Texas State Small Producers Initiative to host 2026 Grazing School: Building Resilience

 SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State University’s Small Producers Initiative (SPI) will host its annual Grazing School for ranchers of all experience levels who are interested in improving skills in regenerative ranching. The three-day event, “Building Resilience,” will take place on campus and at local ranches July 31–Aug. 2.

The Grazing School is a unique educational offering that brings together the three leading organizations in regenerative agriculture education nationally: Holistic Management International (HMI), Understanding Agriculture, and the Noble Research Institute. The three organizations will collectively provide instruction at the workshop. Each is renowned for their dedication to supporting producers in building resilient, profitable agricultural enterprises and will share firsthand knowledge and proven strategies they’ve used to help producers successfully implement regenerative practices across diverse landscapes.

Mornings will begin with an experiential field day at a working ranch, where the collaborating organizations will provide demonstrations and hands-on exercises with partnering host ranchers. Afternoon classroom sessions will be held at TXST and include cutting-edge perspectives on essential topics such as: understanding soil health and ecosystem function, grazing planning, water management and strategies for drought, herd structuring, genetics and performance, infrastructure design, and business management for a variety of livestock enterprises.

The 2026 Grazing School is being offered as a pre-conference workshop for the annual Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference (SFFFS), which immediately follows the workshop on Aug. 3–4 at the LBJ Student Center at TXST. 

The conference is hosted by SPI each year in partnership with the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) and the Council for Healthy Food Systems (CHFS). It brings together more than 500 farmers and ranchers, students, local food advocates and a diverse network of agricultural organizations, agencies, institutions, and educators from across Texas. The conference features practical, high-quality education across seven learning tracks and includes an exhibit hall, networking events, and community-building opportunities.

Registration, sponsorship and financial aid information for both the Grazing School workshop and main SFFFS conference can be found at: www.southernfamilyfarmersconference.org

About the Small Producers Initiative

The Small Producers Initiative is a program within the Department of Agricultural Sciences at Texas State University providing outreach, training and extension for farms and ranches. While their primary focus is on small and mid-sized producers in Texas, SPI supports producers of any size and production method and is especially interested in assisting historically underserved farmers and ranchers and those who are pursuing regenerative production practices. For more information, visit www.smallproducersinitiative.txst.edu.

About Texas State University
Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with an enrollment of more than 40,000 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock. Texas State’s 251,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world. The abbreviation for Texas State University is TXST.

 

 

USDA Launches New Online Scheduling Tool to Better Serve Farmers and Ranchers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting farmers first by offering them a new option to schedule appointments online with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Following a successful pilot program, FSA is now using a digital appointment platform across the agency to allow producers to make farm program or farm loan appointments online at their convenience. 

“Farmers and ranchers work around the clock and should be able to schedule appointments with their local offices at their convenience,” said FSA Administrator Bill Beam. “This new online scheduling option gives producers another way to connect with their local FSA office to access the programs and services they depend on. It's one more step in our commitment to putting farmers first.”

Producers can schedule appointments through FSA’s digital platform, Microsoft Bookings, using a mobile device, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. To assist producers in finding their local FSA office to make an appointment, FSA has also launched a new FSA County Office locator that is searchable by state and by county. Each county office contact page has a unique link for producers to make an appointment online and shows contact information for the local FSA office and the farm loan team. Appointments may be in-person or virtual with the local FSA office depending on producer preference.   

Producers can conveniently schedule appointments for a variety of services with both farm program and farm loan staff. The Bookings-based system will automatically send a confirmation email to the producer along with reminder emails for upcoming appointments. Producers still have the option to call or visit their local FSA office in person to make an appointment.   

For more information, producers can contact their local FSA office.  

 

Opportunity for Farmers/Producers to adopt Agroforestry Practices

 

The Expanding Agroforestry Markets and Production Project led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is designed to advance economic opportunities for farmers and producers while improving soil health, water quality, wildlife habitat, and climate. The project is funded through USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers Initiative announced in April 2025.

To help achieve the project’s mission and goals, Tuskegee University is serving as the regional lead for the six Southeast states: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Our role at Tuskegee is to inform, educate, and facilitate farmers and producers of this region to enroll into the agroforestry program. The Project supports three types of agroforestry practices: Silvopasture, Alley Cropping, and Windbreaks. The application for Cycle 3 enrollment for farmers/ producers is scheduled to launch on June 30 through the TNC website (www.nature.org/ExpandingAgroforestry).

