Getting to Know Farming Practices in Texas
Agriculture in Texas is a billion-dollar industry. In 2017 it contributed $25 billion to the economy in terms of products sold. There are about 248,000 farms in the state accounting for 127 million acres of agricultural land.
Texan farmers and ranchers are sometimes the unheralded heroes of the state. But it is in their calloused hands and sweat-drenched bodies that produce food that not only runs the Texan economy but also provides us with food that nurtures us, which makes us healthy and productive citizens.
There are peculiar farming practices in the state which are not well-known to many, and these characteristics would give Texas farms and ranches their distinct identity.
The Family is Involved
Many farms in the state are kept by a generation of farmer families. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, about 98% of farms in Texas are family farms. It is common to see family members working on a farm. You have grandparents, parents, their children, and even cousins working on the farm. And also these are multi-generational families, with farming being practiced by earlier generations and handed down to the succeeding ones.
The state honors these old family farms with the Family Land Heritage Program. The Texas Department of Agriculture looks for farms established in 1906 or earlier owned by the same family and still agriculturally productive. There are more than 4000 farms registered with the Texan Family Land Heritage Program.
Sustainability is a Big Word
The word sustainability is not a marketing gimmick for Texan farmers. For them, it is a way of life. These people care for the environment and use sustainable farming practices among these include organic farming and regenerative agriculture.
The acreage of organic farms increased by a whopping 97% from 2014 to 2019. From 178 certified organic farms in the State in 2014, it rose to 233 certified organic farms in 2019.
Regenerative agriculture is being practiced by many small family-owned farms in the state. This sustainable farming practice is gaining traction among farmers in the state.
As compared to industrial farming or monoculture cropping, Regenerative Agriculture utilizes environment-friendly methods in farming. It prioritizes the soil’s health and the immediate natural environment. Regenerative farming discourages the use of chemical fertilizers and tilling which depletes the soil’s nutrients. It practices crop diversity to make fertile soil sustainable. For ranches, it manages grazing preventing destructive overgrazing. These are among the main practices of regenerative agriculture that Texan farming families have adopted.
Texan Farmers Value Education
There is a misconception that farming is a self-taught skill or expertise which are handed down from generation and they do not need to go to school. But many Texan farmers give value to education, many are college educated, and some even have master's degrees, credit this to the focus given by the state on agricultural education.
Historically agricultural education has been conducted at high school and college levels in the state through the Texas Agricultural Extension Service which began in the early 1900s. This farming education program has produced thousands of farmers and farming instructors.
The Texas A&M organized by the Texan state legislature in 1871 under the Morrill-Land Grant College Act of 1862 has helped expand the science of agriculture across the state. Its AgriLife extension services provide training, publications, apps, and programs to Texan farmers helping them access and use the latest research and development in farming and agriculture.
Also, efforts are being made to entice young college students to go into farming. The Texan Collegiate Farm Bureau, a network of campus chapters dedicated to creating a community of students interested in agriculture, is helping arrest the trend of aging Texan farmers.
Women Play an Active Role in Texan Farms
Women are a driving force in Texan agriculture as there are about 156,000 women farmers in Texas the highest in any state.
Farming has long been considered an arena for men, but that misconception is being corrected by Texan women farmers who toil in its fields and ranches, running its day-to-day operations, managing the business side of their farms, and providing the strategic vision of the endeavor.
Amelia Sweethardt of Pure Luck Farm and Dairy
Among these women farmers include Amelia Sweethardt of Pure Luck Farm and Dairy. Amelia manages the herd of Nubian and alpine goats on their farm in Dripping Springs and also makes the farm’s award-winning cheeses.
Amy Greer of Winters Family Beef in Brady is a sixth-generation farmer together with her husband George they raise Angus and Wagyu cattle free from antibiotics, steroids, and other added hormones.
Katie Kraemer of Tecolote Farms, together with her husband David established Texas' first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in 1994. Although they gave up their CSA, they mentored another female farmer Finegan Ferreboeuf of Steelbow Farms, who moved from Maine to Manor, Texas to lease Tecolote Farms and continue its CSA.
Pam McCaskill and her family run Austin Orchards an all-natural orchard planted with pears, strawberries, blackberries, nectarines, grapes, watermelon, and pomegranates. Their farming methods adhere to environmentally sustainable agricultural practices.
These are just among the multitude of Texan female farmers who are an integral part of the cog that comprises the multi-billion dollar Texan agricultural industry.
There are Many Young Farmers in Texas
According to data, there are 28,187 young farmers (under the age of 35) in Texas, or about 9% of young farmers in the United States, making it the highest number of young producers in the United States.
Many of these are considered beginner farmers, which have less than 10 years of farming experience. These young farmers are a big boost and bring energy and vigor to the state’s agricultural industry as the average age of Texan farmers is 59 years old.
Texans Love Their Farms
Farming is not just about livelihood or lifestyle. It is also a labor of love. Farming is a very hard job, for example toiling outdoors in a hundred-degree Texan heat is something few people can do.
For many Texan farmers, the farm is not just a source of livelihood or financial opportunities it is their place of birth, where characters are molded. It is their home and serves as life’s first classroom.
It is in the farms where Texans at a very young age are taught the values of hard work, time management, responsibility, and leadership. trust, loyalty, respect, selflessness, and care for the environment. It is this emotional attachment to the land which prods many Texan farmers to sustain and improve not just their farms but their communities as well.
These farmers and their scions would bring these unique traits into other professions like politics. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson was born on a farm in Stonewall and after his presidency returned to his Texan ranch ( a working ranch consisting of a herd of Hereford Cattle).
Just like any Texan farmer, President LBJ was a hard-working man even during his Presidency and was known to work 18-20 days without taking a break, vacation, or engaging in leisure activities. Though he was known for the quagmire in Vietnam he was well-remembered for his work in civil rights, the war on poverty, medicare for the elderly, and immigration reform.
But it was the Food and Agriculture Act of 1965 which sought to improve farmers’ incomes that reflected his farmer’s roots and his understanding of the American farmer’s plight, who despite working hard on the farm has not seen improvement in his income.
“…In a time of technological revolution and rapid change, which is occurring on our farms no less than in our factories and laboratories, we must constantly look to the future. New ways must be explored to keep agriculture and agricultural policy up to date, to get the full benefit of new findings and of new technology, to make sure that our bountiful land is used to the best of our ability to promote the welfare of consumers, farmers, and the entire economy…” President LBJ wrote in his message during the passage of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1965.
These are among the farming practices in Texas, it's not just its rich fertile soil and the vast area devoted to farming that makes it America’s agricultural powerhouse. But it is also its tireless, hardworking farmers and producers who transformed Texas's well-endowed land into a productive and progressive state.
