Land and Livestock Post

May May2014 2014——Issue Issue22

Going wild for habitat

Technical and financial aid available PAGE 11

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BRYAN, TX 77802 PERMIT # 23

JAMES THOMPSON GOING HUNGRY

JAMES THOMPSON LANDING A DISPUTE

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PAGE 8 3

JAMES THOMPSON PASSING ON THE FARM

JAMES TOO MANY THOMPSON PIGGIES

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Straight from Worldwide food theshortages horse's mouth. seen by mid-century.

Straight Next Generation from the Conferences horse's mouth. begin in Waco.

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May 2014 — Issue 2

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The Land & Livestock Post

M

News From the General Manager

y family is from the Hill Country. If you are familiar with the Hill Country, you know that in addition to hills, there are also cedars. My grandparents, for some reason, thought that there was nothing a young boy loved more than chopping cedar. It seemed like every visit I made ended with me either chopping cedars or grubbing up baby cedars.

There was a huge controversy years back in that part of the world, and that is when I first heard of the golden-cheeked warbler. To many around the Hill Country, it’s still less offensive to flip the bird, than to say that bird’s name. I never got the specifics, but from what I gathered, that bird and cedar trees went hand-in-hand. And the bird was JESSE WRIGHT endangered, so therefore, it was rumored, the government was going to step in and tell people they couldn’t clear cedars anymore.

When I heard that, the golden-cheeked warbler instantly became my favorite bird.

But, like many pre-Internet rumors, this one

caused a stir then nothing happened. The bird itself is still endangered, but no black helicopters swooped in to secure the cedar breaks and confiscate the axes and grub hoes.

It’s good that there isn’t government-mandated habitat management, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to implement a system to manage the wildlife on your place. In our cover story we look at steps you can take to manage wildlife, and even some incentives available.

We also have a story about a battle brewing in North Texas, as well as articles and information about upcoming events and workshops.

Hope you enjoy it, and as always, thanks for reading. ’Til next time,

• For more information about content or advertising, contact Jesse Wright at jesse.wright@theeagle.com.

Food shortages could be most critical world issue by mid-century

By Kathleen PhilliPs Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

WASHINGTON,D.C.—Theworld is less than 40 years away from a food shortage that will have serious implications for people and governments, according to a top scientist at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“For the first time in human history, food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water and energy,” said Fred Davies, senior science adviser for the agency’s bureau of food security. “Food issues could become as politically destabilizing by 2050 as energy issues are today.”

Davies, who also is a Texas A&M AgriLife regents professor of horticultural sciences, addressed the North American

FRED DAVIES Agricultural Journalists meeting in Washington, D.C. on the “monumental challenge of feeding the world.”

He said the world population will increase 30 percent to 9 billion people by mid-century. That would call for a 70 percent increase in food to meet demand.

“But resource limitations will

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News 2014 Next Generation Agricultural Conference scheduled May 22 in Waco diversity, and farm and ranch success stories.

The May 22 featured speakers from AgriLife Extension include Mark Welch, grains economist; Joe Outlaw, economist; Jim Mazurkiewicz, AgriLife Leadership program director; and Wayne Hayenga, economist – all from College Station. Other AgriLife

By Blair Fannin Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

WACO — Transitioning to the next generation of farmers and ranchers will be the focus of a May 22 conference at the Extraco Events Center, 4601 Bosque Blvd. in Waco.

As the current generation of farmers and ranchers ages, the next generation must take over, according to organizers.

Capital Farm Credit and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be hosting three conferences designed to help the next generation of producers transition into the business or to help current farmers and ranchers expand their operations.

The 2014 Next Generation Agricultural Conferences, also scheduled for Lubbock on July 15 and Wichita Falls on Nov. 13, are designed to provide production and financial management tools to farmers and ranchers, according to organizers.

