1.01.11 Issue of Land and Livestock Post

A GOOD YEAR FOR AGRICULTURETodd Staples reflects on 2010.PAGE 3

FEDERAL CUTBACKSFarm Bill programs may be reduced.PAGE 7

SWINDLEDIndiana company costs producers millions.PAGE 9

BIOLOGICAL CONTROLSWhat works best on root-knot nematodes.PAGE 17

J anua r y 1 , 2 011

DRILLING FORWATER IN TEXAS

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Texas soil was fruitfuland blessed in 2010, andas a result, all Texans

reaped the benefits from our$100 billion agriculture indus-try that provides us with thesafest, most affordable andmost abundant food supply inthe world.

Texas farmers and rancherswere relieved to receive bet-ter-than-aver-age rainfalland no majorhurricanesthis year. Itwas a dreamyear com-pared to thenightmare of2009, where adevastatingdrought rav-aged theTexas agriculture industry.

In 2010, the Texas cottonindustry reached a milestonein functionally eradicating alist of Texas regions from thedevastating boll weevil pest.Now with 89 percent of Texas’cotton acreage weevil-free, allTexans can look forward tothe highest quality cotton inthe jeans and T-shirts we loveso much.

Similarly, both wine-grapeand citrus farmers experi-enced exceptional growing

seasons and harvests, provingonce again that Texas agricul-ture is a powerhouse of pro-ductivity. Wine-grape growersare projecting a record-settingharvest this year at 44 percenthigher than last year. Texascitrus came in early and abun-dantly this year, capturing theattention of international buy-ers, such as those in Japan,who have historically reliedon Florida for their supply.

Here at home, our con-sumer protection initiativesalso reached a new level forthe 16 million motorists onTexas roads. The TexasLegislature assigned anunprecedented authority toTexas Department ofAgriculture to monitor fuelquality and enforce penalties

against any retailers who sellcontaminated or tainted fuelto Texas consumers.

Another 2010 initiativeaimed at protecting all Texanscame in the form of a rampedup fight against a destructiveferal hog population that costsurban and rural Texans anestimated $400 million a year.In October, I issued astatewide challenge to coun-ties called “Hog Out Month —Get the Hog Outta Texas!” toreduce the state’s feral hogpopulation by awardinggrants to Texas counties mak-ing the biggest strides towardcombating this aggressivepest.

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Published by Bryan-College Station Communications, Inc.(979) 776-4444 or (800) 299-7355

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The Eagle

All Texans reaped the benefitof a good year for agriculture

From the General Manager

As I’m writing this,it’s just beforeChristmas and I

have my shirtsleevesrolled up and a fan blow-ing because it is downrighthot. Thisweek isabout thethird weekthis “win-ter” inwhich I’vehad to runthe A/Cand theheater in the same week.

They say in Texas that ifyou don’t like the weather,just wait a minute.Thankfully that is true,and I hope it means we’llget a change from this dryweather we’ve been hav-ing. Even during the driestperiods, though, there aresome that know how to

find water and we’ll talk tothem in this issue. We takea look at water wells andwater rights in Texas, andcover some of the issuesyou may face if you own awell or are planning todrill one.

We also hear fromCommissioner ofAgriculture Todd Staplesand find out how thingsended up in 2010, as well asa look at the challengesfacing us in 2011.

All this along with theother stories and featuresshould help kick this paperoff to a pretty good startfor the new year.

’Til next time,

JESSE WRIGHT

TODD STAPLES

Commissionerof Agriculture • See STAPLES/Page 4

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Some cattle just don’t likelife in a gated communityFighting hunger and obesity

remained another prioritythis year. Once again I encour-aged mayors across the stateto participate in the MayorsChallenge and help us in pro-viding millions of meals tochildren who rely on school-year lunch programs andmight otherwise go hungryduring the summer. In 2010,we saw a statewide increase ofjust less than 12 percent insummer program mealsserved to children in need.Together with churches, char-ities and dedicated Texanseverywhere, we’re workingtoward the goal of ending foodinsecurity in Texas.

Even while Texas ranksamong the nation’s leaders forfood insecurity, we also rankamong the top states for child-hood obesity. By continuing to

aggressively promote the 3E’sof Healthy Living —Education, Exercise andEating Right — we are encour-aging schools, children andparents to improve their livesby making better lifestylechoices.

As we look toward 2011, weknow there are tough chal-lenges ahead. The legislatureis dealing with a budget short-fall, and the upcoming redis-tricting is expected to reducethe number of legislators fromrural Texas, which couldaffect polices regarding ourfood and fiber supply. Theseobstacles and others will chal-lenge us like never before, butwith challenge comes opportu-nity.

We stand ready to take thisopportunity to assist the agri-culture industry and continuetelling the story of how agri-culture touches the lives of allTexans each and every day.

• Todd Staples is TexasCommissioner of Agriculture.

StaplesFrom 3

It’s become a tradition ofthis column to start theyear with a story devoted

to the humorous side of rais-ing cattle. Anyone who hasbeen around cattle for verymany years has plenty of sto-ries to tell. Our story for 2011could be called “Don’t forgetto lock the gate.”

One morning in July, I wasasked by the USDA ResearchLaboratory on AgronomyRoad in College Station tovaccinate 20 steers. Afterlunch, I headed out to the cor-ral with four fourth-year vet-erinary students. TwentyBrahman-cross steers weigh-ing 500 pounds each werenervously milling around inthe pen. The USDA veterinar-

ian said they came from anisolated ranch in West Texasand had not seen manyhumans.

I noticedsome birddroppings onthe worktable as webegan to setup, so I senta student tothe truck forpaper towels.She exited and re-entered theworking area through athree-foot-wide gate in thecorner of a crowd pen whichcontained eight steers. A stu-dent then swung the crowdpen gate around to push thesteers into the alley leading

to the squeeze chute. A steerslid forward along the out-side wall of the crowd penand when his shoulderreached the exit gate itbounced open. Open ... to theworld! All eight steersinstantly streaked throughthe gate.

Red alert! We quickly cir-cled the escapees and cor-nered them outside a pad-locked pasture gate. We couldtaste a successful recovery.That was not to be. No oneknew the code for the combi-nation lock. We waitedpatiently. The steers didn’t.They broke to freedom again.

STEVE

WIKSE, DVM

• See WIKSE/Page 5

EventsEvents CalendarCalendar

Do you have a sale or event you’d

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(979) 731-4721 or email

[email protected]

JanuaryJan. 8: Live Oak Beefmaster Bull Sale,Three Rivers, Texas.Jan. 15: AQHA Best of the Remuda Sale,FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.Jan. 21: Best of the West Angus FemaleSale, FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.Jan. 22: Stars of Texas Angus FemaleSale, FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.Jan 28: Cowtown Cattle Drive CharolaisSale, FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.Jan 28: The Cowtown Classic LimousinSale, FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.Jan. 29: Farm & Ranch EquipmentAuction - Port City Stockyards, Sealy, TX.(979) 865-5468Jan 29: Fort Worth Red Angus ShowcaseSale, FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.Jan 30: 42nd Annual Commercial

Hereford Sale, FWSSR, Fort Worth,Texas.Jan 30: Dennis Charolais BeefgeneCharolais Bull Sale, Sulphur Springs,Texas.Jan 30: Fort Worth National “CowtownSelect” Hereford and Polled HerefordSale, FWSSR, Fort Worth, Texas.

