Health
April 10, 2024
No, Texans Don’t Need to Panic About Bird Flu—Yet
The risk of the avian influenza sparking a pandemic remains low, but viruses evolve, and experts urge vigilance.
Agriculture
Politics & Policy
March 4, 2024
The Rio Grande Is Getting Saltier. Texan Farmers Are Desperate for a Fix.
The river’s spikes in salinity are killing crops in the Rio Grande Valley. Finding a solution will require negotiations between Texas and Mexico policymakers.
Business
January 22, 2024
Texas Hasn’t Had an Olive Harvest in Three Years. Why Do Growers Keep Trying?
Severe freezes have brought the state’s once-booming olive oil industry to its knees. But passionate farmers keep hope alive for solutions.
Business
December 14, 2023
This North Texas Cannabis Farmer Gets By on His Own Supply
Eddie Velez's father went to prison for selling marijuana when Velez was a child. Now, Velez sells legal cannabis for hemp and CBD products.
Giving Back
November 10, 2023
This Houston Program Turns Veterans Into Urban Farmers
Growing Urban Farmers teaches veterans how to use their skills to make a living from working the soil, improving their mental health along the way.
Business
September 26, 2023
Drought and Relentless Heat Push Texas Pecan Growers to the Brink
Pecan trees are dying across Central Texas during the second-hottest summer on record, prompting farmers to consider the future of the beloved state tree.
Business
July 20, 2023
A Crowdfunding Approach to Growing Texas Farms
Fort Worth–based Harvest Returns offers new investment avenues into agricultural projects.
BBQ
June 8, 2023
To Produce the Best Wagyu Possible, This Feedlot Is Downright Spa-Like
Protocol Farms near Bowie takes inspiration from Japanese methods of feeding Wagyu, which includes jazz playing through the speakers and cool pens.
Texas Country Reporter
May 30, 2023
Ranger Cattle’s Story Goes ‘From the Battlefield to the Cattle Field’
Josh Eilers is a former U.S. Army ranger who founded Ranger Cattle in Austin, which specializes in pasture-raised Wagyu cattle.
Texas Country Reporter
May 29, 2023
The Texas Company That Supplies Wool for All U.S. Military Uniforms
Since 1941, a family company called Anodyne Wool has provided the raw material for uniforms in every branch of the military.
Texas Country Reporter
May 28, 2023
A Commercial Kitchen Saved the Farm
Third-generation owner Susannah Cronin opened the event space Amelia Farm & Market in Beaumont to save her family’s pecan orchard.
Agriculture
May 26, 2023
If a Texas Bee Summers in California, Is Its Honey Still Texan?
HB 590 wants only honey “exclusively” made in Texas to be labeled as “Texas honey,” but that’s not as sweet a deal as it seems.
Texas Country Reporter
March 15, 2023
Sullifarm and Kitchen Is an Upstart Regenerative Farm Taking Root in Texarkana
Twenty-something Annemarie Sullivan is a modern livestock farmer at the helm of the operation, connecting Texans with their food through sustainable practices.
BBQ
February 27, 2023
19 Terms You Need to Know to Talk Wagyu
Ranching has its own language, and specialty beef is no exception. Learn the difference between Kobe and Wagyu, and the grades, with this handy guide.
BBQ
February 24, 2023
One Texas Ranch Has Beef with How the USDA Grades Wagyu
It's nowhere near as stringent as the Japanese system, leading some companies to come up with their own grading. R-C Ranch wants to see that change.
Tacos
February 14, 2023
This El Pasoan Is Making Sure Nixtamalized Tortillas Aren’t an Occasional Luxury
Through La Puerta del Sol, Mateo Herrera sells tortillas made with heirloom corn from nearby De Colores Farms, so folks can connect with ancestral food at home.
BBQ
February 10, 2023
Thirty Years Ago, the First Wagyu Cows Came to the U.S. Now, the Industry Is Bigger Than Anyone Predicted.
Trade wars with Japan, $250 vials of semen, and livestock-filled airplanes all contributed to the still-growing industry of Wagyu beef today.
Business
November 1, 2022
This West Texas Farm Grows the Most Expensive Spice in the World
Meraki Meadows has been producing saffron for two years. The spice, which comes from the crocus flower, can sell for a minimum of $9,000 a pound.
BBQ
October 14, 2022
The Persistent Nationwide Turkey Shortage Is Changing Texas Barbecue Menus
Thanks to a bad outbreak of avian flu this year, turkey suppliers are raising prices and delivering fewer birds to restaurants before the holidays.
Texas Country Reporter
September 19, 2022
Wildorado Cattle Company Is Not Your Average High School Gig
Far in the Panhandle, an upstart ag program at a small-town school has become a start-up business run by the students.
Food & Drink
September 7, 2022
Can This Houston Chef Transform a Food Desert Into Thriving Farmland?
James Beard Award nominee Chris Williams wants to give the residents of Kendleton, a historically Black town in southeast Texas, job opportunities in agriculture.
Style & Design
August 18, 2022
Can Texas Produce the Next Great American Textile?
According to a crop of producers, researchers, and geneticists, hemp is the future of the state's agriculture industry.
