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CURRENT LOCAL LIVESTOCK REPORTS AND NEWS MAY 5, 2020

Page 2A • Tuesday, May 5, 2020 • MySouTex.com

Contributed informationWASHINGTON – Pro-

ducers signed a record 1.77 million contracts for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2019 crop

year, which is more than 107 percent of the total contracts signed compared with a five-year average.

“Producers for several years have experienced low com-modity prices, a volatile trade environment and catastrophic

natural disasters,” said Rich-ard Fordyce, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

“Farmers looking to miti-gate these risks recognize that ARC and PLC provide the fi-nancial protections they need

to weather substantial drops in crop prices or revenues.”

Producers interested in enrolling for 2020 should contact their FSA county of-fice. Producers must enroll by June 30 and make their one-time update to PLC payment yields by September 30.

FSA attributes the signifi-cant participation in the 2019 crop year ARC and PLC pro-grams to increased producer interest in the programs under the 2018 Farm Bill and to an increase in eligible farms be-cause of the selling and buy-ing of farms and new oppor-tunities for beginning farmers and military veterans with farms having 10 or fewer base acres.

Enrollment for 2019 ended March 16.

USDA Service Centers, including FSA county of-fices, are open for business by phone only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing.

Nixon Livestock Commission, Inc.

April 27, 2020Volume: 1006

Cows: 194 Bulls: 28Steers

200-300lbs............................... $119-129-145300-400lbs............................... $124-134-158400-500lbs............................... $117-127-146500-600lbs............................... $111-121-137600-700lbs............................... $103-113-127700-800lbs................................. $95-105-114

Heifers200-300lbs. ...........................$124-134-144300-400lbs. ...........................$116-126-145400-500lbs. ...........................$107-117-134500-600lbs. .............................$99-109-200600-700lbs. .............................$90-100-113700-800lbs. ...............................$80-90-108Slaughter Cows .................................$25-75Slaughter Bulls .................................$68-89Stocker Cows ..............................$460-1,100Pairs ............................................$610-1,035

USE TEXT STYLES

We will be closed May 25, 2020for Memorial Day

Sellers: 178 - Buyers: 49

Stay tuned for what’s coming

by Brian D. YantaGoliad County CEA-Ag

Here is what we know. We can have no face-to-face meetings until at least May 20, says our administration with the Texas A&M AgriL-ife Extension Service.

So distance education is going to be our only means for a few more weeks.

We have had one distance education event sponsored by Dr. Megan Clayton our range specialist last month that was well attended.

This in effect for every county in the state. And more information is forth-coming, so please stayed tune.

Which is the subject of this article — how to stayed tuned.

Now for some good news. Our office re-opened on April 30 after a 30 day span of having a skeletal crew working behind a lock door.

So if you have a sample needing identification or diagnosis, we can now take walk-ins. You no longer have to call the office first. As long as we still practice safe social distancing and there are no more than 10 people in the office at one time.

We have several programs in the planning stages and are waiting for further guid-ance from our administra-tion after that May 20 date.

So until we have more in-formation to share and you are just wanting to learn, there are a host of topics at agrilifelearn.tamu.edu. On-line courses covering topics such as Basic Beef Cattle Production, Herd Manage-ment, Beef Quality Assur-ance, Cattle Evaluation, TAMU Horse Judging and more. A lot these courses are free.

Other fee-based programs can be found at agriliferegis-ter.tamu.edu.

But there are a number of other programs planned throughout the state that aren’t listed through the registration site, many offer-ing CEU(s) for your private, non commercial, or com-mercial applicator licenses.

This is a special exemp-tion allowed by the Com-missioner of Agriculture. So where can you register for these programs?

E-newsletterIn my next newsletter I

will be listing several op-portunities. We have com-piled a list of about 140 sub-scribers to my Agricultural Newsletter.

I have asked that any last remaining mailed subscrib-ers sign up for the e-newslet-ter edition. Why, because its cheaper number one, saves the environment, etc.

