TSCRA-TWA annual livestock-wildlife field day set for Sept. 27-28

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 23, 2007—Whether you purchased or inherited the land and resources you manage, it's a sure bet you've been dealt a mixed hand. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Wildlife Association are partnering to offer lessons on how to play the cards of land, livestock and wildlife to win at their annual field day Sept. 27-28 at McFaddin Mercantile, approximately 20 miles south of Victoria on FM 445.
     The two-day event will offer tours of neighboring family ranches—the McFaddin and Womack Ranches—and time during meals to visit with experts on specific resource management questions. Author and historian James Haley will be the featured dinner speaker, telling of the challenges European explorers faced when they landed on the Texas Gulf Coast centuries ago.
     McFaddin Mercantile is the gathering point for the field day events, held in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Cooperative Extension, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The field day schedule offers programs on plant identification, individual plant treatment, prescribed burning and mechanical brush control and livestock management, against the backdrop of the two ranches.
     The McFaddin Ranch was started in 1878 by J.A. McFaddin. Today, Bob McCan, past TSCRA president, manages McFaddin Enteprises, the 2007 winner of the Lone Star Land Steward Award for the Coastal Prairies and Marshes region.
     The Womack Ranch is on the southeast corner of the original McFaddin ranch. Lou Womack continues the work of her late husband Jess, with their son Jesse managing the ranch, to restore the natural habitat. For their efforts to restore native wetlands and prairies for the benefit of diversity of wildlife, the Womacks were named the Lone Star Land Steward of the Year in 2002.
     On Thursday evening, dinner will be served at the McFaddin Mercantile and area elected officials will be invited to hear from attendees the challenges local landowners face in managing resources.
     Friday's lunch will feature round-table discussions at the McFaddin Mercantile. Choose the topics that fit the hand you've been dealt—success stories on small-acreage tracts, participation in the Coastal Prairies Initiative and other programs, NRCS and TPWD incentive programs.
     Managing land includes protecting your resources. TSCRA Special Ranger Tommy Johnson will offer tips on protecting your livestock, wildlife and equipment resources from thieves. TSCRA has a force of 30 special rangers who assist local law enforcement in investigating livestock and wildlife related theft. In 2006, TSCRA's special rangers recovered more than $5 million in lost and stolen assets for TSCRA members and non-members.
     Blocks of rooms are available at local hotels at special rates for field day attendees. Ask for the TWA/TSCRA joint field day room block when you contact LaQuinta Inn, $65 per night, (361) 572-3585, or Holiday Inn, $76 a night, (361) 575-0251.
     Field day sponsors include Atzenhoffer Chevrolet, Victoria; Alamo Area Quail Unlimited; DuPont; First Victoria National Bank; GLCI; Lyssey & Eckel Feeds; SeaBreeze Culvert; Dow AgroSciences; Capital Farm Credit; and Texas Section, Society for Range Management.
     Registration for members of TSCRA or TWA is $50 per person. Non-member registration is $75.
     For TSCRA membership information, contact Stacy Fox, sfox@texascattleraisers.org, 1 (800) 242-7820. For TWA membership information, contact Claire Massey, cmassey@texas-wildlife.org.
     To register for the joint field day, contact www.texas-wildlife.org, Helen Holdsworth, h_holdsworth@texas-wildlife.org, 800/TEX-WILD.

     Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 130-year-old trade organization whose 14,800 members manage approximately 3.7 million head of cattle on 96.5 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.  It provides law enforcement services, livestock inspection, legislative and regulatory advocacy and education opportunities for its members.

TSCRA-22-2007