Pecans on Short List!
Our craving for pecans may not be totally satisfied this harvest season. Georgia — the number one pecan growing state — lost over a third of their expected 100-million pound crop due to Hurricane Irma. That comes to over 35-million pound loss and Texas has lost over 3-million pounds of the edible nut due to storms and hurricanes. So if you have a favorite place to buy pecans for the holiday season, get your order in early!
The nation’s largest youth organization is 4-H. In Texas, we have members of 4-H in all of our 254 counties, plus in all the other 49 states and more than 80 other countries. Katie Pittack, Extension 4-H agent in Henderson County, reports over 591,000 Texas young people participate in 4-H and its many activities. Another great asset of Texas 4-H is the nearly 30,000 volunteer adult leaders who, in cooperation with county Extension agents, make the program a success.
A National Youth Development study shows that 4-Hers are five times more likely to become college graduates and four times more likely to actively contribute to their community. Other findings were that 4-H members are three times more physically active than non-members and twice as likely to pursue a career in science, engineering or computers.
Texas landowners often rent, or lease, their land for hunting. The income helps to provide some extra income for landowners. Many hunting leases are just “handshakes” rather than committing the agreement to paper. But now, the Texas bureaucrats are holding their hands out to grant a “license” for providing the hunting lease.
Cost of the annual license is $79 up to $252, depending on farm acreage. This license law has been on the books for several years and can be enforced with a penalty of up to $500 for “non-compliance” with the law.
Some groups that are against use of firearms are said to be jubilant that the law can be used to arrest and fine landowners who don’t buy the hunting license for their property. What the Texas Legislature should do is vote to abolish this law and let landowners work out their own agreements with hunters — or is that too much to ask of the bureaucrats who vote first and ask questions later?
Our hunting lease agreements are between our hunters and my wife and I — and not the business of the politicians!
Professional football is a sordid mess. Last Sunday, Mike Pence, Vice President of the U.S., left a football game in his home state of Indiana when some players kneeled and shook a fist when the national Anthem was played. Mr. Pence and his wife and entourage departed the stadium where the game between the Colts and 49’ers was to be played. Thank you, Mr. Pence! In other NFL news, Colin Kaepernick, the self-proclaimed “quarterback” who started this kneeling mess, has decided he would rather play football than continue his childlike antics on the playing field. Kaepernick is now saying that if an NFL team will let him play, he will discontinue his disrespectful displays against our flag!
Some NFL team owners are getting the message — at least two are now reported to have told their players that if they can’t respect our flag, they will no longer be on the field.