But it is so much quicker to get the word out.

For instance, due to the change in the program de-livery of the Coastal Bend Ag Symposium, I was able to send an email out say-ing, stay at home and watch it from your computer. I’m not sure how many drove to the fairgrounds that morn-ing wanting a cup of coffee and a donut who did not get that email.

Follow me on Twitter I haven’t tweeted a lot but

I am going to make a point to do so in the future. A lot of good information that can be shared really quickly with a retweet. I’m @brian-yanta

Other ways to get your questions answered are my cell phone and email brian.yanta@ag.tamu.edu if I can help you in anyway please do not hesitate to contact me.

Agriculture retailer celebrates 75 years and three generations

Contributed informationVICTORIA – Victoria Farm Equipment

is proud to announce that 2020 marks the company’s 75th anniversary. Founded by John Stockbauer Sr. in 1945, it has remained a family-owned and operated business for three generations.

The company has maintained its posi-tion as a pivotal player in the Crossroads Ag community and has a reputation for being an honest, customer-focused business well known for their hard work and commitment to excellence in service.

The core values that started with John Stockbauer Sr. were carried on first by his son John Stockbauer Jr. who was well-loved and respected by his family and peers.

Known for his humor and humble de-meanor, he was also one of the founders of The South Texas Farm and Ranch Show which continues to enrich lives in Victoria and the surrounding community each year.

His career at Victoria Farm Equipment was underscored by his dedication to his em-ployees, his customers, his community, and the excellence he demonstrated throughout his time as president of the company.

In the few short years since his passing, Victoria Farm Equipment has continued to operate as a family-owned business and has held true to its promise to provide great new and used farm equipment, parts and service in Victoria.

Now, it is presently operated by the third generation of brothers and a sister in the Stockbauer family, and the company has grown to offer a variety of equipment, in-cluding agricultural tractors, lawn tractors, shredders, hay equipment, and safes.

Victoria Farm Equipment also remains the region’s top dealer of the highest qual-ity brands like New Holland, Husqvarna, Massey Ferguson, Rhino, Kuhn, Modern Ag Products and Liberty Safes.

The secret to the continued success of Vic-toria Farm Equipment and the Stockbauer family is not really a secret at all.

They simply care about the people who live in Victoria and the Crossroads region, and they pour their hearts and energy into providing services that are superior in every way by carrying only the best equipment and supporting the community however and whenever possible.

Victoria Farm Equipment will celebrate their 75th anniversary this year. (Contributed photo)

USDA reports record enrollment in key farm safety-net programs

MySouTex.com • Tuesday, May 5, 2020 • Page 3A

by Landen R. Gulick

Bee County Extension Agent

Let us talk about a subject that no rancher wants to talk about and that is the D word — “drought”. Droughts are common in Texas, and in south and west Texas, there is a good chance that a given drought will last for consecutive years. Because droughts are unavoidable in this part of the world, live-stock managers need to plan for them in order to survive. To establish drought man-agement plan, you must consider some important factors. The key to any plan is to be flexible because it is difficult to predict when, or how long, a drought will last. In this article I will list a few steps to help you with a your already existing plan or will help you develop a plan of you own.

Inventory Your Forage

by Surveying Your

Property

Any well-formed plan be-gins with a survey of your property to determine graz-able areas and how much grazable forage you have available. Balancing forage supplies with the animals’ daily demand for grass, as well as their ever-changing requirements for diet qual-ity. A forage inventory can assist managers in budgeting forage and in making cull-ing decisions. These surveys should be done often at least once a season to stay flexible in your plan and to address problems before they arrive.

Proper Stocking Rate

Proper stocking rates often differ greatly from average carrying capacity. The stocking rate needs to be flexible so that you can adjust animal numbers as circumstances dictate. Prop-erly stocking your property is key to not overgrazing and to avoid putting your-self in a bind later down the road. Over grazing should be avoid due to the negative

long-term effects, I have cre-ated a flow chart illustrat-ing the negative effects this causes.

