2016 Texas Custom Rates Survey is Open

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Department of Agricultural Economics is conducting the 2016 Texas Custom Rates Survey.

Each year our offices receive many requests for current custom rate information and the latest Custom Rates Publication.  The survey and publication are the only source to find the going rates paid for these types of services.  Questions in the survey include rates paid/charged for specific tillage, planting, application, harvesting, and other services or operations performed on a custom basis.

If you have knowledge of rates in your area, and appreciate the value of publishing this type of market information, please consider participating in the survey which can be found online at:  http://agecoext.tamu.edu/crs2016

The survey will ask that you only complete the questions that pertain to your operation, therefore most people should be able to complete the survey in 10-15 minutes or less.  The survey will be open from February through mid-April.  Your participation will help make sure the published information is the most accurate and reliable possible.  If you have any questions regarding the survey please contact Dr. Steven Klose (sklose@tamu.edu).

AgriLife Extension offers online wild pig distance education courses

Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Mark Tyson, 979-845-4698, mark.tyson@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is offering an online wild pig management course for landowners, land managers and others seeking information on feral swine.

Mark Tyson, AgriLife Extension wildlife associate at College Station, said the course is divided into five modules, which are split into three main areas of study— two providing continuing education units and one informational course designed for the general public. All are narrated by members of the Feral Hog Community of Practice, a group delivering information through a national effort called eXtension.

The three areas of study are:
– Wild Pig Management for Texas Pesticide Applicators, http://bit.ly/1nE9Esp. Cost is $45. This was developed for Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicators and offers two continuing education units – one general and one integrated pest management.
– Understanding Wild Pig History and Biology Continuing Education for Professionals, http://bit.ly/1Nq6EVi. Cost is $70. This provides three category one contact hours for the Wildlife Society, 2.5 continuing education units for the Society for Range Management and 2.5 hours of category two Society for American Foresters continuing education credits.
– Understanding Wild Pig History and Biology, a course for the general public, http://bit.ly/20jygoc

Cost is $20. This targets anyone seeking to increase their knowledge of wild pigs.

“I am excited about these distance education courses because they offer a new way of providing continuing education units to a diverse audience, around the clock whenever the user wants to participate,” Tyson said. “Topics cover history, biology, disease concerns, laws and regulations and the management of wild pigs which provide a greater understanding of their impacts on humans, livestock and the environment.”

For more information, contact Tyson at 979-845-4698, mark.tyson@tamu.edu.

Hunt County Hay Show - Get your Tickets

Producers Must Renew Tx Ag and Timber Sales Tax Exemption Number by December 31

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts administers the Texas Agricultural and Timber Sales Tax Exemption program, which allows registered agriculture producers to buy certain items without paying sales tax. In accordance with state law, agriculture and timber registration numbers issued by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts must now be renewed every four years. Current registrations are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2015.

In order for agriculture producers to continue claiming their sales tax exemption after Jan. 1, 2016, they must renew their current number with the Texas Comptroller.


Everyone who currently holds a registration number should receive information by mail for renewal.  

The following link contains the renewal information http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/agriculture/renewNumber.html . 

For more information on the Ag and Timber number and renewal visit http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/agriculture/ . 

Information on how to get a number if you do not have one can be found at:   http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/taxpubs/ag_timber_exemption.html .