Farm, Ranch & Garden

Crazy Unpredictable Texas Weather Think it will freeze again before Easter? Of course it will. You know that Easter isn’t until April 4th and we always have a "cold snap" right before or on Easter morning. Didn’t it thunder in February? Have the Mesquite leafed out? No! The latest freeze on record for most of the Hill Country is April 15th (that’s appropriate, right).

The final report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the 2009 corn harvest is one for the record books. Despite poor planting conditions, a cool, wet growing season, and an abysmal harvest that still sees corn standing in fields, American farmers shattered records for both yield per acre and total production. In the January Crop Production report, released Jan.

The passage of Proposition 11 was a victory for private property rights last year but Blanco County landowners must not forget that it is just the beginning of eminent domain reform in the Lone Star State. "We need to remember that private property owners are still exposed to unfair practices when their land is taken,"

The local chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas will hear botanical illustrator, Lotus McElfish, share her adventurous journey of finding endangered plants and creating their portraits on March 13 at 1pm in the Marble Falls Library meeting room. She expresses appreciation for the people who work at saving these plants and will focus on the watercolors of the special species which are part of her Hill Country Project.

The Johnson City FFA Wildlife Team competed in contests in San Antonio and San Angelo on February 19 and 20. Garrett Deike, Slater Sultemeier, Nathan Preece, Ashley Bargsley, Shania Dubose, Elizabeth Nunn, & Jonathan Schulze competed in the San Antonio Livestock Exposition and San Angelo Stock Show Wildlife CDE’s. The team dominated the competition at San Angelo, walking away with the 1st place plaque.

The estate tax will be one of the big issues in Congress for farmers and ranchers in 2010. "The exemption levels at the end of 2009 were $3.5 million per household. In 2010 that has gone away. The estate tax has expired," said Adrian Schulze, of the Blanco County Farm Bureau.

Tom Benson Farm & Ranch, Johnson City, Texas, has been recognized nationally by the American Angus Association® for having 1 registered Angus cow included in the Association’s 2010 Pathfinder® Report. Only 2,220 of the nearly 30,000 American Angus Association members are represented in this year’s report, according to Bill Bowman, chief operating officer and director of performance programs of the Association with headquarters in Saint Joseph, Missouri. < ...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA has implemented the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program (SURE) in accordance with the 2008 Farm Bill. Vilsack also encouraged producers to visit their USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office beginning on January 4, 2010, to participate in the program if they suffered crop production losses during the 2008 crop year. "This program is an important component of the farm safety net and will provide financial assi ...

Despite the cold, a total of 26 members and guests attended February’s meeting of the Community Garden Club of Johnson City. February’s program by guest speaker Dan Holland was "Butterflies and their Plants". Armed with the knowledge of key nectar and host plants for a starter butterfly garden, many members will be refreshing their gardens with suggested plants. President Pearl Hedlund presided over the business meeting.

Landowners and operators have spent generations becoming range stewards and leaving their piece of Earth better than how it was received. Ranching in the Texas Hill Country is a passion for most and a hobby for few. With the help of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) producers across the region can obtain assistance and cost-share in implementing conservation practices. The 2008 Farm Bill authorized some key programs for technical and financial assistance.