Your Texas Agriculture Minute

Agricultural land values in the U.S. are increasing at a rate not seen in nearly a decade. The Land Values 2021 Summary report shows increases across the board in U.S. and Texas agricultural real estate values, cropland values and pastureland values. The U.S.

TPWD Community Outdoor Outreach Program grant accepting applications

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is now accepting grant applications for the Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP). CO-OP provides grant funding to tax-exempt organizations for programs that engage under-represented populations in TPWD mission-oriented activities.

Labor and Joy

Our twelfth grandchild was born last night. Our youngest daughter, Joannah Rose, gave birth to our now youngest granddaughter, Rebecca Rose. The hospital strictly limited visitors so we received a play-by-play status on the delivery from the new dad by text message.

Down Memory Lane

93 Years Ago August 16, 1928 The gates of the Twentyfourth annual San Saba Fair were thrown open to the biggest attendance in the history of the Fair. The crowd was variously estimated from five to seven thousand. The Street Parade was well arranged and very attractive floats were shown. H. C.

Texas pedestrian and bicyclist deaths continue to climb

Despite a decrease in traffic crashes in 2020, Texas saw a dramatic rise in the number of people killed walking and biking on our roadways. Last year, 731 people died in pedestrianrelated crashes, an increase of 9% from 2019.

Hill Country Naturalist

Dr. Kent Rylander, retired Texas Tech Professor, author of the book, “The Behavior of Texas Birds,” and a friend of mine, tells a fascinating story about a classic experiment in animal behavior. The researchers removed an egg from under a sitting goose and placed it next to the nest.

Notes from the Spring Creek Arts Guild

Here I sit outside nearing noon on an August day—the ground is damp from yesterday’s nearly one inch of rain, the temperature is in the low eighties, and there is a nice little breeze blowing. My keeper, my Australian Shepherd, is lying on my foot, so I cannot escape without waking her.

Food aid changes will bring $1.5B to Texas families

Food banks welcomed USDA's Monday announcement of a long overdue update to the calculation of federal food aid that will result in a 27% increase to SNAP benefits for Texas residents, equivalent to $1.5B annually.

Rep. August Pfluger: Afghanistan reveals the Biden Doctrine – Hear no evil. See no evil. Stop no evil.

The unmitigated disaster in Afghanistan must be a wake-up call to every American. Our strength, our resolve and our future as the world leader and defender of democracy is being tested in real-time. And President Biden is failing. I grew up in the doctrine of peace through strength, and it worked.

Alice in Wonder Land

The walk to my mailbox today was a “Praise the Lord” because I finally got a new social security card that will give me the last requirement to get my Ohio license plate and driver's license.