New Mexico’s Farmers And
Ranchers Applaud New Navigable Waters Protection Rule
NMF&LB
Press Release
New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers applaud the decision of the Trump
administration to revoke the 2015 Waters of the US Rule (WOTUS) which was
announced today. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Andrew Wheeler, alongside R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil
Works, introduced its replacement, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. “We’re
delivering on President Trump’s promise to finalize a revised definition for
Waters of the United States that protects the nation’s navigable waters from
pollution and will result in economic growth across the country,” said
Wheeler. “EPA and the Army are providing much needed regulatory
certainty and predictability for American farmers, landowners and businesses to
support the economy and accelerate critical infrastructure projects.” “We
appreciate the Trump administration and their efforts to bring clarity and
certainty to the process by which our state’s farmers and ranchers protect the
waters of our state,” says Chad Smith, CEO of New Mexico Farm & Livestock
Bureau. “Clean water and clear rules have been our priority as we
worked through WOTUS and we will continue every effort to protect natural
resources as we provide our state’s favorite food products.” The Navigable
Waters Protection Rule identifies four clear categories of waters that are
federally regulated under the Clean Water Act, the territorial seas and
traditional navigable waters, perennial tributaries, lakes, and wetlands that
are adjacent to jurisdictional waters
Woods Houghton, Agriculture Agent
Friday, January 24, 2020
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Malta star-thistle Invasion
Malta star-thistle Invasion
Malta star-thistle (Centaurea melitensis L.) was
first found in Eddy County around 2003 or so along the truck by pass in
Carlsbad. I carry a hoe in the truck for such occurrence and have rouged
out a number of new invasive weed when I see them. I was too late for
this one however; I did rouge out a patch only to find 20 or more patches down
the highway. Since that time this weed has been the target of the Eddy
County weed management group who have done their very best to stop this
weed. The fact it has taken 13 years for it to become a major concern is
a testament to their work. But like the Russian thistle (tumble weed) it
can now be found in the just about everywhere in the county and is moving from
disturbed site such as road sides into fields and landscapes. It is a
winter annual with a spiny yellow flowered head that reaches about 3 feet
higher but under good growing condition can reach 4 feet. The spins are
less than 1.5 inches, which distinguishes it from its cousin yellow
star-thistle. It reproduces by seed and can produce 1-60 seeds per
flowering head. The leaves are withered usually by flowering time.
This is a tricky weed though. It germinates in the fall, like the
mustard, as soon as it has two true leaves it bolt and send up one flower that
will have 1-5 seed in all less than 3 inches tall. So it is difficult to
mow this flower off and it a guaranteed species survival for another year or
more.
There have been six biological control insects released for
yellow star thistle. These insects feed on the seed thus reducing seed
production. It is a wait and see if they can also help with Malta, so far as I
know we don’t have any in the state yet.
Chemical control if applied at the right time of year works
well. The systemic herbicides clopyralid or picloram work well when
applied between December and April in rangeland or roadside applications. These
chemicals will kill trees and other desirable broad leaf plants. Once the
flower is set, chemical application don’t do the job. In alfalfa fields
the use of the mustard herbicides when there are mustard weed present may
help. Clorpyralid and picloram will kill alfalfa and other perennial
broad leaf plants like pecan trees, so you cannot use them.
Sheep and goat like to graze this weed until it gets the
spiny flower. It has no toxic effect but once the spine form they can
lodge in the mouth and tong causing problems; however most animals will not try
it. Cattle don’t seem to have any desire to feed upon it at any stage.
This weed is almost imposable to control by mechanical methods. For
homeowner in landscape situations all you can do is hoe of cut the tops off
catching the seed head and disposing them in a dumpster, but as described earlier
there are those survival seeds that are produced without much notice.
Because of flooding in the past there is a lot of seed in the fields and if you
do not spry for mustard it will get worse. The seed will not germinate
until late fall. You can control the mustard and this weed too hopefully
with good applications.
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to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/
Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal
opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are
available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap,
or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.
Woods Houghton Eddy County Agent Retirement
Well the best made plans do not always work out. I had intended to retire on the 28 February 2020. I thought I had everything in order but then I had to have surgery and I failed to sign a few papers that are required 3 months out. So I signed the papers yesterday and they are mailed with the retirement date of 30 April 2020.
NMSUCCESS lecture series continues with focus on locally based food culture
NMSUCCESS lecture series continues with focus on locally based food culture
DATE: 01/16/2020
WRITER: Amanda Adame, 575-646-7953, aadame4@nmsu.edu
CONTACT: Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, 575-646-4842, bbestelm@nmsu.edu
Gary Nabhan has spent much of his adult life studying and celebrating the deep relationships between regional cultures and the fruits of the land, between biodiversity and cultural diversity, particularly in the arid Southwest region.
New Mexico State University’s Climate Change Education Seminar Series (NMSUCCESS) continues Jan. 29, when locals will get a chance to hear from Nabhan, an ethnobotanist and author from the University of Arizona, as he discusses the importance of a diverse, locally based food culture in helping communities meet the growing challenge of climate change.
Nabhan will give a presentation titled, “Redesigning Desert Agriculture for Climate Change: Biomimicry, Nurse Plant Ecology and Succulent Plants” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29 at the Rio Grande Theatre.
Nabhan’s talk will explain the process of re-diversifying our desert food systems to increase community resilience in the face of climate change. He will also outline the disruptions the global climate change phenomenon will cause to land health, human health and rural economies.
“Gary Nabhan has worked for decades on creative solutions to agricultural climate adaptation informed by examples from deserts of the world. Testing and refining these solutions will become increasingly important for the Southwestern U.S. in the decades to come,” says Brandon Bestelmeyer, lead scientist at the Jornada Experimental Range and affiliated faculty in NMSU’s Departments of Biology and Plant and Environmental Sciences.
Nabhan co-founded Native Seeds/Search, a non-profit conservation organization aimed at preserving native Southwestern agricultural plants. The winner of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellowship in 1990, Nabhan, during a recent episode of the Food and Faith Podcast, said conservation efforts need to be pursued with “heart and head together.”
Nabhan’s talk is the first in the spring semester slate of four NMSUCCESS talks. NMSU and community collaborators began the series in spring 2018 with talks by experts from around the country for the once-a-month seminars, which take place at either the Rio Grande Theatre or a lecture hall at NMSU. Future topics will include carbon sequestration, mass extinction threats, national and global security concerns. The series’ goal is to shine a light on research and issues related to climate change for this region.
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Monday, January 13, 2020
The National Hay Association 2020 Mid-Year Membership Meeting
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