Glen Ritchie, an expert on the environmental factors affecting cotton yield and quality, has been named an assistant professor in Texas Tech University’s Department of Plant and Soil Science. He began his teaching and research duties on April 1. more »
Everyone on the High Plains knows about the troubles of the Ogallala Aquifer. Five trillion gallons get pumped out each year to irrigate about a third of the nation’s food and fiber, according to William Ashworth’s 2006 in-depth book about the aquifer, Ogallala Blue. With the aquifer declining year by year, how long can it last? more »
A collaboration of research efforts spanning more than a decade takes a closer look at how West Texas producers farm and how farming affects the environment. The shared goal of finding methods that would keep agriculture profitable for producers and preserve natural resources linked Texas Tech with the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension, farmers, the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 and the USDA, among other agencies. more »
Though carbon trading likely will not help farmers’ bottom lines significantly, agriculture may benefit indirectly from carbon regulation through the value added by biofuels. Large corporations such as Wal-Mart and General Electric could take advantage of cap and trade policies to improve their carbon footprints. more »
Fields of white cotton once stretched as far as the eye could see across the fertile Mississippi Delta, but now many of those acres are flush with green corn stalks. U.S. cotton production peaked in 2005 and has been sliding since as farmers switch from growing fiber to food. more »
Southwestern cotton farming will rebound with a nice growth spurt over the next few years, the most recent national analysis suggests. more »
A leading research scientist from Texas Tech University’s Department of Plant and Soil Science and her team have been awarded a $200,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to study how carbon cycles through large-scale agricultural systems. more »
