water. Clearing the water will require changing the electrical charge on the clay particles, enabling them to sink.
The process of changing the clay particle charge involves testing the pond water's pH and alkalinity. If the alkalinity is below 20 parts per million, then the addition of up to 3 tons of agricultural limestone per surface acre might help the pond water clear up.
If adding the limestone does not help, then the landowner can run a few tests to determine if adding either gypsum or alum.
This publication describes the process of clearning muddy ponds in detail. muddypondstexas.pdf
]]>Texas IPM - Integrated Pest Management is a pest management system that combines the proper identification of pests, determining if an identified pest is truly causing a problem, assessing if the pest is causing an economic loss, and then finding a proper method for control (proper methods could be chemical, physical, or biological in nature).
Earth Kind - Earth Kind is a homeowner gardening program designed to combine traditional and organic practices to promote environmental responsibility along with aesthetic enjoyment.
Organic Farming Regulations - The Texas Department of Agriculture regulates the Organic Certificaiton program for crops and livestock in the state. For more information on what is involved in transitioning from a traditional to an organic farm, see this site and its links.
USDA NRCS - The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service has several environmental programs that farmers can sign up for to conserve soil, reduce erosion, improve wetlands and riparian areas, and enhance wildlife habitat on private lands.
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