Would you consider McLennan County an agriculturally oriented county? For those of you who don’t get off the paved roads, I want to share a few facts.

McLennan County has 557,769 acres total “ag use” land such as pasture, range and crops. Of this total, 287,300 acres are identified as cropland or in cultivation.

The county has 80,000 head of cattle, approximately 5,000 sheep and more than 7,000 goats. Agriculture income from ag commodities is well above $98 million. Also, if you eat, take a bath or wear clothes you support agriculture.

Row crop harvests

Row crop producers have been harvesting grain sorghum and corn in Central Texas for more than a week now.

Many producers started harvesting grain sorghum fields first. The grain sorghum fields have the most potential to yield a desirable crop.

 Much of the crops have had less than 3 inches of rain since they were planted. These areas would normally have 10 to 14 inches of rain during the growing season.  

A portion of the corn crop was cut for silage, but much of it is still being harvested for grain.

As we harvest the McLennan County corn and grain sorghum result demonstration plots, I am surprised by the heavy test weights in a dry year. The dry year poses many questions about aflatoxin, a toxin produced by many species of fungus.

There are questions such as whether we have had enough rain for aflatoxin to be a concern and has it rained enough for the preventive product Afla-Guard to work. 

Only aflatoxin test results will answer those questions.

Cotton fields  

Cotton fields look surprisingly good given the small amount of rainfall.

There are fields of cotton that look better than others, depending on what crop they followed and the amount of rainfall they have received.

McLennan County cotton needs a rain now if producers expect to make a good-to-decent cotton crop.

Cattle auctions

There are big runs at the cattle auctions. The larger than normal sales are made up of primarily cows going to slaughter.  

As producers run out of grass and water in July, coupled with a shorter supply of hay, producers are deciding to sell cows they would normally keep.

 We are beginning an interesting time in the cattle markets. Numerous questions come to mind. How long will the price hold? When we sell a large portion of our cows, where will the calves come from? What is this going to do to the price of beef?

Those producers who are set up to keep their cows or replacement females are ahead of the game.

Hay availability will continue to become scarce and price gouging is already going on. Be careful when buying your hay. Shop around for good hay as close to the normal market price as you can find.

 The hunt for cheap hay will result in you buying low nutritional-value hay.

A list of hay producers is available at the Texas Department of Agricultures online Hay Hotline.

St. Augustine lawns

I am still receiving phone calls from homeowners about St. Augustine lawns.

Lawns have had a tough year, which started with colder than normal temperatures that extended for days in early February.  

St. Augustine lawns are not tolerant of long freezing spells. Follow that stress event with little to no rainfall and you will have regression, wilting and yellowing St. Augustine lawns.

 The first step to help your lawn recover is to water correctly, then take a soil test to establish exactly what nutrients are needed.

 The most common problems I see in lawns are man-made and easy to fix.

For more information on lawn care or agriculture in general, call the McLennan County Extension Office.

Shane McLellan, a county extension agent for more than 13 years, serves as the agriculture agent for McLennan County. Send email to s-mclellan@tamu.edu.