“The main topics that will be covered include farm financial

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Blair Fannin

Beef cattle will be one of several topics to be discussed at the May 22 Next Generation Agricultural Conference scheduled May 22 in Waco. management, agricultural economic forecasts, general agriculture, and farm planning and budgeting,” said Jason Cleere, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in College Station and one of the presenters. “Keeping up with the latest operational strategies and available credit and risk management practices is the key to the most successful large and small operations.

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Cleere said the workshops will feature presentations on agricultural financing, analyzing the performance of an operation, managing risk, potential to expand an operation, purchasing or leasing equipment, operation

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The Land & Livestock Post

News Well owner training set May 22 in Conroe

By Paul SchattenBerg Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

CONROE — Anyone interested in private water well management in the San Jacinto watershed area is invited to a Texas Well Owner Network training May 22 in Conroe.

The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Thomas Leroy Education Center, 9020 Airport Road, said Drew Gholson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and network coordinator in College Station.

“The [Texas Well Owner Network] program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs so they can learn about improving and protecting their community water resources,” Gholson said.

“The program was established

to help well owners become familiar with Texas groundwater resources, septic system maintenance, well maintenance and construction, water quality and water treatment.”

He said participants may bring well-water samples to the training for screening. The cost is $10 per sample, with payment due when samples are turned in during the training.

Well owners who would like to have their water sampled can pick up two sample containers from the AgriLife Extension office in Montgomery County, Lone Star Groundwater District or Nova Biologicals offices.

Bringing water samples to the training is not required, Gholson said. He said space is limited, so attendees are requested to register at twon.tamu.edu/training or by calling 979-845-1461 as soon as possible.

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News LIVESTOCK MARKET REPORT Brazos Valley

Results of the Brazos Valley Livestock Market’s April 29 sale: Head: 834 Steers: 200-300 lbs., $259-$320; 300-400 lbs., $220-$280; 400-500 lbs., $194-$245; 500-600 lbs., $184$222.50; 600-700 lbs., $174-$198; 700-800 lbs., $162-$174.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $234-$275; 300-400 lbs., $194-$240; 400-500 lbs.,$183-$217.50; 500-600 lbs.,$174$202.20; 600-700 lbs., $150-$185; 700-800 lbs., $155-$167.

Slaughter bulls: $110-$132.

Slaughter cows: $84-$108.

Bred cows: $1,100-$1,800.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,275-$2,200.

Buffalo

Results of the Buffalo Livestock Market’s April 19 sale: Head: 945 Steers: 150-200 lbs., $255-$300; 200-300 lbs., $230-$305; 300-400 lbs., $225-$265; 400-500 lbs., $200-$232;

500-600 lbs.,$190-$222; 600-700 lbs., $170-$200; 700-800 lbs., $160-$182.

Heifers: 150-200 lbs., $225-$290; 200-300 lbs.,$200-$270; 300-400 lbs., $185-$245; 400-500 lbs., $165-$230; 500-600 lbs.,$155-$210; 600-700 lbs., $150-$195; 700-800 lbs., $140-$165.

Slaughter bulls: $100-$125.

Slaughter cows: $65-$108.

Bred cows: $975-$1,950.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,100-$2,425.

Caldwell

Results of the Caldwell Livestock Commission’s April 30 sale: Head: 415 Steers: 200-300 lbs., $200-$250; 300-400 lbs., $213-$230; 400-500 lbs., $200-$227; 500-600 lbs., $190-$210; 600-700 lbs., $170-$195; 700-800 lbs., $158-$178.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $215-$240; 400-500 lbs.,$206-$220; 500-600 lbs., $180-$200; 600-700 lbs., $160-$190; 700-800 lbs., $147-$165.

Slaughter bulls: $99-$131.

Slaughter cows: $86-$118.

Stocker cows: $1,250-$1,850.