FebruaryFeb. 2-5: 2011 Cattle IndustryConvention and NCBA Trade Show,Denver, CO.Feb. 5: Double Creek Farms 3rd AnnualAngus Bull Sale. Bryan, TX. 254-435-2988Feb. 10: Land & Livestock Postadvertising DeadlineFeb. 12: Bradley 3 Ranch Angus BullSale, Memphis, Texas.Feb. 23: Thomas Charolais 5th AnnualSpring Bull Sale, Raymondville, TX. 956-689-5162Feb. 24: Land & livestock Postadvertising DeadlineFeb. 26: 44 Farms Prime Cut Spring BullSale. Cameron, TX. (254) 697-4401

Off we went after them. Wemanaged to get four backinto another pasture. Thefour wildest steers ran downAgronomy Road, crossedWellborn Road and disap-peared into 40 acres of densewoods. We scouted the areaand found a corral in a cor-ner of the woods.I phoned the Large Animal

Clinic for help. Alert Aggiesstarted arriving andswarmed into the woods likea bunch of angry fire ants. Iplaced students along thesidewalk every 30 yards toprevent a steer from runningonto Wellborn Road. A policecar parked along the roadwith lights flashing to slowtraffic. The policeman cameover and blurted “Who’s incharge here?” My heartdropped to my big toe whenit hit me that I was in chargeof the huge mess.Success was at hand,

though, when we corneredthe steers at the corral.Again it slipped away. Thefour escapees spooked andscattered in four directions.We captured two steers

before dark. One was ropedand loaded into a trailer onF.M. 2818 near UniversityDrive. The other was chasedall over Bryan and finallytrapped in a back yard untilour wildlife veterinarianarrived. He tranquilized itwith a dart gun and we yard-ed it into a trailer.Two steers continued to

roam. I received a call fromCollege Station Police at 8:30p.m. on a sighting near apart-ments behind Northgate,across from the Texas A&MUniversity campus. My stu-dents and I looked in thewoods behind the apartmentsto no avail.At 1 a.m., the police called

from the Physician’s Centreon East University Drive.They had seen one steerthere and the other was seenon the Texas 6 median. Idecided to drive along Texas6 to look for that calf. An offi-cer wanted our dart gun, sowe left it with him.We drove up and down

Texas 6, but saw no sign of asteer. About 3 a.m., we weredriving on University Drivetoward town when we saw anapparition that jolted mysleepy students and me: Inthe surreal yellow light of thestreet lamps, a steer gallopeddown Texas Avenue, closelyfollowed by a Ford Mustangconvertible with its topdown.Two co-eds were in the

front of the Mustang and inthe back stood a police officerwith the dart gun aimed atthe steer. “This one’s ours,” Ishouted.We turned south on Texas

to follow the show. Boy,calves aren’t supposed tohave that much endurance.The officer shot and missed.We cornered the steer atCollege’s Station CentralStation and tried to rope it.Another miss. He streaked toHarvey Road and suddenlystopped. A police car rolledup beside him. The back dooropened, a student hopped out,grabbed his ear and tri-umphantly declared “I’ve gothim!” Well ... at least for aninstant.

The steer then ran intoWolf Pen Creek Car Wash.My best roper got one moremissed loop offoffof just as thegalloping steer flew out intothin air and dropped 15 feetdown a steep bank into WolfPen Creek.“He’s broke his leg!” shout-

ed a student. He was stunnedin the water, but when wewent down after him his legsworked fine. He ran halfwayup the bank and backed intoa tangle of logs and limbsdeposited by the creek.He was real mad and

charged us as we stumbledon the dangerous footing try-ing to get a halter on him. Wefinally haltered him and tiedhim to a tree for the night.The next morning, we tran-quilized him and yarded himup the creek bank into atrailer.

That evening, I recountedthe whole episode to my wifeas we drove to various loca-tions of our chase. A know-ing smile came over her faceas she inspected the crowdpen gate used by theescapees. It had a brand newshiny chain and lock aroundit.And, remember that steer

east of Texas 6 by thePhysician’s Centre?Apparently it joined a newherd or reverted to the wild.No one ever saw it again.

• Dr.Dr.Dr Steve Wikse is a retiredtiredtirprofessorprofessorpr of large-animallarge-animallar clinicalsciences in the College ofVeterinaryterinaryterinar Medicine at TexasTexasTeA&M University.University.University

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NewsWe quickly circled the escapees and cornered themoutside a padlocked pasture gate. We. We. W could taste asuccessful recovery. Try. Try hat was not to be. No one knewthe code for the combination lock. We. We. W waited patient-ly. Tly. Tly he steers didn’t. They broke to freedom again.

WikseFrom 4

Income growthconference set

By BLAIR FANNINTexas AgriLife Communications

WACO — Strategies toreduce aflatoxin in corn andferal hog control methodswith netting devices will befeatured topics at the 49thBlackland Income GrowthConference Feb. 8-9 at theExtraco Events Center inWaco.Aflatoxin is a fungus that

affects corn. High levels ofaflatoxin in corn that are fedas grain can be lethal to live-stock and wildlife.“It certainly has been a big

problem in certain areas ofTexas this year due to extremetemperatures,” said RonWoolley, conference coordina-tor and Texas AgriLifeExtension Service regionalprogram director. “There willbe several presentations

• See CONFERENCE /Page 8

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By PAUL SHATTENBERGTexas AgriLife Communications

QUITO, Ecuador — The sec-ond phase of an internationalproject providing technicalassistance to improve cattleproduction and dairy productquality in Ecuador has beencompleted, according to proj-ect coordinators.

Assistance has been provid-ed through the NormanBorlaug Institute forInternational Agricultureand the Texas AgriLifeExtension Service.

“Activities have been car-ried out in cooperation withthe U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s ForeignAgriculture Service andEcuador’s Ministry ofAgriculture,” said JohannaRoman, Latin American pro-grams coordinator for theBorlaug Institute.

The primary areas of inter-est to the ministry includeddisease prevention and treat-ment, herd production andmanagement systems, meatand dairy product quality,and value chain development,she said.

Project activities includeintroducing Ecuadorean cat-tle producers to U.S. cattleproduction and managementsystems, providing technicaltraining on livestock anddairy production and man-agement, establishing con-nections between the agricul-ture ministry and public andprivate cattle producers, andidentifying and addressing“broken links” in the live-stock value chain.

An extensive and compre-hensive training program hasbeen developed for the proj-ect, said Mike McWhorter,international training coordi-nator for the Borlaug Insti-tute.

“The main thrust of thistraining is toward improvingthe quality and quantity ofthe food base for Ecuador’sbeef cattle and dairy produc-ers,” McWhorter said. “We’reintroducing producers andother agricultural experts tonew technology, managementpractices and internationalquality standards so they cansee how these might be adapt-ed to their current productionsystems.”

The first phase of projectactivities included bringing a

delegation of Ecuadoran pro-ducers and agriculture min-istry representatives to Texasin August of 2009. Members of

the delegation participated intechnical training offered bythe Texas AgriLife ExtensionService during its three-day

Beef Cattle Short Course atTexas A&M and met with cat-tle producers from Texas andother states. They receivedinstruction on animal genet-ics and breeding, viewedadvanced livestock projectsand visited cattle productionoperations.

“The second phase of theproject involved providing in-depth technical assistance inEcuador,” said Roman.“Experts from Texas A&M’s

department of animal scienceprovided hands-on training toEcuadoran cattle producersand agriculture ministry rep-resentatives. They addressedanimal health and care, ani-mal disease, livestock produc-tion systems, animal slaugh-ter and other topics.”

Roman said the goal of thetraining was to increase local

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Second phase of Ecuadoran cattle project complete

Participants in an international project to improve the beef anddairy industry in Ecuador view cuts of meat at a Texas A&MUniversity facility.facility.facility Project assistant is being provided by theNorman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and theTexas AgriLife Extension Service.

Borlaug InstituteInstitute photo

• See ECUADOR/PageECUADOR/PageECUADOR 19

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NEWS YOUCAN USERIGHTIN YOURMAILBOX

By BLAIR FANNINTexas AgriLife Communications

BRYAN — Agriculturalproducers should expect tosee cuts to many federal farmprograms as the next farm billis debated in Washington,according to a Texas AgriLifeExtension Service economist.

Joe Outlaw, AgriLife Exten-sion economist and co-direc-tor of the Agricultural andFood PolicyCenter at TexasA&M Univer-sity, was quickto the pointwhen address-ing attendeesat the 2010 Tex-as Plant Protec-tion Confer-ence in Bryan.

