Missing those face-to-face meetings? Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is offering web-based opportunities to continue to provide educational information on agriculture, including forage production. Below are some upcoming events you may be interested in… AgriLife Extension Events Calendar Ranchers Agricultural Leasing Workshop Texas Range Webinars   Check with your local County Extension Agent for other opportunities. Are you a Facebook user? Many of our County Extension Agents have County Facebook pages that can serve as a good source for timely articles and other web-based events that may peak your… Read More →

Blackhawk Arrowleaf Clover is a new cultivar that was released by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Overton, TX in 2013. Blackhawk has multiple disease tolerance compared to Apache and Yuchi cultivars. Blackhawk is slightly earlier in maturity than Apache arrowleaf and is in full bloom around May 10 at Overton, TX. Test soil and follow lime and fertilizer recommendations Soil pH should be 6.0 to 6.5 Plan acreage needed (0.5 to 0.8 acre/cow + calf) Graze or hay warm season grasses to about 2-inch height before planting. Disturb sod… Read More →

Weed of the Week: Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) Silverleaf nightshade has foliage with gray or silvery appearance, violet, light blue or white flowers, and is 1 to 3 feet tall. Stems are sparsely covered with short yellow thorns. Leaves and stems have a dense silvery covering of hair. Optimum time to spray with a herbicide is during bloom.   Select Herbicide Options: Weedmaster Duracor GrazonNext HL Grazon P+D Pasturall HL Surmount Chaparral (for bermudagrass pastures, will destroy bahiagrass) Cimarron Max (for bermudagrass pastures, will destroy bahiagrass) Pastora (for… Read More →

WEED OF THE WEEK: Hemp Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum L.) Hemp dogbane is an erect, one to three feet tall perennial. It grows from woody horizontal rootstocks. Leaves are smooth, elliptical, narrow and erect. Flowers are small with five greenish-white petals. Leaves and stems have a milky sap. Seed pods are long and slender. Hemp dogbane plants produce from 800-12,000 seeds per plant. Each plant usually has 10 to 60 seed pods and each pod contains between 80-200 seeds.Hemp dogbane is very competitive. It can reduce forage yields if not… Read More →

Broadleaf Marshedler (Iva annua L.) is a warm season annual in the Sunflower family. Also called broadleaf sump weed. The leaves are situated in pairs across from each other on the stem. Marshelder grows in wet, moist areas, disturbed areas, and roadsides. This plant germinates in the early spring in February or March. The flowers, which resemble those of the ragweed group, are inconspicuous. It flowers in later summer and fall. Select Herbicide Options: Weedmaster 2, 4-D GrazonNext HL Duracor Grazon P+D Milestone PastureGard Chaparral (for bermudagrass pastures,… Read More →

Extension forage specialist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and in the southeast U.S. would like your help in gathering information on hay harvest methods and time required for harvesting hay to help develop more effective forage educational programs. We would appreciate you taking the time to complete a survey regarding your hay harvest methods. If you do choose to participate, we appreciate your feedback, and all information will be kept confidential to the extent allowed by applicable state and federal law…. Read More →

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Ecosystem and Management Unit is offering Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) continuing education units (CEUs) for private applicators online in November. Private applicators need 15 CEUs every 5 years, and a maximum of 10 can be from recorded online courses and/or correspondence courses. Five CEUs must come from a live class or webinar in order to meet the TDA requirements to recertify. Of the 15 CEUs, a minimum of 2 must be laws and regulations, and 2 must be integrated pest management… Read More →

Pesticide Applicators Training (5 CEU’s) Thursday, December 5, 2019   Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center Overton, TX   Preregister by Nov. 30, 2019; Cost: $35/person On-Site Registration: $60/person (includes lunch)   Register online at: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/Overton   Topics: Weed Control Strategies for Pastures and Hay Fields Wild Pig Control Aquatic Weed Control External Parasite Control   8:30 am Program Starts 11:45 am Lunch Served 3:00 pm Adjourn   FLYER      

Sugarcane aphids feed on and damage all species of Sorghum grown for grain, forage and hay.  Aphids feed on plant sap and infested leaves turn yellow and then brown and die, reducing forage yield. Sugarcane aphids also produce large amounts of honeydew, a sticky waste product that accumulates on leaves.  A black sooty mold sometimes grows on the honeydew, turning leaves black.  The honeydew on leaves and stems can gum up harvest machinery.   The following practices can reduce the risk of sugarcane aphid damage: Plant hybrids with… Read More →