9 minute read
Agriculture
Washington County Agriculture
Texas became Texas right here in Washington County, so it only makes sense that Washington County is home to leaders in this field. From state of the art food manufacturing facilities to farm equipment and even "farm to table", the ag industry is an industry that impacts everyone's quality of life. As innovation continues for farming and agriculture resources, Washington County's Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office offers programs and tools to teach people how to improve agriculture and food production, advance health practices, protect the environment, and to strengthen the community by education and enrichments programs for youth. The face of agriculture in Washington County is forever changing. Historically many acres of cotton and corn covered the rolling hills of the county; however, only memories of these vast crop commodities remain today. Beef cattle and hay production are the primary agricultural commodities of today’s Washington County. Wildlife and natural resources management are of growing interest to established and new landowners alike. The Extension Office is here to help landowners as they work to actively manage their property with a focus on stewardship, economic sustainability, environmentally responsible, and a connection back to the land. Specifially for our newest landowners in the area the Washington County Extension Office offers a diversity of programming to help navigate land and natural resource management. Traditionally these programs focus on topics such as Recreational Fish Pond Management, Native Grass Restoration and Management, Forage and Pasture Management, Beef Cattle Management, Equine Health, Backyard Gardening, Small Acreage Horticulture, and much more. These programs are designed to provide a blend of basic management techniques as well as any new information on current trends, techniques, or issues. Our agency utilizes local committees to identify issues or challenges facing residents of Washington County. Volunteers from these committees help County Extension Agents plan, implement, and evaluate educational programs offered to residents of Washington County. In addition to our commitment to continuing education our office trains Master Volunteers in the subject areas of gardening, natural resources, and wellness to provide intensive training and establish a network of trained volunteers to help extend the reach of Extension within the community. Volunteer opportunities are abundant through the Extension Office, from specificprogram area committees, and Extension Education Clubs, to Master Volunteer Programs and 4-H Clubs we are always excited to welcome new volunteers. We encourage you to take a moment and explore our website at https:// washington.agrilife.org/, like the Washington County – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Facebook Page, or tune into the local station and listen to us on the radio. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has a great online bookstore that offers access to research-based publications in many different subject areas. Whether you’re looking for tips on canning vegetables or want to learn more about beef cattle management, http://www. agrilifebookstore.org is a great resource. If the Washington County Office of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service can be of assistance to you, please stop by at 1305 East Blue Bell Road in Brenham, call (979) 277-6212, or email kjmatheney @ ag.tamu.edu.
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Photo by Cary Dietzmann
Did you know?
• Texas leads the nation in number of farms and ranches, with 248,416 farms and ranches covering 127 million acres. • Of 408,506 producers in Texas 37% are women. • For 36% of producers in Texas, farming is their primary occupation. • Of 127 million acres in farmland, 7% (176,837 acres) is dedicated to orchards. • The average farm in Texas is 411 acres. • The average farm size in Texas decreased by 12 acres from 2012. • The average age of Texas farmers and ranchers is 59 years.
200 West Vulcan Street . P O Box 1059 Brenham, Texas 77834-1059 (979) 337-7200 . www.cityofbrenham.org Mayor ..............................................Milton Y. Tate, Jr. Mayor ProTem, Position 5, At Large.... Clint Kolby Ward 1 .............................................Shannan Canales Ward 2.................................................. Albert Wright Ward 3..........................................Atwood C. Kenjura Ward 4 ...........................................Adonna Saunders Position 6, At Large..................................Leah Cook
City of Burton
12200 E. Mulberry St. Spur 125 . PO Box 255 Burton, Texas 77835 (979) 289-3402 . FAX (979) 289-3418 www.cityofburton-tx.gov Mayor .................................................... David Zajicek Mayor Pro-Tem (Position 1) ....... Nathan Kalkhake Position 1........................................ Nathan Kalkhake Position 2 ..........................................Tommie Gilmon Position 3 ....................................... Jason Schoevogel Position 4 ........................................ Paul McLaughlin Position 5 .............................................Macey Tidwell
Washington County Offices
