Texas Ag Today - September 8, 2026

0:00I'm Donnie Dippell with CHB Consulting with Range Texas. You've listed to the latest news and Texas Head Culture on Texas Egg today. This is Texas Egg today. The number one source for the latest news in Texas Eggman culture. The largest and most experienced farm news team in the long-star state covers it all. From the tiny woods of East Texas to the rocky ranges of the Transpacus and from the panhandle down to the Rio Grande Valley. Here's today's top stories. The president has taken action that could lead to mandatory country of origin labeling on beef. That story is coming up on Texas Egg today. As a new season begins, what's ahead for winter wheat in the Texas High Plains? I'm James Hunt and we'll talk about that on Texas Egg today.

1:02Pastor Mulebugs have been an issue for Texas ranchers this year in their pastures. I'm Tom Nicoletti and I'll have comments from a central Texas rancher on Texas Egg today. Texas livestock auction market operators are welcoming the release of screw worm infested zones. That story's coming up. Now here's the host of Texas Egg today, Jessica Domo. Hello Texas. Welcome to another exciting edition of Texas Egg today. As our announcer said, I'm Jessica Domo and I'm your host today. Our team has been hard at work this week already, scouring the state for the latest news in Texas agriculture, just for you. So let's get started. First up, the president has taken action that could lead to mandatory country of origin labeling on beef. On Friday, US president Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders. The White House says will benefit US ranchers.

2:04This order also will require country of origin labeling across all foreign beef. So what we're doing, the farmers are processing their food. And I'm signing an order authorizing ranches to protect rural communities and cattle herds from the predatory Mexican gray wolves and others, which are costing them billions of dollars over the years. The orders direct the secretary of agriculture and US trade representative to review statutory and regulatory authorities that may allow the establishment of mandatory country of origin labeling on beef. The order requires the secretary to provide the assistant to the president for economic policy with the summary of authorities and an economic analysis on the impact of country of origin labeling. According to a fact sheet from the White House, based on those assessments, the ag secretary, USTR and assistant to the president may issue or amend regulations to require beef labeling or may lead to legislative recommendations on labeling. As the president mentioned, the executive order he signed also orders the

3:07secretary of the interior to determine whether gray and Mexican wolves have met the recovery criteria to be downlisted or de-listed under the Endangered Species Act. It says if the secretary determines that they have, interior should begin that process. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins posted on X Friday, the order also strengthens compensation for livestock losses due to wolf predation and expands tools to address wolves threatening livestock and human safety. As a new season begins, what is ahead for winter wheat on the Texas High Plains? James Hunt joins us with that story. With the July futures price climbing above the $8 a bushel mark in recent weeks, winter wheat is getting a lot of attention right now. Here in the Texas High Plains, our farmers grow wheat for multiple purposes, including grain, wheat ledge and grazing. This is the response I got when I asked Texas A&M AgriLife economist, DD Jones, which of those options looks best for area

4:10producers in the season ahead. You know, that's really going to depend on two things that we won't know for a couple more months. One is how many acres are going to go in for wheat and then two is when is El Nino going to hit. So if we wind up having about the same amount of wheat acres in 27 that we had in 26 and El Nino hits pretty early, where we can get some winter grazing off of that wheat, then I would tell guys to put some cattle on, take them in on the game or buy them or whatever they want to do, have some good winter and spring wheat grazing. And then as long as the prices stay high, pull those cattle off and take it to grain. So that's really scenario number one. But scenario number two is if we have a lot more wheat acres planted, the price could very well start to drop, maybe you don't take it to gray, maybe you chop it or hate it. So that's a big question mark is how many acres are going to be going in this fall? The other big question mark is if El Nino doesn't hit all or if it hits say in November, then your winter grazing is not near as attractive as it looks like as it would be if it hit in September. So I can't really answer that question. I would just say

5:10that if we continue to have lower acres and early rains, then probably graze it and then take it to grain. If we wind up with a whole lot of extra acres planted this year, which is likely at the prices hold in late rains, then maybe you need to chop it or hate. That's Agra Life Economist, D.D. Jones. I'm James Hunt on the Texas Farm Bureau radio network. Pasture Mealybugs have been an issue this year. Tom Nicolate joins us for more. My guess today is cattle rancher and hay producer Mickey Edwards from lamb passes County. Mickey, you earlier this year had pasture Mealybugs to deal with how did you find them? What was the outcome? We'd finished belly our first round to hay and we saw some brown spots at our coastal field. We inspected it. We got our own ease and looked to the grass. And as we separated the grass down at the roots, we could see the little white bugs and they move very quickly. So they're disappearing. We'd dig some more and find some more. So we identified them there on the spot. And so what was your next mode of action? We contacted our local applicator and he had a product. He

