As shrinking groundwater supplies and unpredictable weather continue to reshape agriculture
across the High Plains, producers are increasingly looking for practical ways to stretch
limited water resources while maintaining productive grazing systems and profitable
cattle operations.
'As irrigation availability decreases in the region, producers are seeking ways to keep their agricultural operations profitable.'
Those challenges will take center stage on Tuesday, Aug. 18, when producers, researchers and industry leaders gather for a Rangeland & Forages Seminar, hosted by the Texas Tech-based Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC).
”As irrigation availability decreases in the region, producers are seeking ways to keep their agricultural operations profitable,” said Samantha Borgstedt, Director of the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Project.
“Sometimes that means a shift in crops and management practices,” she said. “This seminar was designed with that in mind. While the agenda contains several presentations, this meeting is meant to be a conversation with the audience with plenty of time for questions and discussion.”
The free educational program will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, offering the latest research and producer experiences in forage production, grazing management, water conservation and cattle markets. Registration is requested, and lunch will be provided.
Designed for ranchers, farmers, land managers and agricultural professionals, the seminar will explore strategies that improve the long-term sustainability of forage and livestock systems across the South Plains. Topics will range from selecting grasses for varying irrigation conditions to integrating cotton, forage and grazing rotations, managing changing forage resources, controlling weeds and brush, and evaluating the cattle market outlook.
The morning program begins with a discussion of grass and forage varieties best suited for irrigated, semi-irrigated and dryland production systems, presented by representatives of Bamert Seed. Glenn and Layton Schur of Schur Cattle and Farms in Plainview will follow with insights into cotton, forage and grazing rotations, highlighting lessons learned through years of on-farm experience.
Additional presentations will examine Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service programs available to support rangeland and forage management. Clay Evans, an FSA specialist in Hale County, and Mark Hall, NRCS program manager Lubbock Zone 1, will outline conservation opportunities available to producers.
The morning session concludes with a producer panel featuring Glenn and Layton Schur, Jodie Stockett, Corteva Agriscience range and pasture specialist, and Rick Kellison of Silver Creek Farms and a Texas Alliance for Water Conservation advisor. Panelists will discuss management practices that have proven successful under the region's increasingly variable environmental conditions.
Following lunch, Whitney Crossland, associate professor in Texas Tech's Department of Animal & Food Sciences, will address supplementation strategies as forage resources continue to change across the Texas High and Southern Plains.
Warren Conaway, professor and Bricker Endowed Chair in Wildlife Management in the university's Department of Natural Resources Management, will examine weed and brush control and its effects on both grass production and water conservation.
The seminar concludes with a cattle market outlook presented by David Anderson, professor and Extension specialist in livestock and food product marketing with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, followed by a roundtable discussion with speakers and participants.
The seminar is part of the broader mission of the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, a producer-driven consortium based at Texas Tech University within the Davis College Water Center. The alliance brings together producers, university researchers, technology companies and government agencies to develop practical, science-based approaches that help extend the life of the Ogallala Aquifer, the underground water source that supports much of the agricultural economy from the Texas Panhandle to Nebraska.
Today, more than 30 participating producers collaborate with the alliance while maintaining full control of management decisions on over 6,000 acres of demonstration sites spanning 14 Texas counties.
Those farms represent a diverse mix of cropping systems, irrigation practices, tillage methods, manure management and integrated crop-livestock operations, providing researchers and producers with real-world comparisons of how conservation practices influence water use, productivity and farm profitability.
CONTACT: Samantha Borgstedt, Director, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Project, Texas Tech University at (806) 789-4177 or samantha.borgstedt@ttu.edu
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