June 2, 2000

Summer Commodity
Meeting set for Kerrville

The Texas Farm Bureau Summer Commodity Conference will be held July 5-7 in Kerrville at the YO Ranch Hotel.

“We are planning commodity conferences, a general session, tours of area attractions, a reception at the Cowboy Artist Museum, and CEU credits. I think you will find that there is something for everyone at this meeting,” said Donald Patman, TFB president.

Registration begins Wednesday, July 5, at 11 a.m. Concurrent sessions for the Beef, Dairy, Wildlife, Cotton, Peanut, and Forestry, Horticulture Crops, Nursery & Greenhouse, and Citrus commodity groups will run from 1:30-5 p.m. that day. District 10 will hold its Policy Development Meeting Wednesday evening.
Tours are scheduled for 7:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Patman said.

“We are offering five different tours this year. The cost of the tours is $10 per person. You will pay at registration in Kerrville. This is to offset the cost of the buses and refreshments. We are requiring a minimum of 30 people to preregister for each tour. If 30 people are not preregistered, you will be asked to select another tour at the conference registration table.”

Tour #1 is designed for those individuals interested in opportunities to use wildlife as a supplemental income to an operation. Stops on the tour include Broken Arrow Ranch, a farmed deer-processing facility in Ingram; the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Heart of the Hills Research Station fisheries; and the Kerr Wildlife Management area, where landowners will hear about grazing management systems, prescribed burning, deer and other wildlife management programs.

Among the stops on Tour #2, designed for the horse enthusiast, is Albert Jenschke’s Ranch, which caters to individuals wanting to ride their own horses, to join trail rides and to enjoy ranch-style cooking.

Tour #3 will take in the Paul Garrison family ranching operation near Medina, specializing in exotic wildlife, and Baxter Adams’ Love Creek Orchard, also at Medina, which features intensive apple production using dwarf varieties. Adam’s apples are processed into products for wholesale and sold at the Love Creek retail shop.

Tour #4, set for the heart of the Texas peach industry, in Stonewall, includes a visit to the peach orchard of George Pehl, a Gillespie County FB member; and Burg’s Corner, a peach processing facility and marketing operation. Also on this tour is Wildseed Farms, a wildflower seed harvesting operation with a nursery, retail store, and deli, just outside Fredericksburg.

Finally, tour #5, which is designed exclusively for women, begins with the trek to Becker Vineyards and Wildseed Farms, with the #4 group. Next stop is Fredericksburg, for a shopping spree, followed by a tour of the James Avery Jewelry Craftsman back in Kerrville.

The general session begins at 1:30, Thursday afternoon, followed by an Animal Health Conference from 4-5:30 p.m. The Tick Force from Laredo, along with an expert from Texas A&M University and Dr. Terry Beals, the state veterinarian, will be on hand to discuss ticks and the rules and regulations affecting tick-related quarantine of livestock. The reception at the Cowboy Artist Museum begins at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Sheep & Goat, Poultry, Wheat & Feed Grains, Swine, Hay & Forage, Rice & Soybeans, and Horse Commodity conferences are planned for Friday, July 7, from 7:30-11:30 a.m. Those interested in obtaining 4 hours of CEU credits, which includes sessions on Laws and Regulations, IPM (Integrated Pest Management), and other requirements, can do so from 1-5 p.m. that afternoon (A minimum of 20 people must be signed up to make a class).

Registration forms are available at your county Farm Bureau office. The room rate for a single or double room is $65 plus tax. The form must be received by Betsy Simon, travel services department (1-800-537-8294; or fax to 1-254-751-8797) by June 5, 2000.

“We anticipate an excellent Summer Meeting and look forward to having a delegation from your county join us in Kerrville,” said Patman.