Developing Your

Drought Management

Plan.

Rebreeding success is de-pendent on being cows be in good condition before and after calving. Cows should have a minimum body con-dition score (BCS) of 5, that is no ribs visible. Consider shorting you heard during drought. At different stages an animal’s nutritional re-quirements are different depending age, breed or open, and lactating or non-lactating. Considerations for sorting

• Dry vs. lactating animals• Growing replacement

females• First-calf heifers• Second-calf heifers• Mature femalesPlace those animals with

the highest nutrient require-ments in the better pastures.

Controlled calving seasons will greatly aid management objectives. They reduce the age variability in calves and allow cows or growing re-

placements to be in similar stages of pro-duction.

Have a

Culling

Protocol in

Your Drought

Management

Plan.

Do not be hesitant to cull during a drought.

Early culling means that remaining forage can be al-located to more valuable an-

imals. Cull the least valu-able animals first,

t h o s e t h a t w i l l n o t

r a i s e an off-

spring in the current year, or that will not

raise one next year, or that are at high risk for rebreeding failure. Try to sell cull cows before they become truly

thin and emaci-ated. There are

usually price discounts

for these kinds of

cows. Make systematic cull-ing decisions. Consideration for culling ranked by order.

1. Dry, open cows not raising offspring

2. Cows palpated open (not pregnant)

3. Animals with structural or production defects

4. Young replacement fe-males (heifers, ewe-lambs, nanny-kids)

5. Cows palpated with short-term pregnancies (short-bred)

6. Older animals with off-spring at side, but with worn teeth

7. Older animals with off-spring at side

8. Thin, quality females, with offspring at side

9. Good condition, mid-aged females (4- to 8-year-old cows, 3- to 5-year-old ewes or nannies)

Summary

Droughts are tough both on the rancher and the live-stock. Hopefully, these ideas will help you with you al-ready existing plan or will help in developing your own. Droughts are scary but they can be survived if you plan for them. Having a well-developed plan will help in making the right de-cisions on your land so you can avoid big problems in future. If you have questions about this article and how to

determine things like graz-able area, available forage, and stocking rate please con-tact me at the Extension of-fice and will show you how to determine those variables. Thanks, and remember the rains will come we will just have plan until they do.

BeevilleLivestock

CommissionSale: 11:00 a.m.

May 1, 2020Volume: 565

Horses 1, Sheep & Goats 39

254 STEERS SOLD 209 HEIFERS SOLD 88 COWS SOLD 14 BULLS SOLD

Hwy 59 East, Beeville, Texas 78104361-358-1727

STEERS: Steady / Good200-300 lbs........$1.35-1.55-1.90300-400 lbs........$1.27-1.47-1.67400-500 lbs........$1.10-1.30-1.52500-600 lbs........$1.00-1.20-1.46600-700 lbs........$0.85-1.05-1.24700-800 lbs........$0.70-0.90-1.05HEIFERS: Steady / Good200-300 lbs........$1.08-1.28-1.40300-400 lbs........$1.07-1.27-1.52400-500 lbs........$0.99-1.19-1.45500-600 lbs........$0.90-1.10-1.27600-700 lbs........$0.72-0.92-1.05700-800 lbs........$0.64-0.84-1.05SLAUGHTER COWS: ...$0.28 -0.63SLAUGHTER BULLS: $0.47 -0.84STOCKER COWS: ... $0.55-0.93BRED COWS: ..........$600 - $1025PAIRS:......................$605 - $1235HORSES: .................... $150-$360

Sellers: 58 Buyers: 41

Drought management on Texas rangelands

Droughts are tough both on the

rancher and the livestock. Because

droughts are unavoidable in this

part of the world, livestock manag-

ers need to plan for them in order

to survive. (Contributed photo)

by Kay LedbetterAg Extension Service

Returning to work after six weeks under the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown can cause differing amounts of emotions – disbelief, fear and even anger – among workers, much like after a disaster.