“There’s go-ing to be awhole lot of looking to cutmoney out of what can be cutand agriculture is going to becut,” Outlaw told attendees.

About one quarter of 1 per-cent of the federal budget goesto funding agriculture, Out-law said.

What won’t be cut in a“year like this one” are nutri-tion programs, which accountfor about 75 percent of agri-culture’s federal budget. Pro-grams likely to be targeted forcuts include crop insuranceas well as conservation andcommodity programs, hesaid.

“When you break it alldown, the main bull’s-eye ison the $5 billion in direct com-modity payments. Nobodywants to cut conservation orcrop insurance but they havein the past and will continueto be under budget-cuttingpressure.”

Outlaw said it’s too soon tospeculate on what will be thenext “piece of ag-oriented leg-islation.”

“You can’t do much interms of a farm bill next yearuntil they tell us how muchthey are going to cut out ofagriculture,” he said. “Noquestion, we’re going to haveless money. The question iswith what you have left: Doyou want to leave it as it is ordo you want a different typeof safety net?”

In addition to the threat ofbudget cuts, there are cur-rently 37 farm bill programsequaling approximately $9.8billion that do not have any

funding after the 2008 farmbill expires.

“If we are going to have anyof these programs, whichinclude the disaster programin the next bill, there willhave to be cuts to other pro-grams to provide the fund-ing,” Outlaw said.

Overall, he said “all signspoint to less of a safety net,regardless.”

“There’s no way I can put apositive spin on what’s com-ing out of Washington,” Out-law said.

The cuts could also pres-sure lending, he noted.

“You don’t take less moneyand make everybody betteroff,” he said. “This is real life— they are going to makecuts. No question about it.”

Meanwhile, Jerry Hatfield,laboratory director andsupervisory plant physiolo-gist with the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture’s AgriculturalResearch Service, discussedongoing research efforts instudying current climatechange patterns. He saidfarmers and ranchers should

plan for more fluctuations ofextreme dry to wet weatherpatterns in the future.

“We will see an increasevariance in precipitation inwhich we’re going to be expe-riencing longer periods of dryweather interspersed by lon-ger periods of wet (weather),”he said. “It’s going to be a realchallenge foragriculture onhow to copewith this as weput togetherthis puzzle.”

Aside fromincreases inthe amount ofcarbon dioxidereleased intothe atmosphere and tempera-ture changes, Hatfield saidthere also has been an in-crease in water vapor.

“We’ve become much morehumid and that’s also affeaffeaf ctedtemperatures,” he said.

He said nighttime tempera-tures have been overlookedwhen studying the changes inthe atmosphere. “These in-creases in mean temperatures

are due mostly to nighttimetemperatures than daytimetemperatures. In the last 20years, increased nighttimetemperatures changed verydramatically.”

Another area that hasn’tbeen addressed in examiningthe effects of climate changehas been plant physiologyand nighttime temperatures,he said.

“It’s one of the pieces of thepuzzle that has been over-looked. We tend to look from aclimatic view and not a plantphysiological view.”

Higher nighttime tempera-tures will affect reproductivedevelopment “because of thesensitivity of pollen survivalto temperature.”

“Increases in nighttimetemperatures will have alarge impact on both vegeta-tive and reproductivegrowth,” he said. “Yields willbe impacted because of short-ened reproductive periods.

Occurrences of higher tem-peratures will cause fasterphonological development.”

Hatfield noted a few indi-rect impacts of climatechange, which include moreweed infestations. “Weedslove CO2 (carbon dioxide)even more and they are show-ing positive response to risingCO2 concentrations,” he said.

Insects and diseases alsoincrease with more favorableenvironments over the winterand more humid conditionsduring the growing season.

“Climate change will affeaffeaf ctagriculture,” he said. “Agri-culture has adapted to cli-mate change in the past andwill again in response to long-term trends. These are somemajor challenges. These are-n’t meant to scare you, it’show we adapt to these scenar-ios. We need to figure out howto build some resilience inour cropping systems to han-dle that.”

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Producers should expect federal program cuts

JOE OUTLAWOUTLAWOUTLA

JERRY HATFIELDHATFIELDHA

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Master Marketer Program begins Jan. 12By BLAIR FANNIN

Texas AgriLife Communications

WACO — The Master MarketerProgram, which helps agriculturalproducers learn more about riskmanagement strategies and makingtheir operations more profitable,begins in January at the Texas FarmBureau Conference Center in Waco.The series begins with an optional

one-day leveling session on Jan. 11followed by the main workshopseries beginning Jan. 12.“Volatile commodity prices, high

input costs and increased competi-tive pressures challenge producers toadopt risk management skills toincrease the likelihood of survivaland profitability,” said Mark Welch,AgriLife Extension Service grainseconomist and one of the programinstructors.“Farm programs are increasingly

taking a market-oriented approach,making producer’s ability to manageprice and production risk even moreimportant,” Welch said.“One of the most successful pro-

grams in teaching risk management

to agricultural producers has beenthe intensive educational effoeffoef rt of thenational award-winning MasterMarketer Program. Producers aretrained in advanced risk manage-ment and marketing techniques dur-ing this intensive 64-hour program,”he said.Welch said the intensive training

focuses on feedgrains, cotton, live-stock and wheat. AgriLife Extension,the Texas Corn Producers Board,Texas Farm Bureau, Cotton StateSupport Committee and the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture-Risk Man-agement Agency sponsor the pro-gram.Welch said several founding prin-

ciples have made the MasterMarketer Program successful.“First, all subject matter is taught

at a highly applied rather than theo-retical level so producers can see therelevance of what is being taught,”he said.“Second, a combination of teaching

techniques are utilized to maximizelearning effectiveness. This includeslecture, problem solving, small groupwork simulation exercises, and game

playing. Finally, the program istaught by the best instructors avail-able. Speakers are selected on thebasis of their expertise and commu-nication skills,” Welch saidThe program consists of:• The optional one-day leveling

workshop reviews the basics offutures and options, Jan. 11.

• Session I builds the foundation ofprice risk management covering top-ics of budgets, marketing strategies,and weather risk, Jan. 12-13.

• Session II covers crop fundamen-tals and insurance strategies, Jan. 26-27.

• Session III is devoted to technicalanalysis and livestock fundamentals,Feb. 9-10.

• Session IV addresses marketingplans, marketing discipline, andfinancial and legal issues, Feb. 23-24.Registration for the program is

$250 and is limited to 60 individuals.Registration closes Jan. 3.For more information about the

program and online registration, goto AgriLifevents.tamu.edu.

focusing on this issue. I think farmerswill come away with several ideas onhow to manage against this threat.“We will also have some new methods

to control feral hogs, which is astatewide problem.,” he saidRegistration for the Feb. 8 sessions is

$15 per person and includes lunch.Several sessions will award continuingeducation units. Producers may down-load the brochure at stephenville.tamu.edu/blackland_income_growth/confer-ence/index.php to see specific CEU allo-cations and sessions for both days.Ron Smith, Southwest Farm Press edi-

tor, will be the keynote lunch speakerFeb. 8. Smith has spent more than 30years reporting on agriculture issues.The grain session, sponsored by the

Texas Sorghum Board and Texas CornProducers Board, also will feature a pro-ducer panel made up of Blackland farm-ers who will discuss methods to reduceaflatoxin levels in crops.In conjunction with the conference,

the Mid-Tex Farm and Ranch Show willbe held both days featuring the latestimplements and equipment.

