Agriculture

This week, Lubbock County commissioners approved a budget plan, including $1.4 million cut for the Sheriff’s Department and $250,000 cut for volunteer firefighters. New World Screwworm was detected in a city in Mexico less than 70 miles from the border with Texas. Marian Navarro with Texas Public Radio reports the case was detected in the early larval stage.

With autumn on the way, our reporter Mia Shephard has more on how to get involved with one of Lubbock’s favorite fall festivities. The annual Pumpkin Trail will be October 16th and the city is calling for sponsors and volunteers. For more information, contact Ruth Perkins by calling 806-775-2670 or at ruthperkins@mylubbock.us. Starting today, livestock producers affected by wildfires or floods can apply for disaster relief through the USDA's Emergency Livestock Relief Program. You can find more information at fsa.usda.gov/elrp.

Beef prices have hit record highs, yet American consumers haven't stopped buying it. A look at what's behind the steep price increase and when they might come down.

HB 1592 creates a statewide alert system for risks to wildlife and crops.

The West Texas measles outbreak has been declared over, after eight months and 762 connected cases in the state. However, our Samantha Larned says Lubbock’s Public Health is still hard at work, helping other communities prepare for these kinds of emergencies. A West Texas federal judge has reversed protection for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Texas Public Radio's Brian Kirkpatrick reports the state agriculture commissioner is praising the decision.

Farmers who were promised funding through the federal Regional Food Business Centers have been left in limbo after the Trump administration shut down the program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will honor grants the program already approved, but it's unclear when.

Lubbock’s city council is moving ahead quickly with a second vote on changes to the city’s roadway impact fee rates. Last week the council passed a motion decreasing the percent paid by developers to zero. The second reading is listed in the agenda for a special meeting of the city council to take place tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Citizens Tower. The Texas Standard’s Michael Marks reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to make major investments to fight a flesh-eating pest that threatens Texas livestock.

Quail populations across Texas have been plummeting for decades. But now, a Texas Tech researcher and his team may have turned that trend around with the invention of a medicated wildlife feed that’s been approved by the FDA and is now commercially available.

In Texas, cotton is king. But what happens if farmers can no longer come back from financial blows?

Trump’s rollback is another example of the federal government’s lackluster efforts at giving Black farmers a boost in recent years.