PVAMU Ag Extension- Wharton/Austin County

09/11/2024

Prairie View A&M University’s Extension Service of Wharton County is hosting a Ranch Tour that will focus on estate planning for family ranches on Thursday, October 10, 2024 from 9:00 am – 2:30 p.m. We will be meeting at the Wharton County Extension Office (315 E. Milam St., Wharton, TX 77488), taking a shuttle to 3 ranches, and will be making an additional stop for lunch as well.

🚌Tour stops will include:
- Mary A Ranch
- J.D. Hudgins Inc.
- Circle A Farm & Ranch LLC.
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This program is FREE to attend and refreshments will be served on the shuttle. We will also be making a stop at Reyna’s Café for lunch (attendees will be responsible for paying for their meal).

We are limited to 20 spots on the shuttle, so please register by Thursday, October 3rd by following this link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1012895887867?aff=oddtdtcreator or calling the Wharton County Extension Office at (979)532-3310.

07/22/2024

Last Thursday's Equine Emergency Preparedness program in Austin County was very informative!🐴🌪🔥🌊

Thanks Dr. Leslie Easterwood (Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team), Stephen Burnett (Texas A&M AgriLife), and representatives from the Texas Animal Health Commission & the USDA Farm Service Agency.

07/16/2024

🚨REMINDER🚨

Equine Emergency Preparedness Program this Thursday at the Austin County Extension Office!

Austin County C**t Project
Austin County - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Austin County 4-H - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Prairie View A&M University’s Extension Service of Austin County is hosting an Equine Emergency Preparedness Program on July 18th, 2024 at the Austin County Extension Office (800 East Wendt St, Bellville, TX 77418) from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm.

Topics will include:
- Identifying Staging Areas
- Emergency Support Function (ESF) #11
- Disaster Preparedness “Stay & Go” Kits

This program is FREE to attend and refreshments will be served as well.

Please RSVP by Monday, July 15th by following this link https://pvamu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_esQCXJDDh3VzCgm or calling the Wharton County Extension Office at (979)532-3310.

07/01/2024

Wharton County’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is holding their County Committee Elections and would love for you to be involved in this year’s election!

Nomination forms are to be delivered to the Wharton County FSA office (9726 Us 59 Rd., Wharton, TX 77488) or postmarked no later than August 1, 2024.

County committee members are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA. They help deliver programs at the county level and work to serve the needs of local producers. Every FSA office is required to have a county committee, and they are made up of local farmers, ranchers and foresters who are elected by local producers.

Nearly 7,800 FSA county committee members serve FSA offices nationwide. Each committee has 3 to 11 elected members who serve three-year terms of office. Approximately one-third of county committee seats are up for election each year. County committee members impact the administration of FSA within a community by applying their knowledge and judgment to help FSA make important decisions on its commodity support programs, conservation programs, indemnity and disaster programs, emergency programs and eligibility.

County committee members impact producers through their decision making and help shape the culture of a local FSA office. They also ensure the fair and equitable administration of FSA farm programs in their counties and are accountable to the Secretary of Agriculture. Members conduct hearings and reviews as requested by the state committee, ensure underserved farmers, ranchers and foresters are fairly represented, make recommendations to the state committee on existing programs, monitor changes in farm programs and inform farmers of the purpose and provisions of FSA programs. They also assist with outreach and inform underserved producers such as beginning farmers, ranchers and foresters, about FSA opportunities.

For more information, visit the FSA website at fsa.usda.gov/elections or contact the Wharton County FSA office at 979-532-0567.

Thanks,
Braxton Mitchell, Wharton/Austin County Extension Agent

06/24/2024

Prairie View A&M University’s Extension Service of Austin County is hosting an Equine Emergency Preparedness Program on July 18th, 2024 at the Austin County Extension Office (800 East Wendt St, Bellville, TX 77418) from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm.

Topics will include:
- Identifying Staging Areas
- Emergency Support Function (ESF) #11
- Disaster Preparedness “Stay & Go” Kits

This program is FREE to attend and refreshments will be served as well.

Please RSVP by Monday, July 15th by following this link https://pvamu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_esQCXJDDh3VzCgm or calling the Wharton County Extension Office at (979)532-3310.

