Ag Day Lubock

Cotton producers continue to improve efficiency at the farm

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:26:50 -0500

Times are tough if you're a farmer in West Texas. Going in to our third consecutive growing season of devastating drought, farmers like Burt Heinrich have certainly asked themselves the question, when will it rain? But since he can't control mother nature, he has greatly improved the efficiency of his operation, moving in to less-till and no-till situations.

"Burt Heinrich is my name. I farm with my brother, Eric Heinrich. We farm about 2,500 acres here in Lubbock County and Lynn County," Heinrich said. "What we're doing out today is planting. We're trying to combine two operations, we are conservation-type farmers. We've come up with a way to leave our stalks till planting time. We have combined stalk cutting operation and planting operation."

Besides lowering the fuel bill, leaving last year's stalks up all winter and spring helps keep that precious top soil in place, so it's really a win-win.

"We do that for erosion control and the blowing dirt in West Texas is one of our biggest enemies and we spend a lot of money on seed and water and fertilizer on this drip and even our dry land, we want to try to conserve as much moisture as we can," Heinrich said.

Heinrich knows every time he breaks the soil open, that much needed water gets exposed to heat and wind. So making one pass over the ground for both cutting and planting helps save every last drop.

"We did get a little bit of rain here a couple or three days ago. We're trying to plant our wettest stuff while it's working good," Heinrich said. "It looks like we're going to have not much opportunity on dry land this year, this whole High Plains area which I know is a couple million acres of dry land or weak watered land. If it doesn't rain pretty quick, we're going to have a dry land goose egg."

To look on the bright side of the drought, if there is one, huge advances in cotton seed genetics have made. Change usually happens out of necessity, so the American-rooted cotton companies are doing their part to improve drought tolerant seed.

"We plant some FiberMax we plant some Americot varieties, but the varieties we were planting four or five years ago, we don't plant them anymore because technology is coming on. Mother nature does what mother nature wants to do," Heinrich said.

Heinrich and other producers in the area have a season of uncertainty ahead battling mother nature. But making sure they are being the best conservationists they can possibly be is all part of a days work.

Ag Student of the Week, Brent Butler

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:22:30 -0500

We introduce you to Brent Butler, this week's Ag Student of the Week and a member of Whiteface FFA.

"I've been in FFA as long as I can remember. It's kind of my life, O was born into it and I've always been around it," Butler said. "I am going to be able to have to keep records of what we do at meetings, keep the minutes, and keep everybody in line, keep the meeting going."

Brent Butler shows steers and pigs through FFA and wants to become a veterinarian after college. He said that the lessons he's learning as a chapter officer are carrying over to other aspects of his life outside of school.

"You go out there, and feeding your hogs, you've got to keep a record of how much feed you buy, how much you're spending, and try not to get in over your head too much and keep everything real organized," Butler said. "I'm learning just to have responsibility. You know, try not to be real immature all the time or act like a kid. You know, grow up and learn about life."

Congratulations to Brent Butler, this week's Ag Student of the Week from Whiteface FFA.
To nominate a deserving young person to be featured on our show, please email nominations to AgDay@fox34.com .

Daily Ag Market Report 5-17-2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:59:25 -0500

Ag Day Lubbock anchor Matt Ernst gives a detailed update of opening market prices for relevant ag commodities in our region.

House ag committee passes farm bill mark-up

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:14:50 -0500

Lubbock Congressman Randy Neugebauer's amendment to close loopholes and tighten eligibility requirements for SNAP fails on a voice vote. He said that this bill as a whole is a good one.

"We consolidated or eliminated over a hundred programs," Neugebauer said. "We're going to save the taxpayers about 40 billion dollars. We have restructured the commodity programs and I think that's a good step. And I think we brought some reforms both to the conservation and the nutrition programs."

Congressman Neugebauer said that crop insurance provisions in the bill allow producers more flexibility to make choices on how to manage risk. The Senate ag committee passed its version Tuesday. Now the challenge is resolving the differences between the two versions in the full chambers.

Western Heritage Classic offered over 60 ranch-bred horses

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:06:24 -0500

The Western Heritage Classic is four days of everything West Texas. And one of the main attractions is the one of a kind ranch horse sale that offers over 60 ranch-raised horses from the historic ranches that call West Texas home. John Anderson at the Muleshoe Ranch has been consigning his horses to the sale for the past 15 years.

"It's probably the best ranch horse sale in Texas," Anderson said. "It's been real successful and these horses have quite a history. They've done a lot of things in the ranching industry, ranch horse competitions, ranch rodeos, even in the rodeo arena."

JoAnna Robertson is the sale manager and said that the horse market has been following the economy. It's been down for several years now, but it may be starting to turn around.

"Muleshoe Ranch, Guitar Ranch, Green Ranch out of Albany, Moorehouse Ranch, 6666 Ranch, just to name a few. There's 20 consigning ranches total," Robertson said. "It's been gradually increasing the sale every year, so we just hope that we have another good sale."

Anderson brought 12 horses total this year. He said that every ranch is required to bring one aged horse, five years or older. And each ranch has their own special bloodlines that work for them.

"I brought ten two-year-olds, a three-year-old, and a five-year-old," Anderson said. "I've got a Boon Bar, Freckles Playboy bred stud and then I've got an own son of Peppy San Badger and I've bred to an own son of Smooth Herman, and that's kind of been my program."

With some moisture relief in parts of the state, hay prices may begin to drop this summer. But most ranches have sold off most of their cattle, so selling ranch bred horses can act as supplemental income.

"You know the drought has adversely affected everyone, including me," Anderson said. "We've got about a quarter of the number of cow that we normally have, and so yea, the horse deal helps me a little bit."

The sale is invitational only, meaning the quality of horses consigned are the best in the ranch industry. And buyers this year could even shop on line.

"We have 70 lots and we have people from all over and most of our consignors are here locally, but it's invitational only," Robertson said.

"Buyers come from everywhere. There's a guy that bought a horse from me before from Indiana and he's back down here," Anderson said. "We get a lot of Louisiana buyers, of course Texas and New Mexico, and Oklahoma. But we get them from all over and for the first year were selling this via satellite, too."

And buyers at both the Western Heritage Classic sale and the upcoming Caprock Ranchers sale in July have an extra incentive to find horses through the program. Both buyers and sellers become eligible for an extra jackpot when their respective horses win the Ranch Horse Association of American National Finals competition.

Daily Ag Market Report 5-16-2013

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:04:49 -0500

Ag Day Lubbock anchor Matt Ernst gives a detailed update of opening market prices for relevant ag commodities in our region.