ConferenceFrom 5

By BETSY BLANEYAssociated Press

LUBBOCK — The collapseof a Midwest cattle brokeragecompany that owes hundredsof ranchers as much as $130million could result in somegoing under and has otherswondering if regulatorychanges are needed to pre-vent similar swindles in thefuture.Federal agriculture offi-

cials filed a complaint inNovember against Indiana-based Eastern Livestock Co.LLC, accusing it of bouncingchecks for livestock purchas-es and failing to maintain anadequate bond to cover itsdebts.The company owes money

to about 740 ranchers in 30states, according to the U.S.Department of Agriculture.Three of those owed moneyhave filed a lawsuit to try toforce Eastern into involun-tary bankruptcy.The average loss of about

$175,000 per rancher isenough to put some out ofbusiness, said David Scott,president of the Texas andSouthwestern Cattle RaisersAssociation. Many ranchers,

unaware that Eastern’schecks were no good, tried topay bills and ended up writ-ing bad checks themselves,ranchers said.Eastern made money main-

ly by buying calves through-out the South and sellingthem to feed lots in big cattlestates, including Texas andOklahoma, where they werefattened for slaughter. Fed-eral regulations require suchcompanies to have sufficientbond to cover two days ofbusiness activity.Eastern’s bond was only

$875,000 even though it wasbuying what Lane Broadbentof KIS Futures in OklahomaCity described as “monstrousamounts” of cattle each week.Broadbent is among thosewho advocate an escrow sys-tem in which money from cat-tle buyers would be held in anaccount until the animalswere delivered, and then ran-chers would be paid. Now,Broadbent said, some ranch-ers deliver animals before abuyer’s check has cleared.They should be more careful,he said.“Something’s got to change

or this is going to be a prob-lem for a long time,”

Broadbent said. “There’s toomany rotten people for it stillto be dealt with on a hand-shake. We’ve trusted toomuch.”The USDA ordered Eastern

to increase its bond from$875,000 to $1.15 million earli-er this year, but the companyignored the order and theagency doesn’t have theauthority to suspend compa-nies’ operations when theydon’t have adequate bonds.Scott said the government

needs greater enforcementpower, but others said theydidn’t think that was theanswer in a fast-moving busi-ness like cattle trading.“It’s just impractical,”

Texas rancher John Welchsaid. “When you’re in busi-

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January1,2011

9

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Cattle brokerage company swindles ranchersEastern Livestock Co. may have cost producers as much as $130 million

Federal agriculture officials filed a complaint in November againstEastern Livestock Co., accusing the firm of failing to pay for live-stock purchases or maintain an adequate bond. The U.S.Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection, Packers andStockyards Administration had documented $81 million in returnedchecks, written between Nov. 3 and Nov. 9.

AP Photo/The Courier-Journal, Harold Adams

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Cowboys are always anever-ending source offunny quips and one-

liners delivered with a mat-ter-of-fact tone that belies theactual humor within thewords.

Put a cowboy on an air-plane headed to the brightlights of Las Vegas duringthe Wrangler National FinalsRodeo and his capacity forwit andhumor pegsthe needle onthe laughmeter. Theonly thingfunnier is anentire planeload of them.

Obviouslyacquaintedand buddies,the banterpassed back and forth amidthe stewardess’ attempts totake drink orders and offerthe usual Southwest Airlinessnack.

Lightheartedly, one cow-boy suggested little juiceboxes would be in order forthe lot of them because theyneeded to stay sober for theirarrival in Vegas. He had beenassured they were to be metby the champion Australianbeach volleyball team.

The discussion quicklymoved to a recent trip toVegas one of the lads hadmade to stand up in a wed-ding. It was for his goodfriend who had decided, onthe spur of the moment and anight of drinking, to get mar-ried.

The story teller said he gotcalled in the middle of night,jumped on a plane and thewedding took place as soonas everybody could get there,at 8 a.m.

The cowboy next to himsaid, “If I ever get marriedagain, it’ll be in the ElvisWedding Chapel using a bub-ble gum wrapper for a wed-ding ring. That’s about asserious as I plan to be aboutit. Rode that horse already!”

With only an hour of open-bar time, the cowboys inrows 13 and 14 managed toget themselves dubbed the“two-fer boys,” both for beer

and peanuts.As a parting gift, over the

loud speaker, the stewardessrecognized them for theirgood humor and fun.

She also handed them alarge bag of the peanut snacksacks as a reward for their“show.”

Those cowboys gave newmeaning to “working forpeanuts.”

On the shuttle bus to thehotel, a Texas cowboy, whoshowed some signs of agingwisdom, said he’d had to quitgambling.

When one of the other pas-sengers asked why, hereplied, “They kept complain-ing about the spit cups I usedwhen I chewed, and I damnsure wasn’t going to give upchewing.”

Eight-time PRCA worldchampion bull rider Don Gayworked the NFR behind the

ESPN microphone during thebull riding.

When asked if he thoughthe could still ride a bull, Donsaid, “Sometimes I think so.Then I look down and thereare about 25 pounds of methat have never been on abull.”

The trade shows draw asmany crowds as the casinosdo.

At a National RopersSupply booth a cowboy wasscrutinizing a belt loadedwith shiny glitz.

“That’s too blingy for you,”the woman with him said tohim.

He chuckled as he hung thebelt back on the rack andsaid, “I’m too fat to beflashy.”

Words to live by.

• E-mail Julie Carter [email protected].

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ness there’s not enough time— too many deals to try tokeep up with it.”Welch said he sold a couple

of hundred head of cattle toEastern about a month beforeit collapsed. His check, unlikescores of others, didn’tbounce.Many cattle producers still

make deals using “faith and ahandshake,” just like they’vedone for decades, said Welch,

who manages up to 10,000head of cattle on SpadeRanches across West Texas.The key, he said, is “try toknow who you’re doing busi-ness with.”That didn’t help Lynn

Hirsch, of Shelbyville, Ky.,who never got paid for 51Holstein steers that Easternbought from him. Hirschwouldn’t say how much helost but said the animals“were worth a lot.” Hedescribed Eastern as “a large,reputable company” and saidhe didn’t know how futurefraud could be prevented.“I wish to hell I knew,”

Hirsch said. “Livestock peo-ple have worked on a hand-shake. We deliver cattle andtrust that we’ll get payment inthe next two to three days bymail. I just don’t know whatcould be done.”

But, he also said a stock-yard in Lexington, Ky., has anew policy requiring that allcattle be paid for before theyleave the yard. He suspectedit was a result of the troubleat Eastern.

As of Nov. 22, the U.S.Department of Agriculture’sGrain Inspection, Packersand Stockyards Administra-tion had documented $81 mil-lion in returned checks thatEastern issued between Nov.3 and Nov. 9. It had received250 claims totaling $7.4 mil-lion against the company’sbond. The Justice Depart-

ment is investigating.But while ideas are being

tossed about, those in theindustry said they have nosure-fire answers on how toprevent similar problems inthe future.

“I don’t think anyoneknows enough yet to say,‘Where do we go from here?’”said Ross Wilson, presidentand chief executive officer ofTexas Cattle Feeders Asso-ciation.

• Associated PressPressPr writer JoeEdwardsEdwardsEdwar in Nashville contributedto this report.

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SwindleFrom 9

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sation for 51 holstein steers he sold to Indiana-Indiana-based Eastern Livestock Co. for which he said hewas never paid.

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Well, well, wellThings to know when drilling for water in Texas

By ASHLEY McCOLLUMSpecial to The Post

For many Texans, there isnothing as refreshing as adrink of cool, clear waterfrom a well drilled deepunderground.

Whether it is for drinking, water-ing gardens or caring for livestock,water from individual wells suppliesmore than 17 million families acrossthe United States.

“In Texas, people primarily use pri-vate water wells for irrigating cropsor drinking water if a public systemis not available,” said Pete Brien ofBrien Water Wells in Hearne.

Some who have access to the publicwater system, choose to drill and uti-lize water from an individual well forhealth or financial reasons.

“Water wells are less expensive tooperate than buying water from awater supply company or the city,”said Water Well Drillers ProgramSpecialist David Gunn of the TexasDepartment of Licensing andRegulation.

“Because well water is naturallyfiltered through the soil, you willhave chemical free water, no chlorineand other additives that public watersystems are required to have. Waterwells sometimes have minerals thatare beneficial to you.”

