High Ground Farmers Unearth Profit in Niche Crops
Published Mar 27, 2006
It’s not just cows and cotton – more than 3,500 acres of vineyards grace The High Ground, along with dozens of other crops such as guar, a multipurpose legume.
High Ground farmers are expanding the types of crops produced in the region and finding niche markets.
More than 25 crops are produced commercially in the region, according to The High Ground of Texas, a marketing coalition of communities and counties in the West Texas region.
About 3,500 acres are planted in grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Pheasant Ridge Winery near Lubbock, one of the area’s oldest vineyards, produces about 10,000 cases of wine per year.
The High Ground region also is adding more plant and animal genetics research to find new applications for crops and livestock.
Technology isn’t “just hardware and software information,” says Dale Gannaway, director for the Lubbock Regional Bioscience Initiative and executive director and board chairman for the West Texas Coalition for Innovation and Commercialization, which represents an 83-county region.
“We’re trying to promote the knowledge-based economy in the state of Texas,” Gannaway says. “The agricultural business has not done a good job of marketing itself. But there are hundreds of technologies involved in the agriculture industry.”
Guar is a crop that researchers have discovered improves soil and helps High Ground farmers increase their crop yields when it’s used as a rotation crop.
Cotton production improved 12 percent in West Texas after growing guar in the same soil a year earlier, according to Texas A&M University.
And that’s big news for farmers in the High Plains, where cotton is the main crop.
Guar, a legume, is harvested for cattle feed, use in the food industry, and in nutraceutical and industrial applications, Texas A&M reports.
Guar can be found on thousands of labels for food products, including cottage cheese, sour cream, barbecue sauce and even beverages.
“Guar gum is a thickening agent,” says Janna Forbes, who with her husband, Klint, started producing the crop at their farm in Brownfield and opened West Texas Guar Inc. in 1998.
“It makes your ice cream thick,” she adds. “It’s used in the oil industry, and it’s also used in paper and textile industries, mine and explosive industries and pharmaceuticals. It’s in quite a bit of stuff.”
Story by Cristal Cody
Photo by Greg Emens
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