Travel & Outdoors
August 17, 2022
Miniature Cattle Have Ambled Into Our Hearts and Onto Our Modest Acreages
They’re cute, they’re charismatic, and they’re lil’. But these “posh pets” are still a lot of work.
Food & Drink
August 17, 2022
The Watermelon King of Balmorhea
He’s a fourth-generation watermelon farmer, he married the Texas Watermelon Queen, and he puts his face on every melon he sells.
Texas Country Reporter
July 25, 2022
He’s Fourteen Years Old. He Also Runs a 25-Acre Farm.
Beau Burns doesn’t need limits on screen time, because his favorite place to be is out working in the field.
Texas Country Reporter
July 14, 2022
The “Garlicmeister” of Central Texas
Bob Anderson says the self-inflicted title is for amusement only, but the quirky farmer sure seems serious about garlic.
Food & Drink
May 18, 2022
Can Cow’s Milk Make a Comeback?
The stats say yes, and small dairy farmers in Texas are betting on it. But alternative, plant-based milk isn’t going away anytime soon.
Business
May 11, 2022
The U.S. Is Offering Meat Processors $1 Billion in Grants. Will It Actually Help?
Today’s the deadline to apply for federal aid, but some experts say decreasing regulations and hiring more inspectors would be more useful.
Business
May 10, 2022
The Cattle Trader’s Secret Formula
CEO Jim Schwertner credits the persistent success of Capitol Land & Livestock to a data-driven algorithm.
Texas Country Reporter
April 28, 2022
You Can Lead Cows to Water, But Can You Make ’Em Swim Across the Colorado River?
In Matagorda, the Huebner Brothers Cattle Company has been leading a semiannual cattle drive for more than a hundred years.
Business
February 16, 2022
Texas Ranchers Get Paid to Capture Carbon
A San Antonio start-up rewards regenerative agriculture with the help of companies looking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Business
January 19, 2022
This Lockhart Greenhouse Wants to Grow Your Salad Using Robots
Iron Ox, a San Francisco–area company with a Texas-bred CEO, builds greenhouses that use data to yield pretty produce.
Business
November 12, 2021
It’s Time to Take Texas Cheese Seriously
There’s more to Texas cheese than queso. The unique terroir of the Lone Star State makes locally made cheese special—and major national manufacturers are taking notice.
Business
October 21, 2021
Texas Hemp Business Celebrates Itself Amid Setbacks
The nascent industry is celebrating itself amid a series of setbacks, including having its most popular products deemed controlled substances by the state.
BBQ
October 18, 2021
The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition
There's a new generation of pitmasters in Texas, and many of them aren't satisfied with simply doing things the same old way. (Though fear not, staunch traditionalists: plenty of them are.)
Food & Drink
August 12, 2020
The Quest for Better Beef
Vegans want to end the killing of animals. Scientists say livestock are accelerating climate change. COVID-19 is ravaging meat-packers. Texas beef is under fire—but all across the industry, from the pasture to the butcher case, a vision of more sustainable burgers and briskets is beginning to come into focus.
News & Politics
August 10, 2020
Struggling Texas Farmers Thought Hemp Might Save Them. The Crop Hasn’t Yet Delivered.
A year after the Legislature legalized farming the cannabis variant, big dreams for the new crop are withering.
Critters
May 7, 2020
New to Backyard Chicken-Keeping? Here’s Some Eggspert Advice
As Texans flock to the hobby in record numbers, we convened a virtual staff roundtable to share tips.
Business
March 27, 2020
After Widespread Rodeo Cancellations, an Online Community Has Emerged to Help Texas Students Sell Their Livestock
Facebook groups and online auction sites are helping junior exhibitors who didn’t get to show and sell at the Houston Rodeo and other events this year.
Being Texan
August 24, 2018
The Fences Between Us
Nothing comes easy when you’re dividing up the countryside.
The Daily Post
October 3, 2017
Why Are Avocados So Expensive Right Now?
RIP, cheap guacamole.
Critters
September 26, 2017
Record-Setting Longhorn, Cowboy Tuff Chex, Sells for Six Figures at Fort Worth Auction
That is some expensive steak.
Critters
September 12, 2017
This Seventeen-Year-Old Rescued Cattle by Helicopter During Harvey
When Hurricane Harvey hit Hungerford, seventeen-year-old Logan Goudeau and her community came together to save their livestock. By helicopter.
Being Texan
July 21, 2017
Love and Loss on the Great Plains
The day the fire came to the Franklin Ranch.
Food & Drink
May 22, 2017
The List: The Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas
Welcome to the golden age of Texas barbecue.
Science
August 24, 2016
When the Dust Settles
After Texas Tech researchers discovered that windstorms may be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria from local feedlots, public health experts stood up and took notice. So did the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Entomology
June 22, 2016
Meet the Beetle
How long it will take the dreaded emerald ash borers to fully establish themselves in Texas? And how many native ash trees will they decimate?
The Culture
June 22, 2016
Buying the Farm
Life along the Pedernales was everything one could hope for—until it wasn’t.
Politics & Policy
April 14, 2016
Sid Miller’s Legal Battles, Explained
The embattled agricultural commissioner is being investigated by the Texas Rangers, which may have given casual observers déjà vu.
March 29, 2016
The Future of Farming
With the average age of Texas farmers on the rise, sustainable agriculture could be the key to attracting the next generation.