2015 NSP D.C. Fly-In – Sorghum members from across the nation were in D.C. earlier this month visiting key leadership to provide educational information and address important issues in the sorghum and agricultural industries. Seven members from across the state represented Texas Grain Sorghum Association (TGSA) at the fly-in hosted by National Sorghum Producers (NSP). The attendees from Texas included: Greg Methvin, a producer from Hockley county; Danny Beyer, a producer from San Patricio county; Jake West, manager of Corpus Christi Grain; Greg Glover, a producer from Amarillo; Joe Pennington, a producer from Willacy county; James Born, a producer and TGSB board of director from Ochiltree county; and Wayne Cleveland, Executive Director of TGSA. The group met with many key leaders in D.C. including: USDA officials, EPA officials, Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack, and several elected officials. The group also had good meetings with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts about the implementation of the farm bill, the importance of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the need to leave crop insurance alone and make no more cuts to it.
Obama Proposes Budget Cuts to Ag Programs – The proposed budget for the 2016 federal fiscal year, sent to Congress by President Barack Obama, proposes cutting crop insurance subsidies by $16 billion over 10 years to offset commodity programs because it is projected that crop insurance will likely cost more than initially thought when the 2014 Farm Bill was written. The program currently only costs about $9 billion per year. Not only does his proposed budget cut crop insurance but it also cuts back on the number of acres enrolled in the CSP and trims mandatory spending for the EQIP. To view more details and find out the viewpoints of Obama’s groups who support these cuts, click here. As mentioned in the above story, sorghum growers were in D.C. urging lawmakers not to make anymore cuts to the farm bill.
2015 Texas Ag Forum – Up-to-date information about farm bill sign-up decisions will be the hot topic at this year’s Texas Ag Forum on Feb 20th. The forum is being held in late February to get as close to the sign-up deadline of March 31st when producers have to decide between Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) under the new farm bill. There will be presentations from policy makers, university experts and farm group representatives. The forum will be held at the Hilton Austin Airport hotel and advanced registration is $125 through the Texas Agricultural Coop Council (512-450-0555). Same day registration is $150 but seating is limited. The Texas Ag Forum is an association of agricultural leaders and representatives from across the Texas food and fiber system.
20th Annual Commodity Classic – Sorghum, corn, wheat and soybean growers from across the nation will come together for the 20th Annual Commodity Classic on Feb. 26-28 in Phoenix. Along with numerous educational sessions and high-profile speakers, National Sorghum Producers will hold a sorghum general session, an awards banquet for the NSP yield contest winners, and a PAC event. Watch the video below and find out why you should join sorghum growers in Phoenix!
NSP Yield Contest Winners from Texas – National Sorghum Producers announced the winners of their 2014 Yield Contest whom will be recognized in Phoenix at the Commodity Classic at the end of this month. There were three national winners from Texas and they were: Fike Farms of Hidalgo county planted DEKALB DKS53-67 and placed 1st in the Double Crop Irrigated category with a yield of 151.63; Weldon Alders of Leon county planted Richardson Seeds 9400 and placed 1st in the Conventional-Till Non-Irrigated category with a yield of 205.74; and Henson Land and Cattle of Hockley county planted Pioneer 84P80 and placed 1st in the Conventional-Till Irrigated Category with a yield of 245.94. State winners from Texas included: L and L Farms-Lynn Born of Lipscomb county, Robert D. Yosko of Wilson county, Keith Kresta of Wharton county, Jimmy Dodson-3D Farms of Nueces county, Monte Wright of Ochiltree county, and Fike Farms of Hidalgo county. To see the complete list of winners with yields and seed varieties planted, click here.
New Sugarcane Aphid Tolerant Sorghum Germplasm Released – The Texas A&M AgriLife Sorghum Improvement Program announced the release of two sorghum germ plasm lines – Tx3408 and Tx3409 with tolerance to the sugarcane aphid. The program noted that these two seed parent lines possess substantial tolerance to the sugarcane aphid.
Sorghum in the News – Recently the sorghum industry has been receiving some positive media attention. Last week, the Wall Street Daily ran an article titled “Sorghum: Ancient Grain Makes a Plentiful Comeback.” The article, which referred to sorghum as the “camel of crops,” because of its water efficiency, went on to detail the timeline of events that has lead to the markets strong demand for the grain. To read the full article, click here.
Chromatin Research Expansion – Chromatin Inc., a large sorghum research company, will be the first tenant in the Texas Tech University Research and Technology Park, which is under construction near the Texas Tech University Campus in Lubbock. The company, which focuses on creating new sorghum seed products to use resources efficiently and grow on marginal land, was announced as the first tenant today. Chromatin, which has field operations in Idalou, will be centralizing its research efforts in West Texas, according to Robert V. Duncan, vice president of research at Tech. The Research and Technology Park is a $29 million, 40,000-square-foot facility that will promote entrepreneurialism, innovation and partnerships between academic and business communities to further research efforts in several areas.
TAWC Water College – The first annual Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC) was held last month in Lubbock with approximately 150 attendees. Presentations ranged from grain sorghum production and water use to understanding soil moisture probe data. To view all of the presentations from the event, click here.
