Farm, Ranch & Garden

Last year, Texas saw more than four million acres burn as more than 30,000 wildfires swept through the state. Several counties, including Blanco County, saw damage to property and valuable livestock grazing land. But some local farmers and ranchers say that fire, when used properly, is a good range management tool.

Learn what we can do to help our soil work better for us. The program “It All Starts with Soil” will be presented by Master Gardeners Robert & Sheryl Yantis. This free presentation is a Highland Lakes Master Gardener Green Thumb Program at the Marble Falls Library, 101 Main St.

A bipartisan plan to the Super Committee to cut $23 billion in agriculture programs in the next 10 years could be the basis of the next farm bill, said Adrian Schulze, Blanco County Farm Bureau Director. After the Super Committee failed to make allocated cuts to reduce the federal budget deficit, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) indicated discussions on the 2012 Farm Bill will resume in January.

Farmers and ranchers in BlancoCounty will need to register for a sales tax exemption number in order to receive tax savings on agricultural inputs after the first of the year. “In lean times like the drought devastation this year, the state sales tax exemption can be the difference between farmers and ranchers staying in or going out of business,” said Adrian Schulze , Director of the Blanco County Farm Bureau.

Tired of trying to keep the water hogging St. Augustine grass alive? Are you faced with sky high water bills, or is the water well running dry? It is time to replace the St. Augustine with sustainable native plants and grasses. Brian Loflin will be giving a presentation on the Grasses of Texas Hill County at the Saturday, November 19th meeting of the HLNPSOT.

Tired of trying to keep the water hogging St. Augustine grass alive? Are you faced with sky high water bills, or is the water well running dry? It is time to replace the St. Augustine with sustainable native plants and grasses. Brian Loflin will be giving a presentation on the Grasses of Texas Hill County at the Saturday, November 19th meeting of the HLNPSOT.

Tired of trying to keep the water hogging St. Augustine grass alive? Are you faced with sky high water bills, or is the water well running dry? It is time to replace the St. Augustine with sustainable native plants and grasses. Brian Loflin will be giving a presentation on the Grasses of Texas Hill County at the Saturday, November 19th meeting of the HLNPSOT.

People come to the Hill Country for the trees, and one tree can add more than $10,000 to the value of a piece of property. The continuing drought, though, has them all in jeopardy. The bad news is some won’t survive, no matter what you do for them. The good news is most of the large, valuable trees will make it through...and you can improve their chances. Robert Edmonson, an arborist with the Texas Forest Service, told an audience at the First United Methodist C ...

The Texas State Climatologist says the current drought could last another 15 years. John Nielsen-Gammon is not predicting it will be 15 more years. He says the drought probably will last at least ‘til this time next year, the period about which climatologists have good confidence, and could last another five years, and 2025 is within the realm of possibility. "The point is not to try to make a firm prediction, like predicting tomorrow ...

The Hill Country Livestock Raisers Association and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service - Llano County office, will hold its Fall Beef Cattle Field Day on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, at the Llano County Community Center. The program will start at 9:00 a.m. and last until approximately 3:00 p.m. The cost of the Field Day will be $20 per person in advance or $25 per person at the door.