100 East Main Street . Brenham, Texas 77833 (979) 277-6200 . www.co.washington.tx.us County Judge ............................. John Durrenberger Commissioner Precinct 1......................Don Koester Commissioner Precinct 2...............Candice Bullock Commissioner Precinct 3.................... Kirk Hanath Commissioner Precinct 4........................ Joy Fuchs Court at Law Judge.................................... Eric Berg County Attorney................................ Renee Mueller County Clerk .................................... Beth Rothermel Tax Assessor/Collector .................Cheryl Gaskamp Treasurer.............................................Peggy Kramer Sheriff....................................................... Otto Hanak Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1.... Douglas Zwiener Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2.........Douglas Cone Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3 .................... Vacant Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4.............Bill Kendall Constable, Precinct 1..................................Ken Holle Constable, Precinct 2 .................................................. ....................................George D "Trey" Holleway III Constable, Precinct 3 ..................... David Blakey, Jr. Constable, Precinct 4............................Greg Rolling
District Offices
21st District Judge.........................Carson Campbell 335th District Judge........ Reva L. Towslee Corbett District Attorney .................................. Julie Renken District Clerk .................................. Tammy Brauner State Senator, District 18 Lois W. Kolkhorst (R) Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0118 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068, Austin, TX 78711 District Phone: (979) 251-7888 District Office: 2000 S. Market StreetSuite 101, Brenham, TX 77833 Email: lois.kolkhorst@senate.state.tx.us State Representative, District 13 Ben Leman (R) Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0600 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768 District Phone: (979) 836-1238 District Office: 401 S. Austin Street, Brenham TX 77833 Email: ben.leman@house.state.tx.us U.S. House, District 10 Michael McCaul (R) Office: 131 Canon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 202-225-2401 State Office: 5929 Balcones Drive, Suite 305 Austin, Texas 78731 District Office: 401 South Austin St., Brenham, Texas 979-830-8497 www.mccaul.house.gov U.S. Senators, Texas Ted Cruz (R) Texas Office: 815 A Brazos, P.M.B. 550, Austin, Texas 78701 512-637-8777 www.tedcruz.org John Cornyn (R) Main Office: 517 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 202-224-2934 www.cornyn.senate.gov State Board of Education, District 10 Tom Maynard (R) Address: P.O. Box 625, Florence, TX 76527 Phone: (512) 763-2801 Email: tom@maynardfortexas.com
Historic Texas flag image courtesy of Star of the Republic Museum.
Texas Facts
The official s te flag ofTexas, called the Lone Star Flag, was adopted in 1845 when Texas became the 28th state of the United States. The colors represent bravery (red), purity (white), and loyalty (blue). The large white star was fist used on Texas flas in the 1830's during the battles between Texas and Mexico. Population.............................. 27.86 million Area......................... 268,601 square miles Capital .............................................. Austin Nickname ........................ Lone Star State State motto............................... Friendship State song..................“Texas, Our Texas” State bird...............................Mockingbird State flwer ............................. Bluebonnet State tree ...........................................Pecan State dish............................................. Chili State mammal (large)... Texas Longhorn State mammal (small) ..............Armadillo State insect................. Monarch Butterfl State reptile............Texas Horned Lizard State fis ..........................Guadalupe Bass State plant ................ Prickly Pear Cactus State grass.......................Sideoats Grama State shrub...........................Crepe Myrtle State fruit ..........................Red Grapefruit State vegetable......................Sweet Onion State fibe ........................................ Cotton State Dog....................................Blue Lacy
Brenham at a glanceCity: Brenham County: Washington State: Texas
Location
On U.S. Highway 290 and Texas State Highway 36 Cities and Surrounding Areas City Miles from Brenham Bryan/College Station.......................................37 Houston....................................................................74 Austin.........................................................................89 Temple.......................................................................95 Waco....................................................................... 116 San Antonio......................................................... 158 Fort Worth.......................................................... 203 Dallas....................................................................... 213 Burton .......................................................................12 Chappell Hill...........................................................10 Somerville................................................................15 Bellville.......................................................................15 Fayetteville...............................................................20 Hempstead .............................................................22 Navasota ..................................................................25 Caldwell....................................................................30 Giddings....................................................................32 Sealy............................................................................33 Columbus ................................................................35 Washington County Covers 609 Square Miles City of Brenham covers 10.14 Square Miles Height above sea level 350’ Brenham Airport Latitude: 30 degrees 13 mins 8 secs Longitude: 96 degrees 22 mins 27 secs Climate