Whether it is by choice or necessi-ty, there are many things to considerbefore drilling: abundance of groundwater, contamination factors, powersupply and accessibility for drillingand pump installation.

Research all of these factors withthe help of well drillers such as BrienWater Wells’ Brien, whose companyhas served the Brazos Valley for 50years and drills wells of all sizes.Also check with the state licensingboard.

Gunn encourages property ownersto read the Texas Department ofLicensing and Regulation rules tounderstand the construction stan-dards for all water wells such asrequiring wells to be drilled at least50 feet away from a septic tank and100 feet from drain fields.

“Look up other wells in your areavia the Texas Well ReportSubmission and Retrieval System,”

Gunn said. “This will tell you howdeep the other wells are and howthose wells were constructed. Talk toyour neighbors who have wells andfind out how deep their wells are andif they are having any problems.”

Brien says depth of drilling is veryimportant when it comes to water

quality.“Very shallow water can pick up

some minerals and iron,” Brien said.“Iron is a common problem. In gener-al, shallower water is poor quality.But, if you get too deep, the waterpicks up dissolved solids that canmake it salty. Intermediate levels

contain the most suitable water forirrigation and domestic use.”

This explains why many peoplewho use the public water system inBryan-College Station find it hard togrow plants. The water comes from adepth that makes it high in sodiumand chloride.

Future well owners should alsoeducate themselves on their rights tothe water that comes from their wellsand any regulations placed upon wellowners by local groundwater conser-vation districts.

The state classifies water as eithergroundwater or surface water.Surface water is that found in ponds,lakes, rivers, etc., and it belongs tothe state. Groundwater filters downfrom the surfacrfacrf e and accumulatesunderground in aquifers, and, underthe Texas “rule of capture,” itbelongs to the landowner.

“The rule of capture is a Texascommon law which basically says ifyou own property you can capture asmuch water as you can put to benefi-cial use regardless of what it does toother well owners,” Gunn said. “Thislaw has been in place for well over 90years and has been challenged manytimes, but has never been over-turned.”

“To give you an example, if Iowned a manufacturing plant where Iused millions of gallons of groundwa-ter a day and after pumping thismuch water every day my neighbors’wells start to go dry, the neighborshave no recourse,: Gunn said. “Theycan sue me, but I have the rule of cap-ture on my side and as long I canprove that the water I pump is beingput to beneficial use, no judge willrule against me.”

There are only five situations inwhich a Texas landowner can takelegal action for interference with his

• See WELLS Page 13

Water flows from a well being drilled near Rockdale in December. TDecember. TDecember housands of Texasfamilies depend on well water for drinking, caring for their livestock or building waterwatergardens. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has issued rules thatmust be followed when drilling for water anywhere in the state.

Photo by Dave McDermand

Troy Goodman fills a 800-gallon tank thatsupplies fuel to the generator poweringwater-drilling efforts at a site nearRockdale. Some 17 million familiesacross the United States depend onwater from wells.

Photo by Dave McDermand

ON THE COVER

groundwater rights:• If an adjoining neighbor

trespasses on the land toremove water either bydrilling a well directly on thelandowner’s property or bydrilling a “ slant” well onadjoining property so that itcrosses the subterraneanproperty line, the injuredlandowner can sue for tres-pass.• There is malicious or

wanton conduct in pumpingwater for the sole purpose ofinjuring an adjoininglandowner.• Landowners waste arte-

sian well water by allowing itto run off their land or to per-colate back into the watertable.• There is contamination of

water in a landowner’s well.No one is allowed to know-ingly pollute groundwater.• Land subsidence and sur-

face injury result from negli-gent overpumping fromadjoining lands.Though the rule of capture

remains strong, there aregroundwater districts inplace that can impose regula-tions to prevent local ground-water from being over-pumped.“The Brazos Valley

Groundwater ConservationDistrict allows an exemptionfor wells that pump up to50,000 gallons a day for pri-vate use,” Brien said. “Theydo not have to obtain a per-mit, and are not regulated.However, well owners arerequired to register theirwells, regardless of the size.”Permits must be obtained

for larger wells. The conser-vation district can chargeuser or export fees, when nec-essary, to large well owners.The Brazos Valley

Groundwater ConservationDistrict is a not-for-profitlocal government agency thatis required, by law, to protectand conserve the groundwa-ter resources of Robertsonand Brazos counties throughlocal management. Brien saidthe two counties are joined inthe same district becausethey are connected geograph-

ically, economically andhydrologically.For more information or

assistance on drilling a wellin the Brazos Valley, call theBrazos Valley GroundwaterConservation District at a979-279-9350. Alternately, log onto the Texas Department ofLicensing and Regulation atwww.license.state.tx.us orTexas GroundwaterCommittee at www.tgpc.state.tx.us.

• Ashley McCollum is a free-free-frlance writer and resourcesourcesour devel-opment coordinatorcoordinatorcoor for VoicesFor ChildrenChildrenChildr — CASA of BrazosValley.lley.lley

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WellsFrom 12

NicholasNicholas Costillo,Costillo, left,left, and JuanCostillo set a pipe into place forinsertion into a water well beingbeingdrilled. Before drilling, ownersshould consult the Texas WellReport Submision and RetrievalSystem to learn how deep otherwells in the area are and howthey were constructed.

PhotoPhoto byby DaveDave McDerMcDermandmand

Deal reached forDevil’s River landAUSTIN (AP) — Environ-

mentalists are hailing a statepanel’s decision to buy 18,000acres of wilderness along aremote West Texas river with-out trading a pristine statenatural preserve in the bar-gain.The Texas Parks and Wild-

life Commission voted on Dec.20 to buy the Devil’s RiverRanch in Val Verde Countyalong 10 miles of the pristineriver.In so doing, the state will

use $4 million in public moneyalong with more than $10 mil-lion in private donations toclose the purchase of the land.The state originally had

planned to trade the 20,000-acre Devil’s River State Natur-al Area for the land, butnature lovers who enjoyed thestate tract’s hiking and kayak-ing protested the plan.After the decision was

announced, the Sierra Clubcommended the commissiondecision.

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AgriLife Communications

COLLEGE STATION —Year-end tax planning foragricultural producers andgeneral taxpayers must bedone by “what is known”regarding current federal taxcode, even though there’suncertainty about extendingcertain tax cuts, according toTexas AgriLife ExtensionService economists.

Jose Pena, AgriLifeExtension economist-man-agement at the TexasAgriLife Research andExtension Center in Uvalde,said a hot-button item amongagriculture producers is theestate tax. As part ofPresident Barack Obama’sbudget compromise with con-gressional Republicansapproved in late December,the first $10 million of a cou-ple’s estate will go to theirheirs tax free. Anythingabove that will be taxed bythe federal government at 35percent.

Many congressionalDemocrats had sought anestate tax that would allowcouples to leave $7 million taxfree, while taxing everythingabove that at 45 percent. Theysaid only 6,600 estates wouldbe affected in 2011. TheDemocrats said their planwould save $23 billion in 2011and 2012.

President George W. Bushbegan phasing out the estatetax and it was due to expire atthe end of 2010.

Pena said agricultural pro-ducers and small businessowners may be able to takeadvantage of some extendedtax cuts as part of the SmallBusiness Jobs Act of 2010signed into law in September.

“This extended some of thebusiness tax cuts which hadexpired in 2009,” Pena noted.

He said some of extensionsand allowances from whichagricultural producers mayderive a tax benefit include:

• Extending and increasingthe Section 179 expensingoption for depreciable proper-ty used in business (comput-ers, office furniture, equip-ment, vehicles or other tangi-ble business property) to amaximum of $500,000 for taxyears 2010 and 2011 only.

• Extending the 50 percent

bonus depreciation for 2010,which was set to expire at theend of 2009 for new propertyas long as the property isplaced into service before

Jan. 1, 2011.• Allowing the deduction of

cell phone business use with-out documentation.