05/28/2024

Here's the last PVAMU Hog Trap Lease Program update of the month!

26 pigs trapped using the Jager Pro Hog Control Systems in Austin County on 5/8/2024
• 1 large boar (250 lbs.+)
• 1 adult female ( approximately 80 lbs.)
• 7 young females (approximately 10 lbs. each)
• 17 young males (approximately 10 lbs. each)

This group was trapped 4 days after being seen on the landowner's game camera.

05/07/2024

‼️PVAMU Trap Lease Program Update‼️

Thanks to a landowner in Austin County, this 250 pound boar is no longer frequenting Bellville, TX! Boars this size could cost a single landowner thousands of dollars annually in damage and management efforts. Dominant males can also make it difficult to trap smaller hogs when competing for bait, which can become a major issue when trapping feral hogs.

This particular landowner baited and monitored this hogs patterns and the 4-day difference on the game camera's time stamp is evidence.

The landowner's next target is this sounder (one or several mature sows with one or more generation of offspring) of over 20 hogs. We'll be sure to keep you updated!🐗

Jager Pro Hog Control Systems
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Contact us at (979)532-3310 or email [email protected] for more information on the Feral Hog Trap Lease Program.

04/15/2024

Here's a quick snapshot of how Session 2 of the Herd Health Series went last Friday!📸🐂

Thanks again to Mary A Ranch for hosting us, as well as Dr. Thomas Hairgrove & Damon Smith of Texas A&M University and Marcos Borges of MBJ RANCH

03/28/2024

We have settled on a new date for Session 2 of the Herd Health Series that we had to postpone last week due to rain.
Our new date is Friday, April 12, 2024. All additional details will remain the same.

We are asking attendees to re-register for this newly scheduled session to get an accurate count for breakfast/refreshments.

We will still be meeting from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm at Mary A Ranch (2480 Exxon Road Wharton, TX 77488) for a hands-on, cattle vaccination demonstration where we will discuss chute-side procedure/safety, injection sites, needles sizes, and more.

This program is FREE to attend and breakfast/refreshments will be served as well.

Please RSVP by following this link https://pvamu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3RhlzkqPzwHYTmm or calling the Wharton County Extension Office at (979)532-3310.

03/21/2024

Unfortunately, we will have to postpone session 2 of the Herd Health Series due to the rain.

I will be meeting with Mary A Ranch in the coming weeks to decide on a new date, and will be sure to keep everyone updated!

Have a safe weekend!

-Braxton Mitchell, Wharton/Austin County Extension Agent

03/18/2024

Session 1 of the Herd Health Series was great!
Huge thanks to Dr. Thomas Hairgrove (Texas A&M University Professor and Extension Specialist) for our talk on "Cattle Vaccines 101"

Session 2 is this Friday and there's still time to register by following this link: https://pvamu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3RhlzkqPzwHYTmm?fbclid=IwAR1VOOcxv0LsN-KCxscxSoxCfI0RvTbf1t4C3IXsVnsUcPRb_9-TQu-CL1s

03/11/2024

Our Herd Health Series starts this Friday!
Head over to https://pvamu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3RhlzkqPzwHYTmm to register!

Prairie View A&M University’s Cooperative Extension Program of Wharton County is hosting a 2-week, Herd Health Series that will consist of a hands-on cattle vaccination demonstration and developing a health management plan for your cattle herd.

Session 1:
Date: Friday, March 15, 2024
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Location: Wharton County Extension Office (315 E. Milam St., Wharton, TX 77488)
Topic: Developing a Health Management Plan (Dr. Thomas Hairgrove, TAMU Professor & Extension Specialist)

Session 2:
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Mary A Ranch (2480 Exxon Rd., Wharton, TX 77488)
Topics: Cattle Vaccination Basics (Dr. Cody Pohler, Wharton Veterinary Clinic)
Cattle Squeeze Chute Demonstration/Safety (Marcos Borges, Arrowquip)

This program is FREE to attend and breakfast/refreshments will be served as well.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, March 12th by following this link https://pvamu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3RhlzkqPzwHYTmm or calling the Wharton County Extension Office at (979)532-3310.

Wharton Veterinary Clinic
Arrowquip