April 2, 2012
Could Spinach Save the Citrus Industry?
A Texas researcher is working to fight citrus greening by using bacteria-fighting genes found in spinach.
Agriculture
Business
February 24, 2012
Texas Business Report: BP Gets in the Wind Game
BP has invested more than $1 billion in wind energy in Texas, Dell's stocks take a dip, and every minute spent waiting in line at the border costs companies $116 million.
Food & Drink
January 17, 2012
If Killer Bees Get Us, Blame the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Due to budget cuts, the federal agency plans to shutter the Kika de la Garza Subtropical Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco, the organization standing between us and invasive pests.
January 9, 2012
TEST – Typography
Testing this "thing" and & maybe an ampersand
Music
December 20, 2011
Willie Wants to “Occupy the Food System”
Willie Nelson pens a column for the Huffington Post, stumping for the family farm.
Business
December 19, 2011
The Cattle Industry Could be Forever Changed
Texas shed roughly 600,000 cattle in 2011, record drop that threatens to reshape the industry.
December 7, 2011
Dust Bowl Texas: The Drought’s Impact on Groundwater, State Parks, and Horses
The drought leaves nothing untouched. This week the ongoing drought impacts the state’s groundwater, state parks, and horses.
November 28, 2011
Dust Bowl Texas: Drought’s Impact on Christmas Trees, Grapes, and Quail
The drought leaves nothing untouched. This week the ongoing drought impacts the state’s Christmas tree production, grapes, quail, and peanut butter sandwiches.
November 7, 2011
Dust Bowl Texas: The Latest Drought News
Summer's over, but the drought may never be, and it's affecting everything from tourism to pecan pie to horse welfare.
The Culture
September 30, 2011
How to Water Dowse
This blistering summer has left Texas drier than a piece of gas station jerky. It was so hot that planes couldn’t take off from airports and train tracks were bent out of shape. And while Governor Rick Perry prayed for a downpour to end the drought, officials in Llano turned
The Culture
October 31, 2009
Randy Goode, Artificial Inseminator
Goode grew up on a ranch in Damon, where he now runs an artificial insemination business. He travels the country collecting DNA for a U.S. Department of Agriculture research project on mad cow disease.Back in the seventies, my dad learned to artificially inseminate cows by reading a book and using
Feature
August 31, 2004
Reversal of Fortune
Eight years ago, 42 people in the West Texas town of Roby—7 percent of the population—pooled their money, bought lottery tickets, and won $46 million. And that's when their luck ran out.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1996
Bugging Out
Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley are reeling from last year’s crop disaster—and they don’t cotton to agriculture commissioner Rick Perry’s excuses.
Business
September 1, 1994
Bo Pilgrim
He invented the boneless breast and made his chicken a household name. But now his critics are out to roast him.
Food & Drink
May 1, 1993
Cream of the Crops
In these nine Texas towns, produce is more than product. It’s pride.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 1991
Going by the Book
Under Jim Hightower, the agriculture department was liberal and loose. Under Rick Perry, it will be corporate and crisp.
Texas History
January 1, 1990
Texas Primer: The Windmill
But for this ever-so-practical invention, Texas history as we know it would be gone with the wind.
Critters
March 1, 1989
Buddy Maedgen Is Bugged!
The saga of a man and his helpful insects illustrates the age-old battle between visionaries and bureaucrats.
Critters
August 1, 1988
They Sting. They Kill. They Destroy. They Mate in Midair. Nothing Can Stop . . . the Ants From Hell
Fire ants are on a relentless march across Texas, maiming, devouring, and stinging the living daylights out of everything in their path. We’ve tried to stop them, and it has only made them stronger.
News & Politics
June 30, 1988
Button Pushers
Dealing drugs along the border is a risky, illegal business—unless you happen to be one of the nine Texans licensed to sell peyote.
Critters
March 1, 1988
Who Can Stop the Killer Bees?
Experts predict the first swarms could cross the border next year. What happens then to Texas’ multimillion-dollar honey industry is anybody’s guess.
News & Politics
August 1, 1987
The Time It Always Rained
The wettest spell in memory has given the people who live in West Texas an unfamiliar topic of conversation.
Business
December 1, 1986
Against the Grain
One school of thought holds that when the economy is in a nosedive, that’s the time to go into business. At least that’s what a farmer, an oilman, a developer, and a banker believe.
Food & Drink
May 1, 1986
Summer’s First Stand
Yesterday those onions and carrots were in the ground. Today they’re on your table, thanks to Texas’ bountiful roadside fruit and vegetable stands.
News & Politics
August 31, 1985
Back Roads
Skinner Brown, a 63-year-old farmer and business man, was a pillar of his small-town society until he was busted for possessing $12 million worth of marijuana.
Being Texan
April 1, 1983
Texas Primer: The Farm-to-Market Road
The last best way to see the real Texas.
Being Texan
February 1, 1982
Way Out West in the Land of Cotton
People still think of cotton as a Dixieland crop, but the heart of the nation’s production is on the dry, flat, and windswept High Plains of Texas.
Food & Drink
January 1, 1980
The Vanishing Steak
Beefing and chewing the fat about a rare pleasure that’s almost done for.
Food & Drink
September 1, 1979
Honey, You’re Still Driving Me Crazy
Wise up: that insipid supermarket sugar-water you’ve been putting on your toast isn’t honey. The real stuff—Texas honey—is as full-bodied and distinctive as the nectars that go into it.
Texas History
August 31, 1978
The Sons of the Pioneers
Miles from their nearest neighbors, beset by drought, debt, insects, and government, Panhandle farmers gamble everything to keep alive a tradition they can’t abandon.
Country Notes
July 31, 1978
The Loser
When another farmer goes broke his neighbors thank God it wasn’t them; then they wonder when their turn is coming.
Country Notes
January 1, 1978
Poultry in Motion
There are two ways to raise chickens: the right way and this way.
Country Notes
July 31, 1977
Of Bees and Men
Oh bee, where is thy sting?
Critters
February 1, 1977
Coping
Living in the country is all you ever wanted—and probably more than you bargained for.
News & Politics
March 31, 1975
What Your Mother Never Told You About Rice
A grain of truth about the high cost of food.
Business
January 31, 1974
Sold American!
Selling a herd of prime cattle can be tricky business. And it takes professionals to do it right.