Groesbeck

Results of the Groesbeck Auction and Livestock Exchange’s May 1 sale: Head: 482 Steers: 300-400 lbs., $230-$290; 400-500 lbs., $210-$265; 500-600 lbs., $180-$225; 600-700 lbs., $175-$215.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $185-$250; 400-500 lbs., $175-$225; 500-600 lbs., $170-$210; 600-700 lbs., $170-$185.

Slaughter bulls: $111-$125.

Slaughter cows: $74-$108.

Stocker cows: $1,150-$2,000.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,300-$2,300.

Jordan

Results of the Jordan Cattle Auction Market Sale on May 1 sale: Head: 2,259 Steers: 200-300 lbs., $240-$295; 300-400 lbs., $220-$257; 400-500 lbs., $200-$230; 500-600 lbs., $187-$208; 600-700 lbs., $170-$199; 700-800 lbs., $163-$178.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $200-$245; 300-400 lbs., $200-$242.50; 400-500 lbs., $190-$219; 500-600 lbs., $175-

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Results of the Milano Livestock Exchange’s April 29 sale: Head: 495 Steers: 300-400 lbs., $132-$233; 400-500 lbs.,$120-$225; 500-600 lbs., $125-$205; 600-700 lbs., $120-$197.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $130-$223; 400-500 lbs.,$125-$207; 500-600 lbs., $117-$209; 600-700 lbs., $111-$197.

Slaughter bulls: $101-$127.

Slaughter cows: $75-$110.

Stocker cows: $1,000-$1,475.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,350-$1,725.

Navasota

Results of the Navasota Livestock Auction Co.’s April 26 sale: Head: 1,514 Steers: 150-300 lbs., $175-$360; 300-400 lbs., $160-$275; 400-500 lbs., $150-$235; 500-600 lbs., $140-$220; 600-700 lbs., $125-$195.

Heifers: 150-300 lbs., $150-$270; 300-400 lbs., $150-$255; 400-500 lbs., $140-$215; 500-600 lbs., $135$202.50; 600-700 lbs., $125-$187.50.

Slaughter bulls: $85-$125.

Slaughter cows: $75-$100.

Stocker cows: $1,000-$1,550.

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News

Blurred lines: Texas-BLM spat has complicated history

by Jim malewitz The Texas Tribune

BYERS — Tommy Henderson’s Chevy Silverado bobbed as he drove over the North Texas pasture he knows so well. It was part of the ranch where his family had grown crops and grazed cattle for more than a century. The landscape had changed over time. The cottonwood and salt cedar trees weren’t here when his forefathers arrived. “It was just tall prairie,” he said. And the Red River, which runs about a quarter-mile north, has, at times, snaked closer to this spot, its flow changing with Mother Nature’s whims.

The 60-year-old rancher knew exactly when his truck rolled past the invisible boundary that splits what’s still his land and the 140 acres the courts took away — despite the fact that Henderson paid for it.

“We’re on BLM land right now,” Henderson said.

It’s been nearly 30 years since an Oklahoma judge ruled that the land belonged to the federal government, to be overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The issue is getting attention now as the bureau decides what to do with an area along a 116-mile stretch of the Red River it says it controls. That area includes an indeterminate amount of land that North Texans long have considered theirs. Texas officials, including Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott, are speaking out about the case, with some officials talking

Photo by Jim Malewitz

Tommy Henderson shows a survey of land along the Red River in North Texas. Three decades ago,an Oklahoma judge said 140 acres of land he managed belonged to the federal government — even though Henderson held the deed and diligently paid his taxes. Now, the federal government is weighing what to do with more land along the river, some of which has been in Texas families for generations. about federal “seizure” of private property and “overreach.”

Henderson, who is no fan of the bureau, said he’s happy with the attention on the issue. And because of his role in the dispute’s legal history, he has become a point man for those looking to clear up the confusion. He wants more Texas officials to first grasp the two centuries of litigation and changing geography rooted in the dispute. He said they need to know about the Louisiana Purchase, the Adams-Onís Treaty, Buck James, the Langford family and the huge legal ramifications for the different ways a river can move. Only with that understanding can officials try to answer the landowners’ new set of questions.

