Thanks for visiting my website! Here you will find links to useful resources for South Texas, including many I mention in my presentations or use frequently. Bookmark this site so you can check back for new posts or subscribe to the website (bottom right corner) to receive an email when a new post is made. Feel free to email me or comment below with any questions or information you’d like to see added to the site. Enjoy!
~Megan
Generation Next: Our Turn to Ranch Schools – You’re Invited!
Registration is NOW open for the Generation Next: Our Turn to Ranch School! Join us for an online 12-Week Agricultural Business Start-Up School Gain ideas about operations you can add to an existing ranch Learn options for setting up grazing & wildlife leases Discuss business types, tax info, & insurance needs Exposure to all the latest land management tools & techniques The course will require approximately 1.5 hours of your time (at any time!) per week, for 12 weeks. By the end of the class you have a… Read More →
Huisache Biology and Management
Post Written by: Takona Tipton, Texas AgriLife Extension Summer Intern Publication Available! The more you chop it off, the more it sprouts! Huisache, a common woody shrub found all over South Texas, is comparable to the multi-headed creature in Greek Legends called Hydra. That is, when you cut or shred the top off of a huisache plant, many more grow back in its place! The new publication called Huisache Ecology & Management addresses the plant’s growth habits and explains how landowners can treat and prevent the spread of huisache… Read More →
When to Treat Mesquite?
May is HERE! It’s time to start making plans for any Honey Mesquite leaf-spray applications planned for this Summer. Making the application during the right time is CRUCIAL for good control. I’ll be updating this post regularly with information collected or shared from across South Texas, so be sure to check back in! For step-by-step instructions on doing the leaf-spray method, check out Brush Buster’s: How to Beat Mesquite. What characteristics are we looking for to define the “perfect” spray time? Enough leaf material to take in the… Read More →
Plant ID #1: Willow Baccharis
Here’s our first trivia plant identification. Simply be the first to “comment” on this post with the correct common name and I will send you a pair of leather gloves! Thanks to Benny Martinez with Dow AgroSciences for donating the gloves and plant pictures. Read More →
Cost to Control Brush
A new Extension publication is available! Check out Controlling Brush with Herbicides to Increase Ranch Profits at the Texas AgriLife Bookstore website or download a pdf version HERE. This publication uses PESTMAN cost estimations, soil range productivity levels from NRCS Web Soil Survey, and the Financial and Risk Management (FARM) Assessment Model to determine the cost of treating brush using several different scenarios.
Range and Pasture Smartphone Apps!
Those of you who know me might smile when you see this post – given I’ve had a smartphone for one month! However, when I first searched for phone applications, the top listed were mostly games (not that I’m anti-fun, but I don’t have any desire to “run” around a “temple”)…so began my search to figure out how to make my phone useful. **I’d like to put out a disclaimer: This list is not comprehensive and is not meant to promote certain companies. I’d love for you to… Read More →
10 Things You Can Do This Winter
Check out this post for 10 things you can do while the weather is cooler and the plants are dormant… Read More →
New Woody Plants Publication
Common Woody Browse Plants Utilized by White-tailed Deer in South Texas Over the past few decades, the value of woody browse plants to white-tailed deer and other wildlife has become widely recognized by many landowners and managers in South Texas. Several field guides exist, but few describe the preference values for white-tailed deer. Daniel Kunz and Eric Garza, District 8 TPWD biologists, along with the help of Michael Wallace, assembled the booklet Common Woody Browse Plants Utilized by White-Tailed Deer in South Texas. The cover of this 11-page… Read More →
Turkey Pear for Christmas!
Tasajillo, or Turkey Pear as it is often called in South Texas, has added some new color to our drought-ridden landscape in the last few weeks. It’s bright red fruits are enjoyed by many wildlife species, including our native Rio Grande Wild Turkeys. Tasajillo is in the cactus family and rarely grows more than 5′ tall. An interesting fact about this cacti is that it has very small leaves, appearing at each cluster of spines when new segments emerge (see picture below). You’ll be more likely to find… Read More →
Weed Growth After Drought – What’s Hitchhiking In Your Hay?
Story by: Kay Ledbetter Contacts: Dr. Barron Rector, b-rector@tamu.edu “A weed is simply a plant growing out of place or growing in a site where it is not desired.” Those are the thoughts of Dr. Barron Rector, Texas AgriLife Extension Service range specialist. And he said following this year’s drought, wildfires and tons of imported hay, there may be a lot more weeds for landowners to deal with, and some could be invasive species or even toxic. Rector recently presented a webinar, “Invasive Plants of Texas Rangelands,” as… Read More →