Samuel D. Gavito – EA-Ag
Phone: (361) 256-4591
Duval.agrilife.org
Duval County Ag
September 28, 2012
Gamez ranch hwy 339 north from
Benavides to County Road 342 one
mile on left side
$15.00
8:00am-1:00pm
Contact Sam Gavito for RSVP
(361) 256-4591 or (361)207-1160
September 2012
The Duval Extension Office will be accepting
Well Water Samples to be screened for Arsenic,
Nitrates, Fecal Coliform Bacteria, Salinity, and
PH. Bring your water sample to the Duval
Extension Office by October 1st no later than
5:00p.m. Bring at least 20 oz. and have your
container labeled with your information. You may
bring more than one well sample. There are no
limits. Each sample will cost $5.00. Our office is
located on the South end of the Benavides Civic
Center. Please call if you have any questions.
(361) 256-4591
October 4 & 5, 2012
10:00 am-5:00pm
RMB Regional Fairgrounds- Robstown, TX
Free Admission, Free Parking, Live Field Demos,
Texas BBW, CEU’S Available
Thursday
10:00am – Improving Profits with Bull Selection 1hour CEU
10:30am - cattle handling/working demo
11:00am – Animal Health Commission
11:30am- Beef Check Out Updates
12:00pm-1:30pm – Break
1:30pm-2:15pm- Citrus Greening Update
2:30pm- 3:30pm- Managing Wildlife to Enhance ranch Income- 1 Hour CEU
3:45pm-4:45pm- Pound Renovation/Aquatic Weed Mangement-1Hour CEU
Friday
10:00am – Pesticide Laws/Regulations Update-1 Hour CEU
11:00am- Crop Market Outlook/Marketing Strategies
12:00pm-1:30pm- Break
1:30pm-2:15pm -Long range Weather Outlook
2:45pm-3:45pm- New Development in Brush Control-1Hour CEU
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners approved a new federal rule this week that
outlines changes in animal health regulations that will affect protocols for handling and testing
for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the Texas cervid population. The new rule will be
published in the next issue of the Texas Register and allows for a 20-day period for public
comment before the rule takes affect.
State wildlife and animal health officials say the new rule is “timely” after Texas experienced its
first case of CWD in June this year when two male mule deer near the New Mexico border in Far
West Texas tested positive for the disease.
CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects cervid species such as white-tailed deer,
mule deer, elk, and others susceptible species. It is classified as a transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy, a family of disease that includes scrapie (found in sheep) and Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, found in cattle and commonly known as Mad Cow Disease).
TPWD closed the Texas border in 2005 to entry of out-of –state captive white-tailed and mule
deer over fears of CWD and has increased regulatory requirements regarding disease monitoring
and recordkeeping. Since 2002, the department has tested more than 26,500wild deer in Texas
CWD, and cervid producers have submitted more than 7,400test results to the department.
The new rule represents the second attempt by TPWD to put the issue before the public. The first
set of proposed rules was withdrawn by commissioners when additional study indicated parts of
the proposed rules required amendments. The new federal rules address, not only monitoring and
movement of cervid populations in the wild, but also those at breeding facilities across the state.
Karl Kinsel, a Texas breeder and livestock producer, serves as executive director for the Texas
Deer Association (TDA), the non-profit group that has long advocated cervid health issues and
serves as a trade association for member breeders across the state. Along with a group of
individual ranch owners and state officials, Kinsel served on the Cervid Health Working Group
in reviewing and discussing TAHC’s monitored herd program, proposed intrastate and interstate
movement rules, surveillance programs and monitoring efforts of wild and farm-raised deer.
Kinsel says TDA members were interested in how current industry practices and regulations
compared to the proposed new rules.
“The hearing in Austin went rather well as far as (the) information we had to work with. We
discussed how the rules would establish containment areas as needed and talked about he
movement of deer. We reviewed the state’s proposed emergency response plan when chronic
wasting disease is discovered,” Kinsel said
“We are fortunate to have good people over at Parks and Wildlife and at the Texas Animal
Health commission. Many states have overreacted to the threat and we wanted to make certain
we took a scientific approach to the problem and separated the facts from the myths when it
comes to CWD.”
Kinsel says the TDA was formed in part to help members deal with animal health issues and to
make certain breeders are using the best methods possible to ensure the best pen-to-pasture
practices.
In response to the drought of 2012 and the lowest projected corn yield in 17 years, the
price of corn has risen to all time record highs. Given that the economic role of high prices is to
ration demand, the question facing stakeholders in the grain industry (speculators and
commercial interests) is whether the current price of corn is high enough to have accomplished
that task? That is, has the recent escalation of corn prices been adequate to curb the quantity
demanded down to match expected levels of supply? Or can we expect prices to go even higher
because use has not been reduced enough? This paper examines the supply/demand balance of
the U.S. corn crop in light of the 2012 drought and a look at
each of USDA’s major corn use categories.
Drought
Since the beginning of May, as drought conditions have worsened across the Corn Belt, USDA’s
estimate of 2012 corn production has fallen from 14.790 billion bushels to 10.779 billion, the
smallest crop since 2006. The national average corn yield has fallen from a projected 166.0
bushels per acre in May to 123.4 bushels per acre. The last time corn yields were this low was
the 113.5 bushel per acre average in 1995. In response, the monthly average of the nearby futures
price for corn has risen from $6.01 per bushel in May to $8.02 thus far in August, a 33 percent
increase.
Exports
The projected corn use cuts USDA made in each of the categories it uses to monitor corn
consumption vary. The category with the greatest elasticity of demand is exports. The own price
elasticity of demand measures the quantity response for a given price change. More elastic
demand means that quantity changes more for a given price change. Typically, the quantity
exported is more responsive to price than other uses of corn. While the United States is the
largest exporter of corn in the world at about 45 percent, its market share of the world corn
market is on the decline, down from over 80 percent in the mid-1990s. USDA has lowered its
estimate of U.S. corn exports from 1.9 billion bushels in May down to 1.3 billion bushels, a 33
percent decrease. In response to the high U.S. price of corn, foreign corn users will certainly
see lower corn use estimates of their own, seek corn supplies from other exporters, and substitute
other grains for corn where possible. Another important factor in export projections is the
exchange rate of the dollar in world currency markets. A stronger dollar makes our export
products more expensive in world markets while a weaker dollar makes U.S. exports more
affordable. With the financial and economic instability in Europe, the dollar has, of late, been
relatively strong. In addition to the effect of the drought on yields, quality may have also been
affected. That may leave even smaller supplies of export quality corn.