Business

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced today that he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $1.07 billion in local sales tax allocations for November—20.6 percent more than in November 2020.

AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 768 original drilling permits in October 2021, compared to 395 in October 2020, including 689 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, 10 to re-enter plugged wellbores, and 60 for recompletions of existing wellbores. The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in October 2021 is 174 oil, 69 gas, 479 oil or gas, 39 injection, and seven other permits. In the Panhandle area, the RRC issued 12 permits to drill new oil/gas holes, and received reports for four oil completions and three gas completions. During the month, RRC staff processed 597 oil, 95 gas, and 341 injection completions for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions, compared to 777 oil, 196 gas, and 119 injection completions in October 2020. Total well completions processed year-to-date for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions are 7,980 compared to 12,901 recorded during the same period in 2020. Detailed data on drilling permits and well completions for the month can be found at https://www.rrc.texas.gov

The Hemphill County NRCS has hired southern New Mexico native Hailey Frost to serve as the new biologist for the Canadian field office. Originally from southern New Mexico, Frost received her Bachelor of Science in biology in May of 2021 from New Mexico State University, where she was an avid member of the student chapters of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society.

Livestock Producers: Monitor forage for hazardous conditions In an email sent early this week, Hemphill County Extension Agent Andy Holloway warned area ag producers that, with the potential this week for a killing freeze, they should be particularly aware that any sorghum plant—like Johnsongrass, sorghum-sudangrass, or any type of sorghum hay grazer—has the strong potential to present either cyanide or prussic acid poisoning to your cattle. “We recommend getting your cattle off any area that might have these type of plants for at least 14 days following a hard freeze,” Holloway said.

The Texas Railroad Commissioner is reporting August 2021 crude oil and natural gas production, which came from 163,332 oil wells and 86,329 gas wells. The RRC reports that from Sept. 2020 to Aug. 2021, total Texas reported production was 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil (not including condensate, which is reported separately) and 10.2 trillion cubic feet of total gas. Preliminary reported volume for crude oil was 111,620,063 bbls, compared to the updated total volume of 122,013,767 bbls in August 2020. Preliminary volume for natural gas was 822,692,289 mcf, compared to 883,110,237 Mcf in August 2020. Preliminary figures are based on production volumes reported by operators and will be updated as late and corrected production reports are received.

Wheat acres are expected to increase in Texas, but dry, warm conditions are delaying many plantings for now, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. Texas producers are expected to follow national projections and plant more wheat this season, said Fernando Guillen, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension statewide wheat specialist, Bryan-College Station.

AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 801 original drilling permits in September 2021 compared to 437 in September 2020. The total includes 714 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, four to re-enter plugged wellbores, and 77 for recompletions of existing wellbores. The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in September 2021 is 179 oil, 77 gas, 502 oil or gas, 38 injection, and five other permits. In September 2021, the RRC processed 581 oil, 158 gas, and 265 injection completions for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions, compared to 902 oil, 147 gas, and 119 injection completions in September 2020. Total well completions processed for 2021 yearto-date for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions are 7,016 compared to 11,917 during the same period in 2020. In the Panhandle, the RRC processed 21 permits to drill new oil/gas holes, and received reports of seven new oil completions and two new gas completions.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently seeking applicants for collegiate student internships across Texas. Student trainee positions include soil conservationists, rangeland management specialists, and engineers.

USDA expands local, electronic communication options TEMPLE—Agricultural producers in Texas can now sign up to receive free email and text messages directly from their local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) service center for information related to loans, farm disaster assistance, conservation programs, crop insurance, and other USDA programs.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced today he will send cities, counties, transit systems, and specialpurpose taxing districts $906.6 million in local sales tax allocations for October, 20.6 percent more than in October 2020. These allocations are based on sales made in August by businesses that report tax monthly.