Temperature Average January 50° July 84° Annual 68° Average Annual Rainfall 45.2” Average Annual Snowfall 0.0” Prevailing wind direction SSE
Year 2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Population
City 13,507 15,716 16,579 16,989 16,951 16,778 16,951 County 30,373 33,718 34,765 35,056 35,043 34,496 35,496
Facilities
Hotel/Motel/Resort 13 Rooms......................640 Hospitals 1 Beds............................. 99 Clinics 4 Doctors 40 Dentists 20 Churches Bed & Breakfast Recreational Golf Courses Museums State Parks 73 43 Rooms......................100
1 5 3 City Parks.....................8 Education
Number of School Districts............................... 2 Number of Schools.................................................9 Major ISD............................................Brenham ISD Total Enrollment...............................................5,337 Total Annual High School Graduates.......319 Private/Parochial Schools..................................... 6 Colleges (State/Private) within 30 miles..... 3 Public Library Volumes ..............................46,000 Government
Type of Government......Home Rule/City Manager Police Department Personnel- full time.................54 Fire Department Personnel-full time.......................17 -volunteers ........................................................................28 Pieces of equipment..........................................................12 Fire Insurance Key Rate ......................................................3 Transportation
Railroads:
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe
Services include Piggyback and Switching Motor Freight Carriers:
Central Freight Lines
Red Arrow Freight Lines
Roadway Express 1 Motor Freight Carrier Terminal and 9 Motor Freight Carriers in the City Air:
Nearest Airport - Brenham Municipal
Runway length: 6,003 feet, asphalt surface
Nearest Airports with commercial services:
College Station (Easterwood) - 36 miles
Houston (Bush Intercontinental) - 80 miles
Austin (Bergstrom International) - 83 miles Bus Services:
Kerrville Bus Lines
Brazos Valley Transit
Greyhound
Megabus.com Financial Institutions
Banks:............................................................................ 9 Credit Unions:...........................................................4 Utilities
Electricity Distributors: Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, Inc. City of Brenham Water Sources: Lakes and Wells Lake Somerville Sewer: Treatment Plant Type: Secondary Capacity (MGPD): 3.55 Present Load: 70% Storm Sewer: YES Coverage: 100% Sanitary Sewer: YES Coverage:100% Solid Waste Disposal Type: Transfer Station Natural Gas: City of Brenham Communications/Media
Newspaper: Brenham Banner-Press....Weekly 3 Circulation:...................................................................6,000 Radio Stations:....................................................................2 Television Stations:...........................................................0 Cable TV available: YES.......................193 Channels Telephone Service:.................................................AT&T ......................................................................................Verizon ...............................................................................Suddenlink Taxes
Real Property Tax (per $100 valuation)
Burton - City........................0.4246.............. 100% Retail Sales Tax
Diesel....................................................................$0.215 Revised Texas Franchise Tax (eff. 01/2008)
A privilege tax imposed on each taxable entity chartered/ organized in Texas or doing business in Texas. (The tax rate is 1 percent for most taxable entities) Labor Analysis
Radius of Labor Drawing Area:................. 75 miles *Average unemployed:............................................. 769 *Average unemployment rate........................... 5.1% Work Stoppages in the past fie years..................0 Manufacturing Workers In Unions:...................... 0%
*Annual averages for Washington County 2016 For more information about relocating or expanding your business, contact Susan Cates, Economic Development Director City of Brenham, scates@cityofbrenham.org
www.BrenhamEDF.com
Milton Y. Tate, Jr. - President Cheryl Beckermann - Vice President Mary Kay Hurta - Examiner/Escrow Officer Terry Compton - Escrow Officer Brenda Duebbe - Escrow Officer Kay Larson - Abstractor Jill Nice - Escrow Officer Assistant Kellie Goessler - Receptionist
WCAC@WCABSTRACT.COM
211 East Main Street . Brenham, Texas . 979-277-9229 . Fax 979-277-9421 211 East Main Street . Brenham, Texas . 979-277-9229 . Fax 979-277-9421Randy Seewald – President / Legal Counsel Terry Compton – Vice President – Manager Dawn Thomas – Title Plant Manager Brenda Duebbe – Escrow Office Jill Nice – Abstractor – Accountant Kay Larson – Abstractor Kellie Goessler – Escrow Office Janis Kmiec – Escrow Assistant Kathleen Riske – Plant Coordinator
MORE THAN 85,000 MEMBERS AND 114,000 METERS! Providing power to Central Texas since 1939
Find us online at bluebonnet.coop Member Service: 800-842-7708 Report an Outage: 800-949-4414
Brenham Family Practice & Obstetrics
Serving Brenham and Surrounding Areas since 2001 Jon F. Bode, MD Sean Holster, MD Jamie Shubert, FNP-C Nathan Simon, MD Gregg Workman, MD
601 Medical Parkway, Suite D | Brenham, Texas 77833 (979) 836-2822 | brenhamfamilypractice.com