“I think it’s very difficult to fully understand it,” he said. “To know how we got here, we kind of got to know where we’ve been.”

The BLM, the federal government’s trustee for nearly 250 million acres of public land and 700 million acres of mineral rights, is updating its resource manage-

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News BLM, from Page 8 ment plans in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas — designating how the land will be used for the next 15 to 20 years. The area includes about 90,000 acres along the Red River that the agency considers public land.

Texans, however, have long managed some of that land.

They hold deeds to it and have diligently paid taxes on it. The BLM has not fully surveyed the area, so it is not clear how many acres the locals have claimed and how many sat untouched.

The bureau’s Oklahoma field office, which coordinates the three-state region, announced plans in July to form a new management plan and held a series of meetings throughout the region.

Frustration and confusion have simmered along the river for months, and lawmakers including state Reps. James Frank, RWichita Falls, and Drew Springer, R-Muenster, and U.S. Rep.

Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, were researching the issue before Perry, Abbott and other top state officials began challenging the Bureau of Land Management on national news outlets.

“At a minimum, they are overreaching trying to grab land that belongs to Texans,” Abbott, the Republican nominee for governor, said in an interview on Fox News. “Or worse, they are violating due process rights by just claiming that this land suddenly belongs to the federal government, swiping it away from Texas.”

Abbott’s campaign sent out an email blast with this message for the the bureau: “Come and take it.”

Bureau of Land Management officials say they understand local residents’ concerns. But, referencing a series of court opinions, the agency says the land in question belongs neither to Texas nor Oklahoma, regardless of who has used it.

The lands “were at no time held in private ownership,” said Paul McGuire, an agency spokesman. He noted that the agency was not a party in any of the past litigation.

The comments come in the shadow of a headline-making standoff over grazing fees between the the bureau and a Nevada rancher named Cliven Bundy — an issue that has little in common with the Red River debate. Rep. Frank said he is frustrated by those who try to link the two disputes.

“It couldn’t be any more different. That guy is basically feeding his cattle on public land,” he said of Bundy. “That is significantly different than having a deed on a property” that the government later claims.

Henderson, who does not stand to lose any acreage under the bureau’s plan, will give a tour of the boundary to a group of local lawmakers and officials, including Land Commissioner Jerry

Patterson and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

The officials will hear a story that starts with the Louisiana Purchase, which gave the U.S. a huge swath of land including parts of North Texas.

In the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty between the U.S. and Spain, the U.S. gained all lands north of what the Spanish called the Rio Roxo.

1919 showdown

After a century of peaceful cross-border cattle drives and wagon crossings, the 1919 discovery of oil near the line sparked a U.S. Supreme Court showdown between Texas and Oklahoma.

The court ruled that Oklahoma controlled lands to the north of the river’s “medial line,” which stretched directly between its north and south gradients or

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News Dispute, from Page 10 “cut banks,” cliffs the water had carved. Texas controlled land below the south bank. The federal government took control of land between the medial line and the Texas bank because no one had ever parceled it out to either state. That’s the sliver the Bureau of Land Management now claims.

Those boundaries were subject to the river’s avulsion and accretion — terms that describe how a river’s path might change over time. How a river moves matters mightily in boundary disputes. In Texas and U.S. law, avulsion happens when a river suddenly abandons its channel and creates a new river bend, leaving a peninsula untouched by the water (Oklahoma’s definition of avulsion is broader; it only requires a sudden change in flow.) When avulsion happens, a state’s border would stay put, regardless of how much the river moved. With erosion and accretion, a river changes course more slowly, gradually sweeping away the land in its path, without cre-

ating an entirely new channel.

When that happens, the boundary moves with the river.

In the decades following the Supreme Court decision, lands south of the river were sold as parts of Texas, even as the river shifted north.

