What Do Things Cost?

I ran onto this article from Bob Sakata, who is the National Onion Association President and I enjoyed it so much I want to share some of the details with you and let you make some comparisons on what things cost now versus 50 years ago.
A 40 hp IHM cost $2,400 50 years ago or $60 per hp. Today a 40 hp John Deere costs about $46,000 or $1,150 per hp. The multiplier would be 19 or 19 times $1,150 equals $46,000. Minimum wage was 30 cents per hour 50 years ago and today it is $5.15 and moving higher. The multiplier would be 17. A pickup truck 50 years ago was $750, today $12,000 or even higher with a multiplier of 22. Onion seed $4.50 per pound, today $100 and the multiplier would be 22. Land was $200 per acre while today good land for onions would be $4,000. The multiplier would be 20. 50 years ago a bag of onions was 75¢ per bag. Take the multiplier of say 19 times 75¢ that would equal $14.25 per bag at today’s prices and unfortunately for onion producers they are not anywhere near that price.
Okay that sounds well and good but we don’t grow onions around here. What about the crops we grow. I just happen to have a book called Texas Historical Crops Statistics and it has prices back to 1909 on many crops but I will just use 1950's data to get close to onions.
In 1950 corn brought $1.26 per bushel and that times 19 would equal $23.94. Hay in 1950 brought $21.70 per ton which would equal $412 per ton today. Peanuts brought $206 per ton in 1950 times 19 would equal $3,914 today. Pecans were 26¢ a pound in 1950 and today they should bring $4.94 a pound but they only bring $2. Wheat was $1.96 per bushel fifty years ago and today it should bring $37.24/bu.
Now I know that this theory can be shot full of holes because things are different now, farmers are more efficient. Every time a new more efficient variety or machine or practice came along farmers implemented it and as a result they made more crops or had better livestock. This in turn produced more “units” so that the price went down. Farmers have in essence produced more than we need and the government has promoted a policy of cheap food. All these new innovations have caused farmers to get bigger and bigger until we now have less than 1% of our population involved in full time agriculture. Along with this increase in size and decrease in numbers, we have folks who want to shut down the “factory farm” which is what they call these large, efficient farms. The very thing that drove farmers to be larger (the drop in the cost of onions or wheat or hay or milk to the consumer) is the thing none of the consumers could stand to see change. How much would bread cost if wheat was $37 per bushel versus $3.
Bob Sakata puts it best when he says “the major concern today is whether additional efficiencies can be found in agriculture to offset continuing cost or expense increases.” He worries that agriculture may have reached the “road of no return”, since increased efficiency is harder and harder to come by.
Well let me finish by saying that Bob Sakata may have put in print what you can hear from any farmer in this county. Just stop one and ask and then be prepared to stay awhile.

Pomegranate Fruit Variety Trial

In our heavy, high pH but highly fertile blackland soils we struggle to find fruits that can be grown and are productive. Pomegranates are one of those fruits that have become very popular over that last few years. They are nutritious, healthy, loaded with antioxidants, and really easy to grow. They seem to love our soils and except for the possibility of hard freezes killing young trees they seem to do very well in our area. I have found lots of old pomegranate trees around older homes and homesites and the trees are doing great. I don’t have a clue what variety they are but they are surviving and producing fruit, which is quite an accomplishment considering the abuse they are getting.
A couple of years ago Dr. Larry Stein and Jim Kamas, Extension Horticulturalists, established a pomegranate variety trial in Fredericksburg and in Uvalde. This winter I have taken cuttings of the 10 most productive and cold tolerant varieties to plant here in Williamson County. It is my hope to grow these in two locations and eventually to evaluate fruit production and quality. The 10 varieties are listed below, some like wonderful you might recognize but others are fairly new to Texas. I will keep you up to date on progress and if all goes well we may have Extension AgriLife Pomegranate recommendations for Williamson County.
Ambrosia
Surh-anor
Spanish Sweet
Utah Sweet
Purple Heart
Wonderful
Kazake
Salavatski
Karakalinski
Al-Sirin-nar

