Business

COLLEGE STATION—“A feverish demand for land, accompanied by a dearth of listings for sale, propelled Texas prices up a remarkable 16.29 percent in the second quarter,” says Dr. Charles Gilliland, a land expert for the Texas Real Estate Research Center (TRERC) at Texas A&M University.

A warm welcome is extended to Madison Campbell who has been hired as an assistant family and community health agent for Hemphill County. She is a native of New Braunfels and a recent graduate of Texas Tech University, with a degree in animal science. Hemphill County was selected by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service as a training site for new Extension agents. This site selection was based on current productivity, results of programing, and the experience of our Hemphill County Extension agents, Tanya and Andy Holloway. Campbell’s position is being funded by the state through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Her primary training focus will be on 4-H and adult, family, and community health programming. Campbell will be in training for a period of six months to two years, as she prepares to go into a county as a full-time agent. “I am extremely excited and blessed to be the new assistant Extension agent in Hemphill County,” she said. “I look forward to serving and working with this community.”

AUSTIN—Crude oil and natural gas production as reported to the Railroad Commission of Texas for April 2021 came from 166,794 oil wells and 85,647 gas wells. The RRC reports that from May 2020 to April 2021, total Texas reported production was 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil and 10.0 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.

WASHINGTON—More than $1 billion in payments will be released over the next several weeks, starting June 15, for agricultural producers with approved applications for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) program and for producers who have already received payments through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). These U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs provide disaster assistance to producers who suffered losses to 2018 and 2019 natural disasters.

The Generation Next: Our Turn to Ranch online course is now open for registration. The 12-week program, offered by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, runs from Aug. 16-Nov. 7. The program cost is $300, and it is limited to the first 100 registrants. Participants should register as soon as possible at http://bit.ly/OurTurntoRanch. “Not everyone who becomes a landowner in Texas is immersed in its history or involved in agriculture production,” said Megan Clayton, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist, Corpus Christi. “We’ve developed this Generation Next curriculum with the understanding that land throughout Texas is changing hands all the time.” She said the program targets new landowners, those who are inheriting land, or those who are looking to start a new agricultural operation on an existing ranch.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced this week he will send cities, counties, transit systems, and special-purpose taxing districts $907.6 million in local sales tax allocations for June, 31.5 percent more than in June 2020. These allocations are based on sales made in April by businesses that report tax monthly.

AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 631 original drilling permits in May 2021, compared to 251 in May 2020. The May 2021 total includes 551 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, three to re-enter plugged well bores, and 75 for recompletions of existing well bores.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar this week said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.4 billion in May, the highest-ever monthly total and 30.1 percent more than in May 2020. As with April’s results, year-over-year increases for most tax revenues this month and in the coming months will be among the highest in the history of the data series.

The cyberattack that temporarily crippled JBS, the nation’s top beef processor, came a week and a half after University of Minnesota security analysts warned the Agriculture Department that ransomware could hurt the U.S. food supply more than the coronavirus pandemic has. Experts have been warning about the threat for years, but they have gained little traction.

As part of our summer AgriLife Extension programming, Hemphill County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension has arranged for Steve Keith with Canyon-based Express Scale Company to do ranch scale certifications. This service is provided to ensure that our area ranchers’ scales are up to date and legal to sell cattle by the weight, if needed.