In the early 1980s, Buck James reignited the river fray. The Oklahoman coveted 900 acres of his neighbor’s property across the water. Texas’ Langford family had long assumed it had acquired the land when the river had moved north through accretion.

Oklahoma courts awarded James the land, ruling that the river had moved through avulsion during a 1908 flood, meaning that the Texas boundary had not moved toward Oklahoma. A federal appellate court upheld the decision. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, and the Langfords never had the chance to present evidence showing that two surveyors testified in 1925 that they found “no avulsive changes” in Clay County or across the river in Oklahoma.

Nor did the Langfords have the chance to argue that the courts

should have used the U.S. definition of avulsion, rather than Oklahoma’s broader one.

Around that time, Oklahomans went after a large slice of the ranch land Tommy Henderson had bought from his aunt for $300,000. That land sat less than a mile from the property James sought. Without requiring a new survey, an Oklahoma judge simply extended the property lines from the James opinion, ruling that 140 acres were public land.

The ruling came quickly, and Henderson, left with fewer than 250 acres, had no money to appeal. “I was broker than a church mouse,” Henderson said. “I had the choice between fighting it and feeding my kids, and I decided to feed my kids.”

BLM’s current actions

Now, the Bureau of Land Management is citing the property lines set by the Oklahoma courts to estimate the river land it owns.

Photo by the Texas General Land Office Map of disputed 116-mile stretch of the Red River.

In 2000, Congress ratified the officials including Abbott have Red River Boundary Compact, asked the bureau why it doesn’t which set the boundary as the consider that as the property vegetation line along the south bank of the Red River. Texas See LAND, Page 14

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(979) 778-0904 May 2014 — Issue 2

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News

Livin’ the wild life

Technical and financial help for habitat management

By RoBeRt FeaRs Special to The Eagle

W

ildlife adds value and aesthetics to property and can provide enjoyment for family and friends. Revenue from wildlife can be derived through ecotourism enterprises such as hunting, fishing, nature trails and bird watching.

If indigenous wildlife doesn’t naturally occur on a particular piece of property, it often is due to lack of habitat. A definition of habitat is an ecological site or environmental area that supports a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism.

Greg Yarrow, of Clemson University Extension Forestry and Natural Resources said, “Every wildlife species requires a general environment in which to live.

To manage land properly for the benefit of wildlife, landowners must be aware of those things in the environment that the species need to survive and reproduce.

The environment or natural home where a wild animal lives is called its habitat. Just as humans, wild animals have specific requirements that they get at home.

Habitat for any wild animal must provide cover (shelter) from weather and predators, food and water for nourishment, and space to obtain food, water and to attract a mate.”

In order to promote wildlife on our property, we must understand the target animal’s behavior and survival needs. How do we obtain this understanding if we are not trained wildlife biologists?

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service photos

The endangered Attwater prairie chicken, left, lives in the Gulf Prairies and Marshes ecoregion of Texas, while the golden-cheeked warbler, right, also endangered, lives in the Texas Hill Country. It is the only bird species with a breeding range confined to Texas.

On the cover: Turkeys are a popular attraction in many areas of Texas. (Photo by Dale Bounds)

“For technical help with wildlife habitat management, contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist in your county,” said Arlene Kalmbach, Landowner Incentive Program coordinator with the department. “Locate the biologist by opening the Texas Parks and

Wildlife Department website at www. tpwd.state.tx.us. On the home page, click on wildlife in the dark colored bar at the top of the page. Then click on ‘Find a Biologist’ in the drop-down box.”

“The next screen that you should see is a map of the eight ecoregions in Texas,” Kalmbach said. “It helps to know the ecoregion in which your property is located. If you don’t know, however, you can find your county by clicking on the ecoregions in the general area of your property.

“Once your county shows on the screen, click on it. You will then see a listing of the [Texas Parks and Wildlife Department] personnel that have responsibility for your county.

“The wildlife biologist is the first name on the list with the mailing address and telephone number.