• Temporarily increasing

the amount of start-up expen-ditures that small businessescan deduct from their taxes in2010 from $5,000 to $10,000(with a phase-out threshold of$60,000 in expenditures).

• Allowing a deduction forthe cost of small-businesshealth insurance premiumsin calculating self-employ-ment taxes.

The increased Section 179expensing option and the 50percent depreciation provi-

sion can give agriculturalproducers a great ability tomanage income and SocialSecurity taxes for 2010, saidWayne Hayenga, Texas A&MUniversity professoprofessoprof r emeri-tus and AgriLife Extensionagricultural economist.

“Some producers whobought equipment in 2010may be able to almost elimi-

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Late congressional action causes tax confusion

• See TAXES/PageXES/PageXES 15

Year-end tax planningplanning forfor agriculturalagricultural producers and general tax-payers must be done by “what is known” regarding current feder-al tax code, even though there’s uncertainty about the recentextenion of certain tax cuts, according to Texas AgriLifeExtension Service economists.

Texas AgriLifeAgriLife ExtensionExtension photo

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January1,2011

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nate taxable income for theyear,” Hayenga said. “Andcash-basis producers can useexpensing to avoid tax onincome carried forward fromprior years. They can also useit to avoid income and SocialSecurity taxes on much oftheir 2010 income.”He added that discussions

in Congress regarding cuttingthe tax rate for 2011 also willhave an impact on agricultur-al producers.“It probably wouldn’t make

sense for producers to lowertheir taxable income, missingout on otherwise allowablepersonal exemptions anddeductions,” Hayenga said.“Also, some producers maywant to report sufficientincome to qualify for anearned-income credit.”Pena said tax breaks that

expired at the end of 2009included deduction for class-room expenses for educators;tuition and fees deduction forcollege; additional standarddeduction for property taxes;additional standard deduc-tion or itemized deduction for

sales taxes paid on a new vehi-cle; itemized deductions forstate and local sales taxes inlieu of state income taxes; tax-free exclusion of the first$2,400 in unemployment bene-fits; and tax-free exclusion ofIRA funds donated directly tocharity.“In addition, required IRA

payments from IRA plansresume this year,” Pena said.“Congress also did not extendlast year’s waiver of requiredIRA distributions for thoseage 70 or older.”He added that the $1,000

child tax credit availablethrough 2010 as part of theEmergency Economic Stabili-zation Act of 2008 and the 2009stimulus package will bereduced to $500 in 2011.“And cost-of-energy effi-

ciency improvements may beentitled to a tax credit of 30percent of the purchase priceup to a maximum credit of$1,500,” he said. “But thatcredit will be offset by thealternative minimum tax in2010 unless Congress changesthe rules.”The AgriLife Bookstore at

agrilifebookstore.org has sev-eral publications on agricul-tural taxes and general taxissues or visit the IRS websiteat www.irs.gov.

TaxesFrom 14

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Singing along all these years with an old friendIcan’t remember how

many songs Martin wrote,probably half of my note-

book full of livin’ room hits. Iguess nobody knew me aswell as Martin. All those sadlove songs, honky tonk songs,funny ones, bluegrass, coun-try, cowboy, even the occa-sional gospel song, he heardfirst.

I was better at the lyricsbut he could come up withthe oddest melodies. I spenthours trying to decipher orinvent the chords that wouldfit his tune.

While it is true we spentmost of our time togetheralone, there were many occa-sions when I would take himwith me. He was especiallypopular during the fall cowworks on the big ranches.We’d be there four or fivedays. It takes a while to pregcheck 2000 cows.

Martin would wait for mein the bunkhouse or in myvet truck but when work wasover I would take him to thecookhouse. After we’d eaten,we’d play music and tell sto-ries. Whatfun it was.The cowboysliked it, too.These outfitswere so farout, therewas no televi-sion, andsatellite TVhadn’t beeninvented. No VHS, maybe aweak radio signal, so enter-tainment was at a premium.We weren’t great but wewere there.Sometimes one of the cow-

boys sat in and played orsang. I remember at one bigoutfit, a prospector wouldshow up and he played Irish

songs on his mandolin. Andby gosh, Martin spoke Irish. Ididn’t even know it. I tookhim to the sheep camps, too.The herders couldn’t speakEnglish but they couldunderstand Martin.

He went with me after thedivorce. I got my deer head,my shotgun and Martin. Wemoved to another life. Ibecame an itinerant poet andhe joined me on the road. Iwent places with Martin, Inormally wouldn’t have gonewithout a gun. He madefriends fast.We stayed up many a night

together. I confess, on morethan one occasion I’ve had togo back and rescue him. Iremember how sad he lookedin the middle of a vacantparking lot one early morn-ing. He’d spent the nightthere alone.His case was pretty shabby

looking. Mostly duct tape andstickers from seedy places.He’d break strings and I’dhave to substitute the odd gutstring or wrong one to lethim finish. He’s ridden inboats, on pack mules, on topof pickups, on ski lifts, snow-mobiles, wagon trains, rail-road trains and trainingwheels.I had taught him how to

stand up. The strap button onhis butt wouldn’t let himstand up straight, so he had ajaunty look about him.People would marvel at hisbalance. We were standingside by side one evening andhe fell off a three-foot ledgeand broke his neck justbelow the tuners. I got himhome, put him in a vice andwith two machine bolts andnuts and some Elmer’s Glue Ipatched him up. He couldstill carry a tune. I glued his

back when it started gaping.But, he’s played with some

wonderful pickers andsingers in his day. I got him anew case but I run one of myold belts through his handleand around his waist to keephim from poppin’ out at thewrong time.Occasionally these days we

get to pick with somebody,but mostly we just play alongwith XM radio or strum anold song one of us remem-bers. He’s aging well, gettinga little mellow.Wish I could say that about

myself. Oh, well, my kids aremusical, so I guess he’ll bearound a long time, long asthe machine bolts andElmer’s glue holds out.

• Baxter Black is a formerlarge animal veterinarian.His website is www.bax-terblack.com.

BAXTER BLACK

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Questions AboutCattle Health?

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Biological controls best for root-knot nematodesBy ROBERT BURNS


OVERTON — Root-knotnematodes are common visi-tors to East Texas fields ofpumpkins and many othervegetables, but their presenceis anything but a holidaytreat for growers, accordingto a Texas AgriLife ExtensionService expert.“Root-knot nematodes are

the biggest problem thatmany of our East Texas veg-etable growers have to face,”said Karl Steddom, AgriLifeExtension plant pathologist.Steddom recently complet-

ed trials comparing variousfumigants and biological con-trols for root knot nematodeson pumpkins.“The pleasant surprise is

that one of the biological con-trols was one of the mosteffective,” Steddom said.He said the results should

be applicable to all the cropsaffected by the pest. The list is

considerable. Root-knot nem-atodes can knock back yieldsand quality on pumpkins, to-matoes, sweet potatoes, beets,cucumbers, carrots, peaches,watermelons and okra.Even ornamental plants

such as roses that have beenstarted from rootstock can behammered by the pest.“Some watermelon vari-

eties are marginally affected,but they can flat-out kill somecrops like okra,” Steddomsaid.Root-knot nematodes are

tiny parasitic worms thatinfect plant roots. They formgalls or knots on the plantroots that block the flow ofnutrients and photosynthesisproducts. The pest is foundworldwide but thrives in thesandy soils common to EastTexas, he said.“One of the biggest prob-

lems with these is that theireggs can lay dormant in thesoil for years,” he said.

