A regional native and nationally prominent researcher in plant breeding has been hired as the director of the Semi-Arid Agricultural Systems Institute at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. Dr. Craig Bednarz, an Idalou native, began May 1 in a joint appointment by West Texas A&M, Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Amarillo and the Texas A&M University Department of ... Read More »
ogallala aquifer
Cotton a key player in north Texas Panhandle water conservation
• By Kay Ledbetter • As crop production plans are adapting to the declining water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer, cotton is playing an increasingly important role in water conservation. While relatively new to the northern Texas Panhandle, cotton has a role in the region’s water conservation plan, as many farmers are proactively adopting drought-tolerant crops to extend the life ... Read More »
McLain Farms
Texas Panhandle Operation Rotates Cotton And Cattle. • By Carroll Smith, Editor • Shane McLain and his wife, SammiJo, operate a stripper cotton and cow-calf business in Castro County, Texas, between Hart and Nazareth. This area of West Texas is part of the Panhandle — the northernmost 26 counties in the state where cotton acreage is fast replacing grain as ... Read More »
Take A Look Back To Plan For Upcoming Season
• By Adam Hixson, Lubbock, Texas • Weather is the most challenging obstacle that faces any farmer. Around planting time in any given year in the Texas South Plains, High Plains and Panhandle, about 4 million to 5 million acres of cotton goes in the ground. Cotton is king in this area. The 2018 season was probably the roughest planting year ... Read More »