“If the wildlife biologist position is shown to be vacant, contact the next person on the list, who is usually the technical guidance biologist. If that person can’t help you, he or she can direct you to someone who can be of assistance.”

When a wildlife biologist is contacted, he or she will make an appointment to walk your land with you. Before the biolo-

The Land & Livestock Post

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Technical help

May 2014 — Issue 2

gist arrives, however, list your goals that answer the following questions:

Target species?

Is wildlife conservation being planned as a revenue generating enterprise or strictly for the enjoyment of family and friends?

If revenue generation is a goal, how will it be generated?

How much money do you have available for habitat management? What is your budget?

Answers to the above questions will aid the biologist in his or her evaluations and make the initial visit more effective.

During this visit, the biologist will help you with an ecological assessment of your land, review your goals and provide you with information regarding the various incentive and assistance programs available.

“If you decide that further help from Texas Parks and Wildlife is not necessary, there are no obligations to continue to work with them. If you want to continue, the wildlife biologist will help develop a wildlife management plan. For the Landowner Incentive Program to work effec-

tively there needs to be a good relationship established between the landowner and biologist.

There are no fees for technical help from Parks and Wildlife Department.

Financial help

“Cost-share money is available through the Texas Landowner Incentive Program, which is designed to meet the needs of private landowners wishing to enact good conservation practices on their lands,” Kalmbach said.

“The highest priority for funding is for projects in the Edwards Plateau and Trans Pecos ecoregions that provide direct benefits to federally listed or candidate animal or plant species and their habitats. Funding applications for projects that provide benefits to listed or candidate species outside the two mentioned ecoregions are also rated high priority.

“Proposals showing direct benefit to a listed species may apply for a maximum of 75 percent [Landowner Incentive Program] cost share for a total of no more than $40,000.”

Most of the circulation of the Land

See WILDLIFE, Page 13

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May 2014 — Issue 2

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Marketplace Get Your Name Out There BRAHMAN BULLS/HEIFERS Registered Gray Brahmans • F1 Brafords

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Released bucks can provide enjoyment for family and friends, as well as provide a source of income through ecotourism.

Wildlife, from Page 11 & Livestock Post is in the Piney Woods, Post Oak Savannah, and Gulf Prairies and Marshes ecoregions. An example of a listed (endangered) species in the Piney Woods is the red-cockaded woodpecker and a candidate for listing is the Louisiana pine snake. The Post Oak Savannah has the Houston Toad and the Navasota ladies’ tresses (an orchid) that is endangered. Attwater prairie chicken and whooping crane receive a lot attention as endangered species in the Gulf Prairies and Marshes.

“Other wildlife projects that do not directly benefit a listed or candidate species, but provide direct benefits to native resident and migratory wildlife species and their habitats will be carefully considered for funding on a case by case basis,” Kalmbach said. “Special consideration is given to habitat enhancement projects offering long-term protection, long-term monitoring, and greater than the required minimum landowner contribution. Proposals for these two types of projects require a minimum of 50 percent landowner contribution and are capped at $25,000 of Landowner Incentive Program funding. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist will assist in preparing

and submitting a project proposal packet. The Landowner Incentive Program is partially funded through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.”

“The Partners Program provides technical and financial assistance for private landowners to restore or enhance fish and wildlife habitats for the benefit of Federal Trust Species,” said Chris Harper, private lands biologist with Fish and Wildlife Service. “A definition of Federal Trust Species is migratory birds and threatened, endangered and other declining species.”

The cornerstone of the Partners Program is partnerships, not only with private landowners, but with non-federal agencies, conservation organizations, schools and other entities with an interest in wildlife. Partners Program works closely with the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas A&M Forest Service, Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense. The program emphasizes conservation practices directed

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May 2014 — Issue 2

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News Habitat, from Page 13 at restoring habitats which include, but are not limited to, wetlands, riparian areas, bottomland hardwoods, upland forests, native grasslands, savannahs and brushlands.