Virtual Zoom Session

For interested farmers and producers in the Southeast who want to know more about the program and its enrollment process, please attend our upcoming online Virtual Zoom live session organized by Tuskegee University team with details provided below:

Date: Thursday, July 2, 2026

Time: 12:00 -1:00 pm CDT

What is the session about

1.        Incentive opportunity for farmers and landowners from 6 southeast states.

2.        Application timeline and process  

3.        Other related information

Who needs to attend:

1.        Farmers and landowners from AL, MS, GA, SC, NC, TN – interested in developing one of the three agroforestry practices – Alley cropping, Silvopasture, Windbreaks

2.        Extension specialists, educators, and other professionals – working with farmers and landowners for supporting sustainable farming, including agroforestry.

 Why to attend:

1.        To be familiar with the opportunity, select agroforestry practices for implementation, and prepare for application

 Session Agenda:

12:00 -12:10 – Intro by Dr. Uma Karki

12:10- 12:35 – Presentation regarding Agroforestry Opportunity & Application Process by Dr. Suresh Sharma

12:35 – 1:00 – Q&A Session

Meeting Link below:

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Jul 2, 2026, 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Please register in advance for this meeting:

https://tuskegee.zoom.us/meeting/register/CC2zwo0QSAqinO9cnxcEmQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email in your inbox containing information about joining the meeting. There will be 3 sessions – July 2, July 16, and July 30, 2026. Use the SAME link to join all 3 sessions.

 Note for educators, extension specialists, leaders: Please share this information with farmers in your contacts. Kindly encourage them to register and attend the sessions.

 

 

New World Screwworm — How far could they go?

 

 

USDA officially confirmed the first domestic case of New World screwworm in six decades, detected in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas (about 50 miles from the Mexican border).

 

The question of "how far north could they go" is no longer a hypothetical simulation, it is now an active biosecurity emergency. Leading veterinary parasitologists are warning that this single case likely signals the beginning of reestablishment, meaning hundreds or thousands of flies may already be across the border.

 

The threat is divided into two distinct biological zones…where the fly can live *permanently*, and how far north it can march during the warm months.

 

The “Summer Dispersal Zone” - NWS can reach Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and further north via wind/livestock. And the “Overwintering Zone” where NWS could become permanently established in South/Central Texas & Gulf Coast areas due to mild winters. Winter is the ultimate limiting factor because screwworm pupae can’t survive hard, prolonged soil freezes. However, the winters of the 2020s are significantly milder than those of the 1950s when eradication began.

 

The new reality is that the permanent, year-round survival zone is no longer confined safely to Southern Mexico. South Texas, the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and the Gulf Coast could now be treated as year-round establishment zones.

 

Many entomologists believe that warmer winter trends will allow the permanent NWS overwintering line to push into Central Texas and across the deep Southeast (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida). 

 

Even if freezing temperatures wipe out northern populations every winter, the flies can travel massive distances during the spring and summer. A single fly can travel 10 to 30 miles in its lifespan. And the case that was discovered in Zavala County was 50 miles from the border, which leads one to believe there is already a population inside the US border. And of course, the primary driver of rapid expansion is the movement of infested livestock, vehicles, or wildlife.

 

Before eradication, summer outbreaks regularly pushed as far north as Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. If not aggressively contained in Texas, this summer range remains entirely possible today. With live cases confirmed in South Texas, the immediate risk zones across the United States have grown. 

 

CRITICAL / ACTIVE Regions include South Texas, Lower Rio Grande Valley. High humidity and thick brush provide ideal habitat. The parasite can easily establish a year-round lifecycle here if not eradicated quickly. 

 

HIGH RISK regions include Central/East Texas, Gulf Coast, Coastal Louisiana, Southern Florida. These areas are at high vulnerability for permanent establishment. Mild modern winters mean soil temperatures rarely drop low enough for long enough periods of time to kill burrowed pupae. 

 

MODERATE RISK regions include Northern Texas (Dallas/Panhandle), Oklahoma, Arkansas. These areas have a high vulnerability for summer infestation. While winter freezes will reliably clear out populations annually, unchecked spring/summer migrations could trigger devastating seasonal outbreaks. 

 

From a wildlife management standpoint, an established population in South Texas is a nightmare for white-tailed deer. Biologists are deeply concerned about specific pressure points such as “Fawn Recruitment Collapse”. The Texas case was found in the navel of a 3-week-old calf. Newborn fawns are incredibly vulnerable because female flies target the raw umbilical stump. Historically, screwworm infestations caused 25% to 80% fawn mortality in heavy outbreak years.