Williamson County Soil Test Results

From 2008-09 there were 573 soil samples submitted to the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Soils Lab in College Station. Dr. Tony Provin is the Extension Soil Chemist and Soils Lab Director and he sends me the combined results of those soil samples every year so that I can see any trends. I love to use these for folks so that they have a general idea of what to expect and also they can compare their individual results with the county averages. Dr. Provin sends me results on all the nutrients but I am only discussing the ones that make the most difference.
First on the list is pH which is a measure of the alkalinity or acidity of a soil. This affects how plants grow because it affects nutrient uptake. We can’t grow some plants here simply because our soil pH is too high. Of 573 samples, 445 samples ranged from 7.1 - 8.2 pH. 56 were below 7.0 or slightly acidic and 72 samples were above 8.2 or moderately alkaline. At 8.2 you can really see iron chlorosis problems show up in plants.
Nitrogen is used in large quantities by plants and it what really makes plants grow and look green. So we need lots of nitrogen and most soils in our area are low or should be. Some samples are high which means that growers are probably over-fertilizing and not soil testing before applying fertilizer. Of all the samples 312 were below 10 ppm, which means 20 lbs per acre of nitrogen. 121 samples were 11-20 ppm and 140 samples were above 20 ppm which is very high. The highest sample was 1047 ppm which is unbelievable.
Phosphorus results were a lot more scattered in results. 50 ppm is considered the critical value above which you would not need to apply any phosphorus. Values less than 50 would mean an application but still you wouldn’t need to add a lot. 173 samples had less than 10 ppm, 101 samples were between 11 ppm and 20 ppm, 134 between 21 and 50, 165 greater than 50 ppm. In our high pH soils when you start to get higher phosphorus levels you can really see problems with iron chlorosis in plants. Fortunately fertilizer companies are starting to see the problem in Texas and selling fertilizers with little or no phosphorus for homeowners.
Basically of the 573 samples we don’t have a potassium shortage! 466 samples had more than 175 ppm which is the critical value for potassium. This means that no potassium is needed and probably won’t be needed for a long time.
Lastly I have included calcium. Calcium is one of those nutrients we have an abundance of in our soils. That is not hard to understand when you think about all the limestone (calcium carbonate) that is in and under our soils. One of the largest limestone mines is in our county so finding calcium is not too hard! Of all 573 samples565 had more than 3000 ppm. So don’t add any limestone or gypsum to these soils, you are only wasting your money.

Native and Improved Pasture Seminar Set

The Extension Livestock and Range Committee in Williamson County has planned an excellent seminar for native range and improved grass producers in the area. There is not a single livestock producer that doesn’t want to be able to graze more animal units on their pastures without hurting long term forage growth. Knowing how to properly manage native rangeland or better utilizing improved pasture grasses is the goal of every livestock producer and this seminar will answer many the questions producers have. The goal of the committee is to answer producers questions like, should I plant range grasses or bermudagrass?, should I rotate my pastures and when?, what is the best grass to plant?, should I fertilize?, and more.

The Native and Improved Pasture Seminar is to be held Thursday, February 18 at the St. Cyril & Methodious Hall in Granger. Registration and Meal will start at 5:30 PM and the program at 6:00 PM. There will be two (2) General Pesticide CEU's offered. Speakers will include Dr. Bob Lyons on Native Pasture Management, Dr. Larry Redmon on Improved Pasture Management and Ron Leps on Pasture Management in Williamson County. Cost is $5 at the door and participants must preregister by email rwhitney@ag.tamu.edu or by phone 512/943-3300.

The program will begin with Dr. Robert Lyons, Extension Range Specialist - Uvalde, an expert in native range grasses and grazing systems. Dr. Lyons will discuss rangeland grazing systems, determining your forage base, protecting your forages from overgrazing, and newer selections of range grasses for seeding. Dr. Lyons will focus on properly managing the fragile ecosystem we have on our native ranges while increasing their productivity with livestock and wildlife management.

Following Dr. Lyons will be Dr. Larry Redmon, State Extension Forage Specialist - College Station. Dr. Redmon is an expert in improved forage production, specifically bermudagrasses. Dr. Redmon was formally at the Overton Research and Extension Center where he did work in bermudagrass variety evaluation, grazing management of improved forages, overseeding bermudagrass, and fertility and weed control of improved pastures. Dr. Redmon will focus on improved pasture programs that will help livestock producers improve quality and quantity to maximize livestock return. He will also discuss some brand new weed control options with preemerge chemicals.

Last on the program is Ron Leps, Retired Williamson County Extension Agent. Mr. Leps has extensive experience with managing pastures in this area and he will relate some of his experiences to producers. Ron will help producers know what works in the area but more importantly what doesn’t work.

Make plans to attend the Native and Improved Pasture Seminar, Thursday, February 18 at the Hall in Granger. Sponsors are Williamson County Grain Inc. in Taylor, Dow AgroSciences, BASF Crop Protection, and Capital Farm Credit in Taylor.

Feral Hog Seminar Offered January 14

There is probably no animal in Texas that has had more publicity than the Feral Hog. Certainly in this area of Texas it has been the year for problems with all wildlife and feral hogs top the list. This animal has wrecked havoc with farmers and ranchers for years but as they have grown in numbers they have moved into neighborhoods and are now the newest “bad boy” on the block. Most people just want them gone but that is not possible. Management is the only choice and that begins with an understanding of this very adaptable creature.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service of Williamson County and the Little River-San Gabriel Soil and Water Conservation District will sponsor a Feral Hog Management Seminar, Thursday, January 14, 2010 at the St. Cyril & Methodious Hall in Granger, Texas. Registration is $5 per person and includes an evening meal and program handouts. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the program beginning at 6 p.m. Program topics include feral hog biology and population dynamics, laws and regulations for hunting feral hogs, agricultural regulations for feral hogs, methods of controlling hogs including trapping, use of dogs and loading feral hogs. 2 hours of CEU credits will be offered (1.0 in Laws & Regulations and one in General) to private, commercial and non-commercial pesticide applicators.
Speakers include Dr. Jim Cathey, Extension Wildlife Specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Jacob Hetzel, Wildlife Biologist with Texas Wildlife Services.
To get a proper meal count you must preregister by calling the Little River-San Gabriel Soil and Water Conservation District office at 254-527-3271.