“Our most often used habitat management tools are prescribed fire and brush control,” Harper said. “These management practices are not always part of the skills package of a landowner, so we are available to assist in the planning and execution. For assistance in wildlife habitat management, we can be contacted directly or we can participate through Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Your wildlife management plan may involve the Natural Resource Conservation Service and/or Texas A&M Forest Service depending upon the type of project. These two agencies have cost-share mon-

ies available as well. There are no fees associated with technical assistance from any of the mentioned organizations.”

Even though Parks and Wildlife Department and Fish and Wildlife Service prioritize listed and candidate species, habitat improvement benefits game species as well.

For example, quail can thrive in the same habitat required by the prairie chicken. Golden cheeked warblers and black capped vireos like the same environment as deer and turkeys.

Contacting your county wildlife biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is always the easiest way to request assistance in wildlife habitat management.

The department will involve the appropriate partner agencies. It also will recommend the most appropriate practices and programs available for your unique situation.

Land dispute attracts the attention of Texas politicians from Page 10 line. The answer is because the compact only set jurisdictional and political boundaries and had no impact on property lines.

“I think that they don’t truly, totally understand everything that’s happening and what has happened,” Henderson, who was appointed to the Texas commission that hashed out the compact, said after reading Abbott’s initial news release on the issue.

The bureau has not decided whether it will close off parts of the land or make it open to the public. One option would be to let Texans continue using it, though they would then be subject to federal regulations.

Another option would be to sell it. Or Congress could tell the agency to do something else with the land.

Some but not all of those options

would require a bureau survey, said McGuire, the bureau spokesman, but none is in the works.

Patterson, Texas’ land commissioner, said the burden of proving ownership should fall upon the Bureau of Land Management — not Texas landowners.

“The BLM cannot just claim ownership of any Red River land administratively,” a summary of the state agency’s position says.

McGuire said the BLM could take no action on the land, but he added that such a move would be irresponsible.

“As much as it’s BLM land,” he said, “it falls upon us to regulate action of that land.”

The agency says the 90,000 acres include spots that no one has ever monitored, and some spots are vulnerable to folks burning tires, cooking meth and littering. In the coming weeks, the agency will release a summary of local com-

ments that will show a diversity of opinion on the bureau plans, he said.

“I think that the communities along the river will come to discover that there’s potential value there.”

The bureau’s draft plan is due within two years. At the earliest, it says it will finalize the plan by 2018.

Kenneth Scott, 84, said he wants the land to stay as is.

He and his wife live in Wichita Falls, but they frequently make the short drive “just to piddle around” on the roughly 800 acres along nearly a mile of river that his family has tended for about a century.

He wants to keep it in the family and, as many of his neighbors, says he feels anxious about what’s next.

“Well, we don’t know, if they carry out the plan, where they’ll decide the federal land is,” he said, standing in front of his squat white ranch house.

May 29 - Space Deadline for the Land & Livestock Post

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Events Calendar May

June June 7 - Jordan Cattle Auction, Special Replacement Female Sale. San Saba, TX.

May 16 - OD Butler Field Day. Camp Cooley

June 9 – Stocker & Feeder Sale. Jordan Cattle Auction, Mason, TX.

Livestock Post

May 17 - Emmons Ranch Beefmaster Production

Sale, Fairfield, TX

May 17 – Cattleman’s Top Cut Replacement

Female Sale. Navasota, TX. 817-291-5121

May 22 – Capital Farm Credit presents:

Next Generation Ag Conference. Waco, TX. 877-9445500

May 22 - Texas well owner training. Conroe, TX. 979-845-1461

14

The Event Red Brangus Showcase Sale & Heifer Futurity. Brenham, TX 979-277-2295

May 15 – Space Deadline for the Land & Ranch, Franklin, TX. 979-823-0129

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May 31 -

May 24 - The Event Red Brangus Sale, Brenham, TX

June 12 - Space Deadline for the Land & Livestock Post

June 17 – Jordan Cattle Auction. Bull sale. San Saba, TX.