6:14thought we'd take care of it. So he sprayed that entire field. It was only about 50 acres. It seemed to eliminate the problem and we got another cutting of hay off of that field. Any damage sustained prior to the application? We found it pretty early. So there were some brown spots and they were only like 20 or 30 feet across maybe two or three of those. Once we found them and sprayed them, that grew back. So it didn't kill them all the way to the root. Here we are weeks later since you had that done. How's your pastures looking and how are the cattle doing in the extreme central Texas heat? It might be a two half of the Mealybugs. I'm not sure. We have a lot of dry grass. Cattle are doing well with that. We desperately need a rain. So we're not getting that third cutting for hay this year. Two cuttings of hay. And certainly that's got to be a blessing for you considering the fact there was no rain. You had the Mealybugs and triple digit temperatures for such a long time. We feel very fortunate and that we had that early rain that really gives a lot of grass cover, a lot of growth, a lot of native grass did well as well as improved in non-native grasses. And at this point, no sign of the return of the Mealybugs. Right now we're not sure the hot weather may have

7:18slowed them down. As soon as it rains we'll watch and see what we can find. That is lamb past this county cattle-inter, Mickey Edwards. I'm Tom Nicoletti for the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Texas Animal Health Commission have released a few new world screwworm infested zones. Carrie Martin joins us with more. The Texas Animal Health Commission recently released two of the screwworm infested zones here in Texas, meaning livestock can now move freely in and out of those areas. Dale Sandlin is with the livestock marketing association of Texas. And Dale, this looks like good news for your membership. Well, first off, we want to say thank you to Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA AFA's for all of their work in trying to address this invasive pests. Now, as you mentioned, having those infestations on to be rubles to especially there in the Lesby County and down the Missile County and some of the surrounding areas there. That's going to be very helpful for our industry and specifically looking at the way in which they've released those zones from a

8:23criteria that they're looking at. We're very hopeful that as we get further and further along in no more additional detections, it will start to see more and more of those zones leave. What, Dale? It looks like these auction markets really handled this situation pretty well. From an operational standpoint, the livestock markets have done phenomenal job of continuing to provide customer service throughout this process. They've had the ability to work with their different sellers as well as maintaining the buyers there to help to help provide true process discovery, but at the same time, making it easier and simpler for those sellers to be able to bring their animals to market to ensure that they've got the inspections taken care of. The treatments were followed as prescribed by Animal Health and USDA, and also to be able to operate within those parameters to help be a part of the solution to helping to address this invasive pest. What kind of burden have these zones put on those livestock auctions that were located in those areas? From a financial standpoint, it's been

9:26something that we each market has had to look at and has had to incur in some way, shape, or form. Animal Health Commission has certainly stepped in and supported with a code, but at the same time, they've seen some significant costs to this. It required more people. It required additional considerations as far as how the market operated as far as working with the sellers to get those animals on early, so that way they could be inspecting and treated, and then the health of that 48 hours. After the sale, they could immediately move on and serve that 48 hours prior to the sale, rather than holding those animals there, but they're continuing to provide that care. As we look forward into more and more of those zones being removed, this would provide each of the markets would see a little relief as each of those zones are released. That's Dale Sandlin, executive director of the livestock marketing association of Texas. I'm Carrie Martin on the Texas Farm Bureau, Radio Network. Grainsorgham farmers on the soft plains of West Texas are harvesting their

10:30sorgham crops, but they are not receiving the yields that they had hoped for. I'm Tom Nickelodeon, I'll have more from that region of the state on Texas Ag today. It may be September, but it has been hot for most of Texas, and Texas Veterinary Dr. Bob Judd tells us that can affect horses. We'll have that story coming up on Texas Ag today. These stories plus a look at the markets are straight ahead of Texas Ag today. I'm Veterinary Dr. Bob Judd. Squirrel arms are now in Texas, and if you're a hunter or outdoors enthusiast, stay on the lookout for any type of wildlife that may have them. Squirrel arms can live in any warm, blooded animal, including deer, hog, squirrels, and rabbits. If you see any type of suspicious wound that may have screw arms, mark the location. Call your local Texas Parks and Wildlife Office. Working together, we can limit the spread of screw arms and read our state of this pest once

