https://txjanr.agintexas.org/index.php/txjanr/issue/feed 2025-09-11T20:29:38+00:00 Jessica Richmond jrichmond@tarleton.edu Open Journal Systems <p>Welcome to the Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources' online home!</p> <p>This year marks the 33rd year that the Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources has published research articles. Check out our archives to see what issues and fields of study that researchers have explored!&nbsp;</p> https://txjanr.agintexas.org/index.php/txjanr/article/view/443 2024-01-22T19:49:44+00:00 Jose A. Lopez Jose.Lopez@tamuc.edu Jameson Augustin jaugustin@leomail.tamuc.edu Ervin Leiva eleivalopez@mail.missouri.edu

<p>Growing at an annual rate of 3.7%, the Latin American livestock sector has surpassed the average global livestock growth rate of 2.1% and has become the leading region for beef and poultry exports worldwide. In 2018, Nicaragua led beef production and exports in Central America with growth rates of 24% and 16.4%, respectively. Using data on feeder cattle futures prices and on 2,520 sales transactions from 99 cattle auctions in Nicaragua from 2017 to 2018, this study conducts a hedonic price analysis using a basis approach. A basis model is considered a better risk management tool in terms of variations between cash prices and futures prices and potential endogeneity issues associated with these two variables. The study found that weight, lot size, and class are statistically significant factors impacting cattle auction prices. The results of the study are of importance to buyers and sellers of cattle in their decision-making process and help them understand information from the futures market to predict price differences and reduce price risk and uncertainty.</p>

2025-04-01T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 https://txjanr.agintexas.org/index.php/txjanr/article/view/467 2025-09-11T20:29:38+00:00 Robert Kinucan kinucan@sulross.edu

<p><strong>A Chihuahuan Desert grassland winter prescribed burn was studied for its effect on first-year arthropod</strong><br /><strong>abundance, biomass, composition, and recovery at the Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area,</strong><br /><strong>Brewster County, Texas. The burn was conducted in early February 1997, resulting in a cool, discontinuous</strong><br /><strong>fire. Arthropods were collected pre- and postburn from January-December on unburned control and burned</strong><br /><strong>treatment sites with suction collection. Insects were identified to the familial level, pooled at the ordinal level;</strong><br /><strong>counted, dried, and weighed, whereas arachnids were grouped, counted, dried, and weighed. Preburn</strong><br /><strong>vegetation was comparable between treatments, and no differences were found for insect and arachnid</strong><br /><strong>abundance and biomass (P ≤ 0.05). Postburn, herbaceous cover was reduced significantly, and abundance</strong><br /><strong>differences were found in arachnids and for nine of 15 insect orders (P ≤ 0.05). Biomass at the ordinal level</strong><br /><strong>differed for the Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, and Psocodea (P ≤ 0.05). The fire did not strongly impact diversity</strong><br /><strong>and evenness of arthropod populations although composition differed. Postburn arthropod abundance and</strong><br /><strong>biomass tracked vegetation changes over the ensuing year and were highest at peak growing season following</strong><br /><strong>monsoonal rains. Arthropod abundance, biomass, and diversity between treatments were comparable at the</strong><br /><strong>end of the first postfire year, and trends indicated that population abundance was approaching pre-burn levels,</strong><br /><strong>although composition remained different.</strong><br /><br /></p>

2026-05-08T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026