“They’re very difficult to getrid of, and once a grower getsnematodes in a field it can bea big issue for their produc-tion for years to come.”The infestation may start

out in a small area of a fieldand at first may not be at highenough levels to cause signifi-

cant losses in crop yield orquality, Steddom said. But ifthe field is left untreated, it’salmost a sure bet that thenematode population willgrow and spread throughout.Steddom began the study

because there wasn’t a lot offield data on two of the label

products. He could have test-ed the products on a numberof different crops, but hechose pumpkins becausethey’re less labor intensive toharvest, he said.He tested nine different

combinations of products on asite at the Texas AgriLifeResearch and ExtensionCenter at Overton.He conducted the tests in a

field with a field that had asandy loam soil and a highpopulation density of root-knot nematodes.One of the treatments test-

ed was Vapam and Vydate, achemical combination consid-ered an industry standard.Another fumigant was Pala-din, a relatively new productfor which there weren’t a lotof test data, he said. The othertwo products were biologicalcontrols, one already on themarket, another still in the

Root-knot nematodes formed galls or knots on pumpkin plant rootsat a Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Overton.

Texas AgriLifeAgriLife ExtensionExtension SerServicevice photo by Robert Burns

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experimental, testing stage.Three of the treatments

were of Actinovate, a biologi-cal fungicide that uses thebacteria, streptomyces lydi-cus to control nematodes. Thethree treatments were at 6, 12and 18 ounces per acre.

Steddom also tested NI-9, anexperimental biological con-trol product not yet on themarket, at various rates. Andhe tested a mixture ofActinovate and NI-9.

For the test crop, he usedpumpkins in raised beds, 40-inches wide and 6-incheshigh, under plastic mulching,a system that is comparable towhat’s commonly used incommercial vegetable produc-tion.

All the treatments wereapplied through drip-irriga-tion tubing. He harvested thepumpkins on Nov. 5 and com-pared yields as well as theextent of root galling.

Although Steddom did notfind pumpkin yield differ-ences among the varioustreatments, there were differ-ences in the amount of visiblegalling on roots.

Surprising, in terms of eggsper ounce of root, the bestcontrol was achieved by Ac-tinovate at the lowest rate of 6ounces per acre, he said.

The root-gall index, whichis largely a visible-eye rating,was also lowest with the 6-ounce rate of Actinovate. The18-ounce rate of NI-9 achievedsimilar results.

“While yield was notimpacted during this study,the reduction in reproductionrates has significificif ant implica-tions for future crops in thisfield,” Steddom wrote in hisofficial report. “Neither phy-totoxicity nor differences inplant vigor were observed atany time during this study.”

The other pleasant surpriseis that Actinovate is by farmore user-friendly than thestandard fumigants. Thoughthe fumigants rapidly de-grade and pose no risk to theend user, Steddom said, they

are dangerous to those whoapply them. A private pesti-cide license is required to pur-chase and use the fumigants,but the biological control isavailable to homeownerswithout a license.

The study was funded bythe U.S. Department of Agri-culture’s IR-4 Project, whichis referred to as the MinorCrop Pest Management Pro-gram.

The full results of the root-knot nematode study will beavailable on the IR-4 website— ir4.rutgers.edu/ — some-time in early 2011, he said.

“Growers or homeownerswanting more informationabout root-knot nematodesand their control should con-tact their local countyExtension agent,” Steddomsaid.

RootsFrom 17

For a test crop inin the root-nema-tode control study,study,study Karl Steddomused pumpkins in raised bedsunder plastic mulching, a crop-ping system comparable towhat's commonly used in com-mercial vegetable production.

Texas AgriLifeAgriLife ExtensionExtension photo

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19

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production capacity for beefand dairy products and toimprove the export potentialfor high-value cuts of beef.“In August, Griffin and I

conducted a five-day instruc-tional and hands-on demon-stration workshop for repre-sentatives of a large Quito-area beef processing plant, thecity-market system andEcuador’s ministry of agricul-ture,” said Joe Paschal,AgriLife Extension livestockspecialist at the TexasAgriLife Research andExtension Center in CorpusChristi. “There were cattleproducers and meat-cutters,veterinarians, market man-agers and others. We focusedinitially on beef-cattle genet-ics and nutritional effects ongrowth and carcass composi-tion.”Paschal said the cleanliness

and food safety aspects of thelarger beef processing facili-ties he visited were “aboveaverage” and that some of thegreatest interest in the train-ing came from the discussionsof cattle breeding and hands-on demonstrations of differfferff -ent ways to fabricate cuts ofmeat.“Ecuadorans typically use

lighter, grass-fed beef carcass-es from which they fabricatetheir traditional cuts ofmeat,” he said. “We showedthem new styles and tech-niques for beef fabricationusing a heavier carcass, andfocused on safety during thecutting process. We also dis-cussed how to improve cattleproduction, and how to breedand feed cattle to produce

more tender beef with bettertexture and flavor.”Davey Griffin, an AgriLife

Extension statewide meat spe-cialist at College Station alsoprovided instruction andexpertise during the five-daytraining.“I explained North

American meat manufactur-ing specificacificacif tions and how theU.S. Department ofAgriculture grades variouscuts of meat, Griffin said. “Ialso demonstrated U.S. cut-ting procedures and how toproduce value-added cuts ofbeef, including how to fabri-cate cuts from heavier car-casses and market certainbeef muscles with differentpalatability characteristics.”Griffin said Ecuador wants toestablish its own beef gradingsystem, and understandinghow the USDA categorizesand grades beef will help themachieve that goal.“Before we left, the manag-

er of one of the large meat pro-cessing facilities there told ushe was already implementingsome of the differfferff ent cuttingstyles so he could produce andmarket new cuts of meat tohis customers,” Griffin said.The third part of the project

will involve providing techni-cal assistance toward qualityimprovement for milk andother dairy products, Romannoted.“The agriculture ministry

has expressed an interest inincreasing the export poten-tial of Ecuador’s dairy prod-ucts, so the final phase of theproject will focus on increas-ing product quality soEcuadoran dairy product willbe more marketable in othercountries,” she said.For more information on

the Borlaug Institute, go toborlaug.tamu.edu.

EcuadorFrom 6

Beef Symposium set for Jan. 18-19Special to The Post

AMARILLO — TheSouthwest Beef Symposiumjointly hosted by the TexasAgriLife Extension Serviceand New Mexico CooperativeExtension Service is sched-uled for Jan. 18-19 in Ama-rillo. The symposium will bein the Grand Plaza Room ofthe Amarillo Civic Center, 401S Buchanan St.

The educational forum istailored for beef producersand was established to annu-ally provide timely informa-tion about current industry

issues and practical manage-ment, said Ted McCollum,AgriLife Extension beef cattlespecialist in Amarillo.There will be a $50 registra-

tion fee and checks should bemade payable to: SWBS Acct.#229100. For more informa-tion on the schedule and toregister for the program, goonline to the Southwest BeefSymposium website atswbs.nmsu.edu/ or registra-tion forms can be mailed to:Bruce Carpenter, TexasAgriLife Extension Center,Post Office Box 1298, FortStockton, Texas 79735.

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AgriLife Research hires water expert at VernonBy KAY LEDBETTER


VERNON — Texas AgriLifeResearch has hired Srini-vasulu Ale to fill the newlycreated position of assistantprofessor-geospatial hydrolo-gy at Vernon, according toJohn Sweeten, AgriLife Re-search director for Vernonand Amarillo programs.

The new hydrologist posi-tion will help fill a gap in theresearch programs already inexistence at the Texas Agri-Life Research and ExtensionCenter at both Vernon andAmarillo, Sweeten said.

Ale also will have an aca-demic appointment with thedepartment of biological andagricultural engineering atTexas A&M University atCollege Station.

As a geospatial hydrologist,Ale will look at water andnutrient balance under com-plex cropland and rangeland

management systems fromfield to aquifer and thendevelop management strate-gies to increase water-use effi-ciency and protect waterquality.

“How you manage that landwill affect water quality, asfar as sediment, nitrate andphosphorous loads,” Ale said.“All these influence the waterquality downstream.”

“Can we manage or suggestsome strategies to deal withthese kind issues? My rolewill be to do the modeling aswell as the field experimenta-tion to answer these ques-tions,” he said.