11:32again. This message is sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau. Now back to more Texas Ag today. Sorghum Harvest is underway on the South Plains of West Texas. Tom Nicoletti and Eddie Griffiths join us with more on the South Plains of West Texas farmers and ranchers there are doing their best to tend to their crops and livestock, but the rain has not yet fallen, and that's what they need as we are into September. Eddie Griffiths is standing by in the Lubbock area. Eddie is still no rain. The temperatures are still hot. How are the crops doing? Let's start with the cotton. Yeah Tom, the cotton of course, dry land is pretty well done for a good while now. A lot of that crop is already opened and the bowls out there are not looking very promising and you're seeing

12:35a little bit of that in the air gated side where producers didn't have enough water to quite get it to the end and we always are looking and needing moisture, but at this point it would definitely help finish up a little bit of this air gated crop whether it be pivot air gated or drip or row water. A lot of that cotton in the bottom crop starting to open and maturity of a lot of the crop probably not what producers were hoping for or looking for but definitely the dry land crop. I think you're going to see even more acres once bulk out start coming out. A lot of that being abandoned and probably plowed up just because it's simply not there, probably not enough there to even justify getting out there with harvest equipment and getting it out of there, but not nearly enough moisture. We pretty well knew that going into this year because we had been dry for so long. The deep moisture wasn't there and then nothing to really help anybody out during the summer nights whenever we were trying to produce and put a fruit load on there, not enough moisture to get that accomplished. How does the lack of rainfall and the heat impact in grain sugar?

13:39Well, I've been here and you know some yields out there and nothing like what we were hearing from last year. Sort of being harvested at this time, most of it went into the scorched stage months ago, but there was still something to harvest out there and yields that I'm hearing anywhere from a thousand, fifteen hundred pounds. That's not what producers were looking for. We got a little spool last year, a lot better yields. It's pretty hard to grow anything when you don't get any rainfall. Shifting gears, let's move out to the pastures and the livestock condition at this time with the current drying conditions there. Yeah, Tom, you can kind of look at the hay prices, what they were in the spring. They've kind of come down a little bit and what they are now. It's a supply and demand problem and demand is high for feed right now and supply of getting hay established. Most of it's probably going to be irrigated, so it's going to cost you more and even if it's not irrigated, if you have any hay on hand, you can get a premium for that hay at this time, but I know it's starting to be short supply here at guys that are they're selling off and shortening up their hards and just simply cannot find feed, don't have pasture and they're

14:44short on pasture, not in and side because we're getting to the end of the growing season and not going to be able to get anything else established. And if they have a place to go that's irrigated, some wheat pasture, something like that to put cattle out on our livestock, that's going to be spoken for pretty quick. Eddie, thanks for your report again today. Thank you, Tom. That is Eddie Griffiths. He is reporting from the South Plains of West Texas. Excessive heat can impact horses. Texas Veterinarian Dr. Bob Judd joins us with more. The American Quarter Horse Association indicates summer is a great time to ride, but the temperatures at the end of the summer in Texas can be detrimental to your horse's health. Heat bills with exercise and this heat must be released or heat stress or even heat stroke can develop. Horses cool themselves primarily by sweating and if your horse doesn't sweat enough, heat can build up. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include perfuse sweating or less sweating, stumbling and rapid breathing. Rapid heart rate also occurs along with an increased body temperature sometimes up to 106 degrees

15:48Fahrenheit and signs of dehydration including loss of skin elasticity and tacky mucus membranes. Heat stroke can occur in which the horse's body temperature is over 106 degrees, breathing is rapid and some of these horses will collapse, seizure and may not survive. If you feel your horse is developing a heat issue, stop riding immediately and get your horse in the shade preferably in an area with a breeze or under a fan and call your veterinarian. Many of these horses will need intravenous fluids due to dehydration. Gradually wet the horse's body with cool water by starting with feet and legs and slowly moving upward. Cold water should not be used and a cold water in the winter should not be performed. Heat stress can generally be prevented by calculating the heat index before riding. Add the temperature in Fahrenheit and the percentage of relative humidity. If the sum is less than 120, riding should be fine. If the sum is 130 to 150, you probably can ride if the horse is sweating normally and drinking water. If the sum is over 180, do not exercise your

16:52horse. Join me next time for more on Heat Stress in Horses. I'm veterinarian Dr. Bob Judg. This is the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. We'll check the markets coming up next on Texas Ag Today. Are you a teacher or do you know a teacher that teaches in Texas through Texas Farm Bureau's Agriculture in the classroom program? Teachers can access over 450 lessons that incorporate agricultural concepts across all subjects and grade levels. And 300 of these lessons are aligned to teaks. Three digital and virtual resources are also available. For more information about how TFB is connecting agriculture and education, visit texasfarmburo.org slash AITC.

