By Gary Joiner

100 years is a long time to do anything successfully.

Whether it’s marking a yearly sporting event, owning a continuous family business or working alongside farmers and ranchers, a century of success is worth noting.

Capital Farm Credit this week celebrated its 100th year of agricultural lending in the Lone Star State. It’s a story of service and survival of a financial cooperative. It mirrors the resiliency of the farmers and ranchers who are its members.

There have been many challenges in the past century. For both Capital Farm Credit and Texas growers. And this year is another tough one.

By Gary Joiner

It’s been a year for the books. Torrential downpours. Sluggish markets. And drought creeping back in.

Stressful, no doubt. But farmers keep at it, and combines are rolling. Fields of corn and grain sorghum are coming out. The wave of harvest is at about its mid-point as it works its way from south to north.

It’s a critical time for Texas growers, and the culmination of a very difficult year. With several attempts and replants. Extra input costs that may or may not be recovered. Better than average yields is the hope. And, for many, breaking even on a crop is the goal this year.

By Gary Joiner

Texas farmers purchase crop insurance to protect against losses in the field. It’s a critical management tool.

But there’s also risk after harvest. At the first point of sale. If a grain buyer fails to pay the farmer due to bankruptcy or theft of grain, the grower is left holding the bag.

A great solution to manage this risk is the Texas Grain Producer Indemnity Fund. The program mitigates 85 percent of the financial losses suffered by growers of corn, sorghum, soybeans and wheat when grain buyers fail to pay for grain.

By Gary Joiner

The presidential election has a lot of us worried. We’ve never had two presumptive nominees for president with such high negative ratings among the public.

Can the country rally behind the November winner? It’s a good question. Some aren’t so sure of the answer.

What’s losing in all of the election hype? Free trade. And it’s losing big. That’s not good for Texas farmers and ranchers. Or our country.

By Gary Joiner

The last known living 9/11 search dog passed away this week near Houston. Bretagne (BRIHT’-nee), a golden retriever, was 16.

Bretagne and her handler, Denise Corliss, spent 10 days in Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, searching the rubble for human remains.

Published reports say about two dozen first responders on Monday lined the sidewalk leading to the veterinarian’s office in Cypress. They saluted Bretagne as she walked by for the final time.

The account reminds us of the special relationship we have with dogs. That special bond is alive and well on farms and ranches across Texas.