But employers and cowork-ers alike can watch for signs of emotional impact over the coming weeks and months, to ensure everyone is find-ing their way back to a new normal, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist.

When states, cities and workplaces begin reopening, COVID-19 won’t be gone, nor will the concerns that sur-round it, said Miquela Smith, AgriLife Extension health spe-cialist, Amarillo.

Some workers will gladly head back to their offices and places of business, while oth-ers will do so with trepidation,

Smith said.

Returning to workMany Americans with

management and professional occupations will be able to continue working from home, while those with service, pro-duction and maintenance-related jobs will have to physi-cally return to work, she said. Employees who can continue to work from home will inher-

ently be at a lower risk of ex-posure to the virus compared to those who cannot.

This will disproportionately affect Americans with lower education levels because they are less likely to occupy profes-sional and management posi-tions that might allow them to work from home, Smith said.

“Minimizing employees’ potential exposure to COV-

ID-19 must be a top priority,” she said. “The CDC offers resources on their website for businesses and employers to help them prepare to safely reopen. Reopening businesses will come with challenges and people will respond differently to being back at work.”

Some people may have lost loved ones or know someone who got sick, so it will hit close to home, Smith said.

Others may have anxiety about returning to work safely; or about finding safe daycare for their children, who are not returning to school. Others will be tired of being at home and will welcome the opportu-nity to go about life as if noth-ing is happening.

“Each of our lives have been altered and directly im-pacted by this crisis,” she said. “Crisis situations affect people differently and just because a person is not responding to the pandemic in the way you think they should, does not mean they are unaffected.

“Returning to work after a pandemic is new territory for all of us, and we must have patience with ourselves and others while we navigate the process.”

Emotional stress and well-being

Employers and co-workers should watch for signs of emo-tional impact over the com-ing weeks and months. Signs

someone may be struggling in their return to the workplace include changes in perfor-mance and productivity, such as missing deadlines, calling in sick frequently, absenteeism, irritability and anger, difficulty concentrating and making de-cisions, withdrawal from work activity, and difficulty with work transitions or changes in routines.

Smith suggested employers will need to educate supervi-sors and managers to be aware of the signs of emotional distress, and to encourage staff to seek treatment when necessary. One program that is offered by AgriLife Exten-sion, Mental Health First Aid, teaches these exact skills. That program is in the process of being modified so it may be offered on a fully virtual plat-form soon.

“While each business will dictate how they come back online and what will be ex-pected of their employees, it is important to remind them that support among colleagues can help employees work through difficulties,” she said.

Initially, it may also be im-portant to reconsider travel needs, as employees, clients and other individuals may be hesitant to make business trips for some time. Consider post-poning or canceling upcoming conferences and other meet-ings that require travel.

Page 4A • Tuesday, May 5, 2020 • MySouTex.com

Texas Farm Bureau offers educational resources, fun ag-tivities for kidsContributed information

Social distancing, working from home and online classes are the “new normal,” with families look-ing for activities to fill the hours and help with hands-on learning.

And empty grocery store shelves and grocery item limits have people thinking differently about where food comes from.

“This is a little bit of a wake-up call for some of us,” Murray Ru-dolph, Karnes County Farm Bu-reau president said. “We’re used to filling up our basket with what-ever we want, but the pandemic has caused some changes at the grocery

store. It has folks realizing that food doesn’t just appear on the grocery store shelves, so people are looking to connect with farmers and ranch-ers and learn more about the pro-cess.”

Texas Farm Bureau has many resources for families to learn more about agriculture. In addition to gaining a better understanding of where and how food and fiber is grown, kids can engage in virtual lessons, cooking activity videos, recipes and more fun.

“We have some wonderful re-sources for people of all ages,” Ru-

dolph said. “There are Ag in the Classroom lessons, virtual farm tours, kids’ cooking videos, recipes and all types of information for families to learn more about our food and modern agriculture.”

