McLennan County, Agriculture - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

09/04/2026

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Program is this coming Tuesday

29th Central Texas Turf & PCO CEU Workshop
Date: Tuesday, September 8th, 2026
Location: VFW Hall
725 Sun Valley Blvd.
Hewit, TX 6643
Time: 8:00am-3:00pm
Registration/Sign-in starts at 7:30am

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in McLennan County along with VirKim Fertilizer & Chemical will host the annual Central Texas Turf & PCO CEU workshop on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at the Hewitt VFW Hall located at 725 Sun Valley Blvd, Hewitt, Texas 76643.

This one-day Turf Seminar will offer attendees the opportunity to earn up to 5 hours of Structural OR Agricultural TDA CEUs.

Structural license holders: Receive 5 CEU hours, including one credit hour each in General IPM, General L&R and L&O. Plus choose between Termite or W**d for one credit hour and choose between Pest or General IPM for one credit hour for a total of 5 CEU hours.

Agricultural license holders: Receive 5 CEU hours consisting of two IPM, two General and one L&R credits.

Tyler Mays, Extension Program Specialist IPM will start the program with Utilizing IPM Practices in the Landscape and Turf Environment; Janet Hurly, Senior Extension Program Specialist, will lead discussions on Termites and WDI, Sign and Symptoms and Mosquitos, Flies and Rodents & the Diseases Associated with Them; Gary Brooks, will talk about Program Approach to Turfgrass W**d Control & Turfgrass Entomology in Central Texas; Brandi Kelm, Texas Department of Agriculture-Inspector will present on General Laws & Regulations; Jake Wightman, Extension Program Specialist-AES, will discuss Ornamental & Turf Pest Management.

The Registration fee is $90.00 at the door. Cash or check only. The workshop sign-in begins at 7:30am, with the program starting promptly at 8:00am and will conclude at 3:00pm. Lunch is provided. Please bring your applicators license with you.

For additional information please call VirKim at (254) 420-2456. Please make checks payable to: VirKim/CEU Workshop and mail or drop off payment along with registration paper to: Virkim Inc. 718 Sun Valley Blvd. Hewitt, TX 76643

Nicole Kosier
Administrative Assistant

09/02/2026

McLennan County Master Gardener Intern class continues. McLennan County Master Gardeners

Our guest speaker today is Dr Kevin Ong-Professor and Associate Department Head, Plant Pathology & Microbiology, Director of Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab.

09/02/2026

I receive questions on subjects and answer them based off of my knowledge, training, experience, etc. When I don't know the answer I rely on Extension subject matter specialist and my Industry expert friends.

One of the questions I was given 20+ years ago was by a church member, who had a cricket/wasp looking cross species. What is that?

Well I had to send that question and picture on to an Extension Entomologist. Now I know, its a ensign wasp. https://agrilife.org/urban-ipm/2017/08/11/ensign-wasps-theyre-the-good-guys-actually-girls/

I had a lady bring this insect in to me this week for identification. It is not the normal looking insect and people will bring it in every once in awhile for Id. Now you know!

Have you seen an insect in your house that kind-of looks like a fly, but not exactly? It will be black in color, but the stunning and key feature is the abdomen; it comes off the top of the abdomen and looks similar to a triangular flag. I know of many people who have asked me about this “weird ho...

08/27/2026

Annual Hay Show @ Timber Crest Baptist.

Next year we will have our hay show drive in July but the hay show will go back to my original format of Hay Show and Chili Supper, in late October 2027.

Guest speaker: James Jackson - Range & Pasture Market Development Specialist for Alligare

08/27/2026

For 29 years, the partnership of McLennan County Extension and VirKim Fertilizer & Chemical have offered great turf and pest education to the people of Central Texas.

RSVP soon by calling (254)420-2456
Registration begins at 7:30 am

Location: Hewitt VFW, 725 Sun Valley Blvd, Hewitt TX
Don't miss this great opportunity to pick up either 5 CEU's of Structural or 5 CEU's for Ag applicator license.

Ag CEU's: 2 IPM, 2 General, and 1 Laws and Regulations
Structural: 1 IPM, option of either 1 Termite or 1 Pest, 1 L &R, and 1 L&O.

We will have a big crowd so arrive early to speed up registration. If your late you will wait.

**Greg Michna will be cooking fried catfish and chicken**

08/27/2026

Reminder:

8/27 - Hay Show @ Timber Crest Baptist Church. Meal at 5:30 call 254.757.5180 to rsvp (One CEU)

8/31 - Stock Pond Management @ Extension Office
9/8 - Central Texas Turf and PCO CEU Seminar @ Hewitt VFW (5 CEUs, Ag and Structural)
9/14 - Pond W**d Id & Control @ Extension Office
9/21 - New Pond Construction & Pond Fish Stocking @ Extension Office
9/24 - Harvest Celebration @ Tonkawa Falls Events Center, Crawford
10/26 - 7 Hour CEU Program @ Pridgeon Community Center, Franklin. Call (979)828-4270 to rsvp
12/10 - 8 Hour CEU Program @ Extension Office

08/26/2026

Hi everyone,
We're excited to share this month's Texas Agricultural Law Resource which focuses on Landowner Liability.

This one-pager highlights helpful resources on topics such as liability protection strategies, https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/files/2022/09/How-Landowners-Can-Protect-Themselves-From-Liability.pdfrequired

and recommended farm and ranch signage,
https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/2021/08/16/questions-from-tiffanys-desk-what-signs-do-i-need-on-my-farm-ranch/

recreational use considerations, and other important legal issues that can impact agricultural landowners.

We hope you'll find it useful to share on social media, include in newsletters, or reference when working with producers and landowners. Tiffany's also recently posted a podcast on landowner liability.
https://aglaw.libsyn.com/category/Landowner+Liability

Thanks for all you do!

Tiffany Dowell Lashmet
Professor & Extension Specialist – Agricultural Law
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Department of Agricultural Economics

After my blog post about amendments to the Texas Farm Animal Liability Act, my email inbox was bombarded with questions about the various signs that landowners should consider having, what the differences are between the signs, and where to purchase the signs. I thought it might be helpful to do a r...

08/26/2026

Great class of Master Gardener Interns. We always have great leadership coordinating these classes!

The great Wizzie Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Senior Program Specialist spoke on "Insects and Integrated Pest Management"

08/25/2026

2026 McLennan County Hay Show
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Registration begins at 5:30pm
Meal & educational program begins at 6:00pm
Timber Crest Baptist Church
1625 Crow Drive, Waco

WACO, Texas The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of McLennan County is hosting the McLennan County Hay Show on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at the Timber Crest Baptist Church, 1625 Crow Dr. Waco. Registration will begin at 5:30pm, with the educational presentation & meal to follow at 6:00pm.

This year’s guest speaker is James Jackson, Range and Pasture Development - Alligare. At the Hay Show we will recognize “Best of Show” for each category as follows: Bermudagrass, C-4 Perennial (Switchgrass, Big bluestem and Indiangrass, Bahiagrass and Dallisgrass) and C-3 Grass (wheat, oats, rye, barley, triticale, and annual ryegrass) and Legume.

One General Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education unit hour will be offered to be applied towards a pesticide applicator license. The cost of the program is $20.00, which includes a BBQ dinner.

Participants are asked to RSVP by Tuesday, August 25th, by calling the McLennan County Extension Office (254) 757-5180.

08/23/2026