Texas Grazing Land Coalition

06/27/2026

06/25/2026

A new statewide alert system is now available for Texans to receive notifications on agricultural threats, wildlife diseases, invasive pests and quarantine actions.

This new agricultural alert system is a joint effort between AgriLife Extension, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Learn more and sign up to receive updates with the new alert system at: tx.ag/AgAlertSystem

06/16/2026

Tuesday observations 👀👀

Saw some dung beetle action all over the Taylor Ranch in Hartley County last week after recent rains. Soils are very sandy and this caught my eye 👀 because it is different looking than any I had ever observed. Recent rains have awakened the critters! Exciting stuff!

Post pictures of your dung beetle activity in the comments! I know some of you have pics on your phones!

06/12/2026

One of TXGLC's goals is educating youth. Hands on experience is the best teacher!

06/11/2026

06/08/2026

👀Monday Observations👀

What could be going on here? This is in the Northwest Texas Panhandle and illustrates several things.

SOIL HEALTH. Soil surveys are amazing maps but they cannot capture what they call "inclusions." The mapped soil here is Viggo-Dallam fine sandy loam 3-8% slopes. The small inclusions as pictured above (there are larger areas of these inclusions throughout as well) are a loam, possibly Spurlock loam.

You do not need to know the soil names to understand what happens here. The loam/clay loam soils support blue grama (you do NEED to know or find out the plant names!). Blue grama is the lobster tail and the creme brulee on the plant buffet. Selected first by cattle. Every time. More often than even the tall grasses on the sandy sites.

These inclusions are the KEY grazing sites. (Not everywhere, but here!) The places to watch to determine when the cattle need to move along to another pasture and give those blue grama plants time to recover. These inclusions are scattered all over this 30,000 acre ranch. Thousands of them. Many suffer from WAY too much grazing pressure in the past and are slowly recovering. They were grazed so hard that the roots became diminished to the point where, in a drought year, especially a year like 2011, the plants die.

Side note: I have had ranchers tell me the '11 drought was so bad it killed their grass. No, sir, you abused the grass so long and so hard, it did not have the resilience to withstand the drought. That's on you buddy! Not the weather!

This blue grama pictured here is as healthy as they come. Long leaves. Healthy seedheads. Why the erosion?

The loamy fine sand simply blew away and the roots of the healthy blue grama held the loam soil in place. Further adding to the equation is the SW facing slope...prevailing winds are out of the SW and the near absence of grazing pressure due to remoteness and distance from water.

The scenario left us with this little island of lovely blue grana, just holding the world together.

Observing and understanding what is happening and WHY on your landscape will help to plan grazing strategies, infrastructure needs, etc. rather than spending money on "solutions." Throwing things at the wall to see what sticks is a big waste of time and money.

Principles B4 Practices. Understand your soil heath and grazing management before you select practices. Which all leads to profitability, stability for producers, families, rural communities.

It all starts with the soil. If grazing management was easy, we'd call it rocket science!

06/08/2026

Northeast TXGLC members, Julie Mattox and Karl and Kelli Ebel are doing a pasture walk.....on the Serengeti in Tanzania! They were curious to see Bermudagrass in its native habitat! They report that studying plants is tricky because they cannot even get out of the vehicles as the lions, cheetahs etc are so close....only a few feet away! The lions in the pic were on the beach at sunset!

06/04/2026

Better grazing starts with management. Learn the Foundations Directly from Him. Most graziers don’t need more inputs. They need better management.

05/30/2026

🌱 Range Management Seminar – Christoval, TX

Join Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for a hands‑on seminar focused on practical tools and current issues in rangeland and pasture management. Topics include targeted grazing for wildfire mitigation, IPM updates, virtual fencing, drones in agriculture, and NRCS programs.

✅ Lunch provided
✅ 3 CEUs available (IPM & General)
📅 June 12, 2026
📍 Christoval Community Center
👉 Call to RSVP: 325‑659‑6522
📣 Share this with producers, land managers, and applicators who would benefit from this training.

05/29/2026

RSVPs close TODAY! Those in the Edwards Plateau area, consider making the trip for this really valuable workshop! We'll be talking about tried and true principles, but also hear from those on the cutting edge of technology in the industry. We hope to see you in Roosevelt on June 5!