 

Parasites like the Gulf Coast tick create bleeding bite wounds on deer hides and ears. These tiny lesions are exactly what female screwworms look for to deposit their 200–300 eggs.

 

In areas with dense deer populations or high feral hog numbers, the parasite has a virtually endless supply of warm-blooded hosts, allowing numbers to scale exponentially before experts can intervene.

 

The silver lining is that modern agricultural and wildlife authorities possess a tool that managers in the 1930s did not known as “Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)”. The USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission have already established a containment zone around Zavala County and are deploying millions of sterile male flies to help crash the wild fly population. 

 

SIT is highly effective, but it relies entirely on containment. If the parasite goes undetected in wild deer or feral hog populations outside of the current quarantine zone, it can quickly expand. The primary concern right now is not whether a fly can survive a winter in Oklahoma, it is whether we can stop the current Texas situation from turning into a multi-state emergency. 

 

New World Screwworm Confirmed in South Texas

 

By Texas Parks & Wildlife

 

AUSTIN, TX (NEWS RELEASE) - On June 3 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) received confirmation of a detection of New World screwworm (NWS) in Zavala County. A sample collected from a three-week-old calf with an umbilical lesion was identified and confirmed as NWS by the National Veterinary Servies Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. There are currently no further detections in animals in Texas. 

This is the first detection of NWS in Texas since northward progression from Central America was observed in 2023. TPWD is working closely with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) and other state officials in a joint incident response. TAHC has established an infested zone in the area, and animal movement restrictions are in effect to prevent further spread of the pest. 

“NWS can have devastating impacts on free-ranging wildlife populations and rural communities,” said Dr. David Yoskowitz, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. ”TPWD, in partnership with our state and federal partners, will work diligently to respond to suspected cases of NWS, and to urge the public to monitor and report signs of an infestation in warm-blooded animals.”

“TAHC has been actively preparing for a resurgence of NWS for over two years,” said Dr. Bud Dinges, TAHC state veterinarian and executive director. “We are putting these preparations into action, and we encourage all animal owners and caretakers to continue to remain vigilant for the presence of larvae in animal wounds and immediately report any suspicions.” 

According to the USDA, the U.S. food supply is safe. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe and properly labeled. NWS do not infest fruits, vegetables, or other food sources such as grains and rice. 

NWS are larvae or maggots of the NWS fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax), that cause the painful condition NWS myiasis. NWS flies lay eggs in open wounds or orifices of live tissue. These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, or maggots, which burrow or “screw” into flesh with sharp mouth hooks. NWS primarily infest livestock, but can also affect pets, humans, and wildlife including wild mammals and birds. 

Targeted releases of sterile NWS flies are being expedited to eliminate any reproducing populations in the area associated with the detection. When combined with enhanced surveillance, movement restrictions, prompt treatment of wounds, and education and outreach efforts, the sterile insect technique is a proven and effective tool for controlling and eradicating this pest.

In addition to frequently monitoring animals, producers should implement enhanced management practices including keeping open wounds clean and covered. Animals infested with NWS should be immediately treated with an appropriate method under the direction of a veterinarian. If you suspect NWS in your livestock or domestic animals, contact the TAHC immediately and do not move any animals. A representative will advise you on current collection protocols for submitting suspicious maggots. Contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for wildlife infestation information and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for human infestation information. 

Learn more about New World screwworm at screwworm.gov

 

Facing Drought? Here’s How USDA Can Help

 

By Richard Fordyce, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation

Jun 03, 2026

While spring is a time for renewal and the excitement that comes with planting and calving, this year, it can also mean added stress because of drought. Across the United States, widespread, severe drought conditions are impacting farms and ranches. While catastrophic for agriculture, the effects are far reaching, impacting wildlife and increasing the risk of wildfires.

I know that navigating drought can feel overwhelming but be assured that USDA has a team of dedicated people and a suite of programs that can help you recover from losses, reduce future risk or prepare your operation for the future.

