Business

AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 687 original drilling permits in August 2021 compared to 451 in August 2020. The August 2021 total includes 613 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, 10 to re-enter plugged well bores, and 58 for re-completions of existing well bores.

AMARILLO—The Amarillo-area beef community presented a check for $105,500 to the Snack Pak 4 Kids (SP4K) Beef Stik program. The money will provide beef sticks to hungry students through the Snack Pak weekend hunger program. The check was presented at the 3rd Annual Beef 4 Kids Classic golf tournament.

AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission received reports of crude oil and natural gas production from 166,923 oil wells and 85,439 gas wells in June. From July 2020 to June 2021, total Texas reported production was 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil and 10.1 trillion cubic feet of total gas. Crude oil production reported by the RRC is limited to oil produced from oil leases and does not include condensate, which is reported separately by the RRC. For additional oil- and gas-production statistics, visit the RRC’s website at https://www.rrc.texas.gov/oiland-gas/research-and-statistics/production-data/texas-monthly-oil-gas-production/.

A mini-ag conference, How to Enhance Profit from Ranch to Rail, will be conducted on Tuesday, Sept. 14 by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Hemphill County on the West Texas A&M University campus in Canyon.

Agricultural land values in the U.S. are increasing at a rate not seen in nearly a decade.

“Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation’s farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem,” Gant Schulte and David Pitt report for The Associated Press. “The census data released last week showed that population gains in many rural areas were driven by increases in Hispanic and Latino residents, many of whom come as immigrants to work on farms or in meatpacking plants or to start their own businesses.”

PAMPA—Zachary Mayer, P.E., has been named as the new area engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Pampa area office, effective Aug. 9.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.39 billion in July, 13.5 percent more than in July 2020. The majority of July sales tax revenue is based on sales made in June and remitted to the agency in July.

The Panhandle District QuickBooks Pro Desktop Short Courses by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be on Aug. 25 in Amarillo and Sept. 8 in Lubbock. The one-day trainings will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the respective Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Centers, located at 6500 W. Amarillo Blvd. in Amarillo and 1102 E. Drew St. north of Lubbock. “COVID prevented us from holding any live classes last summer, so these are the first inperson QuickBooks workshops our agency has scheduled in two years,” said DeDe Jones, AgriLife Extension risk management specialist, Amarillo. “We are limiting each session to 12 participants because we want each attendee to be in front of a computer,” Jones said. “If the class fills up, then we will add additional classes on Aug. 26 and Sept. 9.” Registration is $75 and includes computer use and teaching materials. Couples are encouraged to attend and will be charged only one registration fee if they share a computer. Those planning to attend should RSVP by Aug. 20 for Amarillo and by Sept. 3 for Lubbock. Payment is due upon arrival on the first day of the course. For more information or to RSVP for either location, contact Lacrecia Garza at 806.677.5625 or dljones@ag.tamu.edu.

ALBUQUERQUE—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is extending the deadline for public comment on the proposal to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The extension notice is expected to publish in the Federal Register on July 30, and will extend the public comment period by 30 days. The new deadline for public comment on this proposal is Sept. 1.