June 26- Space Deadline for the Land & Livestock Post Do you have a sale or event you’d like listed?

Call Jesse Wright at (979) 731-4721 or email jesse.wright@theeagle.com

May 2014 — Issue 2

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The Land & Livestock Post

News

Feral hog workshop scheduled for May 23 in Seguin of Agriculture continuing education units — two general, two integrated pest management and one in laws and regulations — for commercial, non-commercial and private applicators attending the program.

The cost is $25 and includes

By Paul SchattenBerg Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

SEGUIN — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board will present the “Geronimo Creek Feral Hog Workshop” from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 23 at the Ag Heritage Center, 290 Cordova Road, Seguin.

Registration begins at 8 a.m.

Speakers will include representatives of AgriLife Extension, Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Wildlife Services and the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Topics will include basic ecology and biology, feral hog effects on the Brazos River watershed, regulations for transporting, disease concerns, population dynamics and control techniques, including traps, as well as hunting regulations. There also will be discussion of feral hog resources available.

“Each year feral hogs do millions of dollars of damage to property, crops and watersheds, as well as serving as potential vectors for disease,” said Jeff Hanselka, AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural

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Various topics relating to feral hogs will be the focus of the workshop scheduled for May 23 in Seguin. resources in Guadalupe County.

“This program will give participants some useful information about feral hogs, especially their behavior and ways to manage them.”

Hanselka said they have applied for five Texas Department

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Preregister by calling the AgriLife Extension off ice for Guadalupe County at 830-3033889 or email Hanselka at j-Hanselka@tamu.edu.

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May 2014 — Issue 2

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Designed to provide educational and networking opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers, the conferences will feature topics including: Farm/ranch financial management Agricultural economic forecasts Farm/ranch planning and budgeting Succession planning and management Event curriculum will be provided by Texas AgriLife Extension. Each conference is free and attendees will leave with a binder full of presentation and relative educational material. Register at NextGenConferences.eventbrite.com.

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May 2014 — Issue 2

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TJS S Hardware

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Food, from Page 3 constrain global food systems,” Davies added. “The increases currently projected for crop production from biotechnology, genetics, agronomics and horticulture will not be sufficient to meet food demand.”

Davies said the ability to discover ways to keep pace with food demand have been curtailed by cutbacks in spending on research.

“The U.S. agricultural productivity has averaged less than 1.2 percent per year between 1990 and 2007,” he said. “More efficient technologies and crops will need to be developed — and, equally important, better ways for applying these technologies locally — for farmers to address this challenge.”

Davies said when new technologies are developed, they often do not reach the small-scale farmer worldwide.

“A greater emphasis is needed in high-value horticultural crops,” he said. “Those create jobs and economic opportunities for rural communities and enable more profitable, intense farming.”

Horticultural crops, Davies noted, are 50 percent of the farmgate value of all crops produced in the U.S. He also made the connection between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and chronic disease prevention and pointed to research centers in the U.S. that are making links between farmers, biologists and chemists, grocers, health care practitioners and consumers. That connection, he suggested, also will be vital in

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“Agricultural productivity, food security, food safety, the environment, health, nutrition and obesity — they are all interconnected,” Davies said.

One in eight people worldwide, he added, already suffers from chronic undernourishment, and 75 percent of the world’s chronically poor are in the mid-income nations such as China, India, Brazil and the Philippines.

“The perfect storm for horticulture and agriculture is also an opportunity,” Davies said.

“Consumer trends such as views on quality, nutrition, production origin and safety impact what foods we consume. Also, urban agriculture favors horticulture.”

For example, he said, the fastest growing segment of new farmers in California, are female, non-Anglos who are “intensively growing horticultural crops on small acreages,” he said.

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May 2014 — Issue 2

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May 2014 โ Issue 2

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