 

Assistance for Producers

If you raise livestock, assistance is available through:

• Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), for grazing losses.
• Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), for feed losses and transportation costs for feed and water and livestock.  
• Emergency haying and grazing of land enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), to help in a time of forage shortage. During the primary nesting season, emergency grazing can proceed with a 50% reduction in stocking rate, provided the county where the CRP is located is eligible for LFP.   
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for certain forage and grazing losses if they are classified as NAP-eligible crops.
•  The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provide financial and technical assistance to restore and rehabilitate farmland and nonindustrial private forests and implement water conservation practices during severe drought. 
• Similarly, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to implement conservation practices. Common drought recovery includes forest management plans, tree/shrub establishment, brush management, prescribed grazing, pasture and hay planting, wildlife habitat, livestock watering systems, and cover crops. 
• Finally, the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provides cost share assistance to rehabilitate or replant orchards and vineyards (trees, vines, or bushes). 
• Our disaster assistance programs are designed to complement risk management tools, such as federal crop insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Crop insurance provides indemnity payments to growers who purchase crop insurance for production and quality losses related to drought and other weather hazards, including losses caused by inability to plant on time. Meanwhile, NAP covers losses for crops not covered by crop insurance.  
• We also offer low-interest direct and guaranteed operating farm loan options, as well as flexible loan servicing for current borrowers to help you recover. 

Improve Drought Resiliency

Conservation practices can help you use water more efficiently and boost soil health. Healthy soil stores water better for when it’s needed most. The Natural Resources Conservation Service, through programs like EQIP, provides technical and financial assistance for conservation practices like irrigation efficiency, prescribed grazing, reduced- or no-till, cover crops, mulching, and residue management. 

The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is an online, weekly map showing the location, extent, and severity of drought across the United States, enabling producers to best respond and react to a drought as it develops or lingers.

At USDA, we use the Drought Monitor to determine a producer’s eligibility for certain drought assistance programs. The USDM incorporates varying data, including first-hand information submitted from on-the-ground sources. I strongly encourage you to contribute your local, on-the-farm, observations to the USDM process using the Condition Monitoring Observer Report system or emailing droughtmonitor@unl.edu. 

More Information

To learn more, reach out your local Service Center. Additionally visit these online resources:

• Drought Recovery Webpage;
• Disaster Assistance Programs At-a-Glance fact sheet;
• Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool;
• LFP Eligibility Maps;
• ELAP Drought Eligibility Dashboard. 

Take care of yourselves during these stressful times, and if you or someone you know needs support, please take advantage of farmer and rancher stress resources in your community and stress support resources available through USDA. 

Under the leadership of Secretary Rollins and with the support of the Trump Administration, we’re focused on making sure you have the resources you need during recovery as we continue to put Farmers First and provide the technical and financial support you need, when you need it most.

 

New AFT Podcast on the Future of Farming Premiers

 

LANDED explores how farms and ranches transition from one generation to the next

 

(Washington, D.C.) American Farmland Trust has launched a new podcast focused on the challenges farmers and ranchers face when transitioning land from one generation to the next. LANDED features succession stories of both young and elder producers and focuses on how they plan for the future of their land. 

 

“We hope that this new series will reach farmers and ranchers across the country, as well as urban and suburban people who may not understand the challenges facing agrarian communities,” said AFT Special Advisor for Strategic Communications and co-host Brooks Lamb. “Over the next two decades, more than 300 million acres of American farmland will change hands as current owners retire or die. How that land transfers, and to whom it transfers, will determine the future of rural communities and our food system. This podcast explores these land transitions through grounded stories.” 

 

The series takes listeners from pick-up trucks and packing sheds to cattle pastures and kitchen tables. Each episode introduces the audience to the people who tend the land and sustain our country -- young farmers who are just getting their start, aging ranchers who are ready to slow down, and advisors who support them all. One episode features a fifth-generation farmer who returns to family land with a vision to start a new regenerative grazing business. Another highlights a first-generation vegetable farmer who navigates a long-term lease with herlandlords. Others share moments of triumph - and heartbreak -- that illustrate just why succession planning and generational transitions are so important. 

 

LANDED released its prologue episode on May 19. The podcast will publish its full-length episodes once per week for six straight weeks, starting in early June. For the podcast’s creators, the launch feels like a long time in the making. 

 

“We are so excited for LANDED to air,” said AFT Outreach and Resource Senior Manager and co-host Megan Faller. “We created this series because we see the challenges farm families face and wanted to show them that they are not alone. There are resources and people available to support them. Hopefully this show can reinforce that - and show listeners of all backgrounds why succession planning and farm transfer matters.” 

 

To learn more and listen, visit www.farmland.org/landed-podcast or search for LANDED on your favorite podcast platform. Radio stations are welcome to contact AFT about airing this show at no cost. Get in touch at landed@farmland.org.

 

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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.