17:52Here's the latest market information on Texas Ag Today. Howdy neighbors, I'm Larry Marble with the Livestock Auction Market report on Texas Ag Today. We're on the line with Madison Bexley and Howe was the sale? We had a good day. We ended up with 944 with 188 cows and 14 bulls, 171 sellers and 91 buyers. Maddie walked the pins with us. On the soccer cows we got one pretty good this week. Uh, no really good young pairs, but the veteran of the pair has brought from 34 to 3750. The mediocre milleaged pairs brought from 28 to 3300. The planar end of the pair has brought from 2150 to 2750. The good breadcowls brought from 2650 to 3050. The mediocre milleaged and shortbread cows brought from 2 to 2550. Along one in the planar end of the breads brought from 14 to 1950. On the packer cows and bulls, they continued to work a little lower this week. The veteran of the packer cows brought from $1.40 to $1.57. The medium yield and the fat cows brought from 130 to 139. The low yielding and thin cows brought

18:56from $1.4 to $1.29. The veteran of the packer bulls brought from $1.90 to $1.98. The low me and lightweight bulls brought from $1.62 to $1.89. The calves in Uralin still pretty much study what the week go on and get active markets. So, all in all, it was a great day. Celebrity, how to get a hold of your Maddie. You can always check us out on Facebook or you can call the barn at 512-398-3476. Myself on 979-540-979-3. Or you can ring love it 512-4616-911. I'm Larry Marble. This is the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. After a closing lower on Friday, both live in feeder cattle rebounded on Tuesday as traders are awaiting and hoping for some fundamental support. October live cattle up 407-217-02, December live cattle up 450-219-22. September feeder cattle up 405-328-87. October feeder cattle up 530-325-45. Box beef was higher, choice up $1.30-377-47,

20:01select rose $1.7-356-94. October lean hogs up $1.95-8425. December lean hogs up to 57-75, 05. Barrel cheese was unchanged to Tuesday at $1.53. Block cheese down a quarter of a cent to $1.46. September class 3 milk down 6 cents to 1612-100 weight. October class 3 milk down 15 cents to 1624. December cotton down a point to 8632. March cotton up 9 cents to 8871. Corn traded lower for the fourth session in a row on Tuesday due to overbought conditions. September corn down 1-511. December corn down 3-4-533-5. September hard red winter wheat up 1880-4 in 3-4. December hard red winter wheat up 16-3-4-819. March hard red winter wheat up 16-831-4.

21:03October crude oil up to 32-9380. November crude oil up to 27-9084. October natural gas down 4 cents to 292. November natural gas down 4 cents to 305. Now if we look at the energy and financial markets, here's economist Tim Snyder with Matador Economics. We're past Labor Day and markets are heading into the fall with three major market movers ahead. And right now they're pushing energy prices higher. That equity is lower. Number one is war. The US Iran conflict is escalating again while Russia, Ukraine, continue to fight. Both are disrupting energy markets and increasing inflation risk and challenging established shipping routes. That's putting a geo economic period directly back into the price of energy. The second major market mover is inflation and interest rates. Economic data that once provided a steady rise behind the sales of the US economy are now looking more like a sea anchor. As the Fed considers whether higher interest rates are necessary to control inflation. And today the yield on the 10-year treasury pushpast 4.8 percent adding to concerns

22:07that both CPI and PPI that come later this week could provide more fuel for the economic fire. And don't forget next week's FOMC committee meeting. The number three fall market mover is technology. Trillions have been committed to AI and data center development. Now investors need revenues to justify that investment and service the debt behind it. Every earning cycle puts the magnificent seven back under the microscope quarter after quarter after quarter. Add this all together and we're returning from Labor Day with exactly the combination of markets we didn't want. Oil is approaching $100 a barrel. Treasury yields are above 4.8 percent. Records setting diesel prices above 580 a gallon and escalating Middle East tensions are driving markets today. The question isn't whether geopolitics can spill into inflation and interest rates anymore. It already has but here's the bottom line. Three markets are reinforcing one another today. Oil is rising. Treasury yields are rising and equities are falling. And right now the catalysts connecting all three is the continuing escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.

23:08I would suggest that a measure of caution is required right here and right now. For the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network I'm economist Tim Snyder. Well that wraps up our look at the markets and this edition of Texas Ag today. You'll have a good day.