With agricultural engineer-ing as his primary study, Aleearned a bachelor’s degreefrom Andhra Pradesh Agri-cultural University in Hyder-abad, India; a master’s degreefrom the G.B. Pant Universityof Agriculture and Technol-ogy, Pantnagar, India; and adoctorate from Purdue Uni-

versity in West Lafayette, Ind.Ale was a project associate

and assistant professor dur-ing his career in India andthen a graduate researchassistant and post-doctoralresearch associate at Purdue.His work inIndiana wasprimarily withs u b - s u r f a c edrainage andits influenceon water quali-ty and stream-flow pattern.In India, hefocused on wa-ter resourcesmanagement and control ofsalinity in semi-arid regions.

Ale said his program withAgriLife Research will be dif-dif-different from Indiana, where hewas dealing with excess waterin the soil surface.

There, he said, theyinstalled perforated drainagepipes underneath the ground

to get rid of excess water, andhe studied the movement ofthe nitrates in this drainagewater to minimize nitrateloading that could be harmfulto fish in the receivingstream.

The problem in the TexasRolling Plains and HighPlains areas is there is lessprecipitation and streamflow, as well as depletingaquifers due to groundwaterwithdrawals, he said.

So the focus will be sustain-able management of waterresources on croplands andrangelands under limitedwater availability and chang-ing climatic patterns, Alesaid.

His research program willhave three areas of work: howto manage the water re-sources under semi-arid con-ditions; how to cope with thewater quality problems asso-ciated with non-point sour-ces; and how to conserve soil

and water resources.“My expertise back at

Purdue University was study-ing watershed processesthrough hydrological model-ing, so I will combine thatwith my semi-arid field re-search experience from Indiain order to address the waterresources and water quality-related issues of this region.

“I want to develop strate-gies for watershed manage-ment; how are we going tooptimize these water and landresources so that we can max-imize agricultural productionand at the same time mini-mize the negative water im-pacts,” Ale said.

“We are fortunate to havefound a person of Ale’s train-ing and experience to addressthese surface and groundwa-ter issues from both waterquality and water quantityperspectives as part of amulti-disciplinary team ap-proach,” Sweeten said.

SRINIVASULUSRINIVASULUSRINIVALE

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January1,2011

21

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BryanResults of Brazos Valley Live-

stock Commission’s Dec. 14sale:

Head: 1,123Steers: 200-300 lbs., $110-

$172.50; 300-400 lbs., $103-$157.50; 400-500 lbs., $100-$142.50; 500-600 lbs., $95-$125; 600-700 lbs., $90-$115;700-800 lbs., $100-$109.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $100-$127; 300-400 lbs., $105-$132; 400-500 lbs., $93-$121;500-600 lbs., $90-$108; 600-700 lbs., $90-$102.50; 700-800 lbs., $95-$100.

Slaughter cows: $31-$62.50.Slaughter bulls: $52-$71.50.Bred cows: $480-$910.Cow/calf pairs: $760-$940.

BuffaloResults of Buffalo Livestock

Commission’s Dec. 11 sale:Head: 1,843Steers: 150-200 lbs., $125-

$205; 200-300 lbs., $125-$175; 300-400 lbs., $135-$163; 400-500 lbs., $112-$142; 500-600 lbs., $107-$121; 600-700 lbs., $103-$116; 700-800 lbs., $99-$109.

Heifers: 150-200 lbs., $120-$185; 200-300 lbs., $115-$165; 300-400 lbs., $106-$129; 400-500 lbs., $102-$120; 500-600 lbs., $98-$115;600-700 lbs., $91-$106; 700-800 lbs., $93-$96.

Slaughter cows: $38-$66.50.Slaughter bulls: $59-$71.50.Bred cows: $550-$990.Cow/calf pairs: $710-

$1,200.

GroesbeckResults of Groesbeck Auction

& Livestock Co.’s Dec. 16 sale:Head: 1,116Steers: 300-400 lbs., $140-

$155; 400-500 lbs., $125-$139; 500-600 lbs., $117-$128; 600-700 lbs., $110-$120; 700-800 lbs., $105-$109.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $120-$132; 400-500 lbs., $110-$125; 500-600 lbs., $105-$115; 600-700 lbs., $95-$107.

Slaughter cows: $40-$68.50.Slaughter bulls: $60-$71.Bred stocker cows: $560-

$1,000.

Cow/calf pairs: $700-$1,100.

JordanResults of Jordan Cattle Auc-

tion’s Dec. 16 sale:Head: 2.465Steers: 200-300 lbs., $140-

$165; 300-400 lbs., $130-$151; 400-500 lbs., $120-$138; 500-600 lbs., $114-$126; 600-700 lbs., $108-$118; 700-800 lbs., $103-$109.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $120-$137; 300-400 lbs., $115-$124; 400-500 lbs., $110-$122; 500-600 lbs., $105-$115; 600-700 lbs., $97-$108;700-800 lbs., $92-$96.50.

Slaughter cows: $43-$66.Slaughter bulls: $52-$67.50.Stocker cows: $570-$1,090.Cow/calf pairs: $700-

$1,090.

MilanoResults of Milano Livestock

Exchange’s Dec. 14 sale:Head: 783Steers: 300-400 lbs., $123-

$160; 400-500 lbs., $111-$133; 500-600 lbs., $102-$126; 600-700 lbs., $98-$115.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs.,$102.50-$126; 400-500 lbs.,$102-$121; 500-600 lbs., $95-$116; 600-700 lbs., $89-$110.

Slaughter cows: $44.50-$61.50.

Slaughter bulls: $63-$72.Stocker cows: $625-$1,100.

NavasotaResults of Navasota Livestock

Auction Co.’s Dec. 11 sale:Head: 3,116Steers: 150-300 lbs., $100-

$180; 300-400 lbs., $95-$157.50; 400-500 lbs., $95-$140; 500-600 lbs., $95-$122.50; 600-700 lbs., $90-$111.

Heifers: 150-300 lbs., $100-$150; 300-400 lbs., $95-$131;400-500 lbs., $85-$122.50;500-600 lbs., $82-$108; 600-700 lbs., $80-$102.

Slaughter cows: $38-$64.Slaughter bulls: $55-$78.Stocker cows: $550-$1,600.Cow/calf pairs: $850-

$1,700.— Special to The Eagle

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Quality beef starts with quality forage.Quality beef starts with quality forage.Quality beef starts with quality forage.

Cattlemen have numerous roles to playand soil fertility manager is just one of them.

• Fertilizer additives add flexibility to your applicationschedule, which not only saves you precious time andmoney, but gives you peace of mind that your nutrientswill be available when and where you need them.

• AVAIL® Phosphorus Fertilizer Enhancer helps protectphosphorus, keeping it available to plants throughoutthe growing season.

• NutriSphere-N® Nitrogen Fertilizer Manager reducesnitrogen leaching and volatilization for a better returnon your nitrogen fertilizer investment.

• AVAIL and NutriSphere-N are proven to boost forageyields, crude protein and TDN.*

To learn how to get the most out of your fertilizerinvestment talk to your fertilizer supplier, visit sfp.com

or call 888-446-GROW.

*Data on file.

AVAIL and NutriSphere-N are registered trademarks of SFP. NutriSphere-Nis not approved for use in California. ©2010 SFP. All rights reserved. 1012 41565AVAIL and NutriSphere-N are registered trademarks of SFP. NutriSphere-Nis not approved for use in California. ©2010 SFP. All rights reserved. 1012 41565AVAIL and NutriSphere-N are registered trademarks of SFP. NutriSphere-Nis not approved for use in California. ©2010 SFP. All rights reserved. 1012 41565

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YourAgriculture Partner since 1943Livestock Feeds l Seed/Fertilizer l Fuel/LubricantsA full line of equipment & supplies for the Farm/Ranch

Wishing you a bright,prosperous New Year!

1800 N Texas Avenue in Bryan(979) 778-6000

www.producerscooperative.com

1.01.11 Issue of Land and Livestock Post

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