The Back 40

In 2009, Texas A&M student Brady Grimes, established Howdy! Farm at the university. In its four short years of existence, the farm has grown into a gem of the campus community, educating those on and off of the farm.  According to its website, Howdy! Farm was “started as a student led initiative that seeks to promote local [...]

The 2nd annual SXSW Eco, taking place in Austin, Texas on October 3 – 5 is assembling “an international array of thinkers and doers, all focused on a sustainable future” to examine current issues of agriculture and the environment. We are particularly interested in the “Food and Agriculture” portion, which “boasts rising stars, homegrown heroes [...]

Buddy and Ellen Temple, recipients of the 2011 Leopold Conservation Award in Texas, were honored during the Texas Conservation Alliance‘s Annual Meeting “for protecting the Neches River and for their life-long dedication to conservation.” “Buddy and Ellen have done more for East Texas than anyone knows,” said Richard Donovan, a director of the Texas Conservation Alliance. “Their [...]

The 2012 drought in the Midwestern United States has, obviously, had negative impacts domestically but has also affected global markets that rely on the export of U.S. grain. It’s clear that water and production agriculture are inextricably tied.  Countries must find ways to utilize scarce water resources for food production, while also conserving enough for [...]

Folks the world over may soon be clamoring to alleviate their salty, smoked jones that can only be achieved through bacon. If the data presented by Britain’s National Pig Association are correct, the threat of a bacon shortage is an indication of a larger problem. The drought impacted corn and soybean crops have increased pig [...]

Land grant universities across the nation are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, which was sponsored by Rep. Justin Morrill, R-Vt. ans signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The law gave each state 30,000 acres of federal land to sell for the purpose of establishing public colleges, which led to 69 [...]