Wheat is one of the organic crops experiencing a growing acreage. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)
BY PAUL SCHATTENBERG
AgriLife Extension brings new experience to Texas’ organic production scene WHITNEY HAS WORLDWIDE AGRICULTURAL EXPERTISE
F
or Bob Whitney, the new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service organic program specialist based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville, agricul ture has been a “worldly” experience.
Whitney, who served as an AgriLife Extension agent and then retired after 28 years to helm his own consulting company, has provided his agricultural expertise in 26 countries. In May, he rejoined AgriLife Extension to take on his new specialist role. “In this new position, I provide guidance to people or operations seeking organic certification,” Whitney said. “I also serve as a liaison connecting operators to AgriLife Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists for guidance on general and sector-specific questions about organic production, as well as coordinate with the Texas Department of Agriculture and other organic certifiers to facilitate compliance with certification requirements.”
Going organic in Texas There are currently an estimated 372 certified organic crop and livestock operations in Texas, with most of them relatively smallto medium-size compared to their commercial counterparts. More than 260 of those producers are in the South Plains and High Plains, mostly involved in peanut and cotton production. Whitney said both his experience as an AgriLife Extension agent
10
Ag Mag THEAGMAG.ORG
serving Parker, Tarrant, Comanche and Williamson counties, as well as his work in international agriculture have done much to prepare him for this new position. “As an agent, I did a lot of work with organic producers, especially dairy producers in Central Texas where Texas’ organic dairy production started, as well as others involved in organic agriculture,” he said. “I also worked with the Texas Peanut Board and with the wheat industry here in Texas. “There’s lot of organic wheat production going on, especially in the High Plains. And there’s a lot of organic cotton production that happens in rotation with organic peanut production.” Whitney said Texas has about 30,000 acres of organic peanut production and leads the world in that area. “This is a big deal since we produce 98% of the nation’s organic peanuts on the South Plains,” he said. Whitney said while he had not previously worked with rice producers in Texas, his agricultural experiences with that crop in Asia have prepared him to work with the 71 organic rice producers in the state. Texas is one of the largest organic rice producers in the nation. Texas also compares well to California and Wisconsin in organic milk production, but those numbers are harder to pin down, Whitney said. He said currently Texas producers can grow almost any crop organically as there are few serious plant diseases and insect pests that might impede them from doing so.