Lessons on beef cattle, corn, cotton, dairy and more are avail-able. Kids can learn how cows make milk, see different beef cattle breeds, discover some of the 4,200 uses for corn and take a guided tour of a South Texas farm to learn how science is part of agriculture.

TFB also has an extensive video library featuring Texas farmers and

ranchers, as well as an Ag in the Classroom video series with recipes for kids that can help connect crops in the field to food on the plate.

There is also an online blog, Tex-as Table Top, where tasty Texas and homestyle recipes can be found, along with articles about food label-ing, food safety and more.

“There are a lot of places to go to for information, but TFB ensures you’re getting factual, correct infor-mation on food and fiber directly from those of us who grow it,” Ru-dolph said. “The lessons are created to make learning about agriculture

fun for the kids, so it’s just a great way to spend an afternoon togeth-er. I really encourage people to go check it out.”

For Ag in the Classroom les-sons, including guided activities and worksheets, visit https://texas-farmbureau.org/youth/ag-in-the-classroom/.

For videos, visit TFB’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/texasfarmbureau.

Recipes, information about food and other topics can be found at http://tabletop.texasfarmbureau.org/.

Cattle raisers applaud COVID-19 relief actFORT WORTH — Robert McKnight

Jr., president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), praised Congressional passage of the Paycheck Pro-tection Program Increase Act of 2020.

“I applaud everyone within the Trump ad-ministration and Congress for continuing to address the needs of cattle producers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s passage of the Paycheck Protection Program Increase Act

will not only replenish funds for the Paycheck Protection Program, but will also allow agri-cultural producers to access the Economic In-jury Disaster Loan Program for the first time,” he said.

“Access to these low-interest, forgivable loan programs are vital for many cow-calf pro-ducers trying to maintain their operations dur-ing the crisis and will help ensure consumers continue to get the beef they demand.”

AgriLife Extension offers tips for alleviating concerns, stresses as businesses open

Returning to work may include wearing a face mask while in the office. Anyone with a sick family member should inform their supervisor. (Contributed photo)

PACKER BULLS

ALL WEIGHTS .............................. 80-93

PACKER COWS

Canners & Cutters ........................... 45-65

Poor & Weak ................................... 20-50

PALPATED

8 Bred .............................................. 72-90

PAIRS

12 Pairs ...................................... 800-1200

STEER CALVES (AVG-HIGH)

Under 200 lbs .............................. 160-170

200-249 lbs .................................. 134-175

250-299 lbs .................................. 144-180

300-350 lbs .................................. 149-170

350-400 lbs .................................. 137-155

400-450 lbs .................................. 124-155

450-500 lbs .................................. 130-154

500-550 lbs .................................. 122-141

550-600 lbs .................................. 119-129

600-700 lbs .................................. 114-126

700-800 lbs .................................. 109-116

BULL CALVES (AVG- HIGH)

Under 250 lbs .............................. 146-174

250-300 lbs .................................. 148-180

300-350 lbs .................................. 143-166

350-400 lbs .................................. 137-157

400-450 lbs .................................. 130-154

450-500 lbs .................................. 120-156

500-550 lbs .................................. 121-145

550-600 lbs .................................. 111-124

600-700 lbs .................................. 110-120

Over 700 lbs .................................. 99-119

HEIFERS CALVES (AVG-HIGH)

Under 200 lbs .............................. 154-180

200-250 lbs .................................. 137-170

250-300 lbs .................................. 128-144

300-350 lbs .................................. 123-142

350-400 lbs .................................. 121-143

400-450 lbs .................................. 115-132

450-500 lbs .................................. 115-149

500-550 lbs .................................. 112-129

550-600 lbs .................................. 109-129

600-700 lbs .................................. 102-116

Over 700 lbs .................................. 95-110

Monday, May 1, 2020Cattle: 1239

USE THE TEXT STYLES ON TEXT ALWAYS

Consignors: 227 Buyers: 53 SALES EVERY FRIDAY @ 10 AM