But all wheat stocks were estimated at just 821.9 million bushels in all positions, down a bit from March 1996. Farm stocks are 320.8 million bushels, up 45 percent from last March, but off-farm stocks at 501.1 million bushels are down 17 percent. U.S. sorghum stocks totaled 153.5 million hundredweights, up 69 percent. These microscopic organisms feed on the roots of cotton plants, robbing them of the nutrition they need to mature properly. In West Texas, it's estimated that 9.5 percent of the region's cotton crop is lost each year to nematodes.
Symptoms can include stunted plants, yellowed leaves, wilting, and stress.
But because soil-borne pests are difficult to diagnose, these symptoms often are mistakenly attributed to other problems. Dr. Terry Wheeler, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station nematologist, will be keynote speaker at the cotton workshop. More than 800 farmers and ranchers will gather Wednesday and Thursday at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio for the 10th Farm Credit District's 79th annual stockers meeting. Participants will include presidents and directors of 46 Federal Land Bank Associations in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and 16 Production Credit Associations in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Farm Credit leaders will hear reports on 1996 performance and discuss plans for serving farmers and ranchers better in coming years.