Agriculture & Natural Resources

please find us at:

FCH & Agriculture Information: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/counties/bastrop-county/

Bastrop County 4-H Website: https://www.bastrop4h.org/

Welcome to Bastrop County agriculture!

Bastrop County AgriLife Extension Service aims to provide homeowners, landowners, and agricultural producers with the tools, knowledge, and skills necessary for all aspects of agriculture, natural resources, and everything in between. For more information, please contact the extension office at 512-581-7186.

– Bastrop County Extension Office

News

Feral Hog Bounty is back on for 2026 – 2027!

Bastrop County’s annual feral hog bounty has restarted for the 2026 – 2027 year has begun! If you are experiencing feral hogs on your property, this is your opportunity to both reduce or eliminate invasive feral hogs while also receiving payment for it! Bastrop County residents who harvest feral hogs within Bastrop County lines are eligible to receive a payout of $5.00 per pair of ears turned in. Ear pairs can be submitted with scalp or in individual pairs. To submit entry into the bounty, please deliver ear pairs in gallon bags to the following drop off locations and fill out the provided form:

Smith Supply Co.
- 764 NW Loop 230, Smithville, Tx 78957
Elgin General Store
- 1155 Dildy Dr. Elgin, Tx 78621
Paige Tractor Co.
- 4409 US-290, Paige, Tx 78659

Hogs can be harvested by any legal means. Alternatively, receipt from an approved Texas Animal Health Commission feral hog holding facility. A list of currently approved facilities can be found here: https://www.tahc.texas.gov/animal_health/swine/pdf/FeralSwineFacilities.pdf

Annual Soil, Water, and Forage Testing Campaign Ongoing Through October 28th

Bastrop County AgriLife Extension would like to invite you to participate in our annual soil, water, and forage testing campaign! From October 7th to October 28th, select forage, soil (for ag production and homeowners), and water tests will be offered at discounted rates. Below lists the offered discounts on soil, forage, and water:

Soil
- Routine Analysis – $12 – $8
  - (pH, NO3-N, Conductivity and Mehlich III P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Boron) (This test is a base test for basic fertilizer recommendations.)
- Routine + Micronutrients – $20 – $15
  - (Adds Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn to test 1.)
Water
- Bacteriology – $15
- Elemental analysis – $40 à $30
  - (Conductivity, pH, Na, Ca, Mg, K, CO32-, HCO3-, SO42-, Cl-, P, B, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Nitrate-N. Hardness, and SAR)
Forage
- NIR – $8 – $5
  - (Protein, Fiber, TDN, IVTD–pure grass, alfalfa, and clovers only)
- NIR + Nitrates – $15
- Protein + Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) – $19
- Protein + ADF + Nitrates – $29

Please note that bacteriology samples are provided by Aqua Water Supply and must be delivered to the Bastrop County Extension office by 12PM noon on October 14th, 21st, and 28th. Elemental water samples through TAMU will only be accepted by 12PM noon on October 28th. Water samples submitted outside of these days will not be accepted. For any questions or to pick up a sample kit, please visit the Bastrop County Extension Office at 15 American Legion Dr. Bastrop, Tx 78602. For questions, please contact Dakota Kempken at 512-581-7186 or by email at Dakota.kempken@ag.tamu.edu.

Bastrop/Fayette County Fall Ag Producers Conference on November 6th

Bastrop and Fayette Counties would like to invite you to the Smithville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1309 meeting hall on Friday, November 6th, 2026 for the annual Bastrop/Fayette County Fall Ag Producers Conference. Beef and forage producers, landowners, and stakeholders are invited to participate in fellowship and connection building with stakeholders, specialists, and other producers and landowners, and education in relevant beef and forage education. Topics of discussion will include pasture mealybug control and recovery, invasive grass management on rangeland, and new world screwworm situation updates and control/prevention strategies.

5 continuing education units (CEU’s) are being offered to pesticide applicators license holders, including 2 General CEU’s 1 Laws and Regulations CEU, and 2 Integrated Pest Management CEU’s.

Registration is due to the Bastrop County Extension office (15 American Legion Dr. Bastrop, Tx 78602) or Fayette County Extension office (255 Svoboda Ln #134, La Grange, Tx 78945) by Friday, October 23rd. To register, please submit a $40 payment via exact change or checks payable to:

Bastrop County Ag Demonstration Fund
Fayette Beef Committee

Please submit payment to your respective county extension office by Friday, October 23rd by 5:00PM. Late and on-site registrations will be subjected to a $10 late fee. For any questions, please contact either Dakota Kempken, Bastrop County Extension Agent, at 512-581-7186 or at Dakota.kempken@ag.tamu.edu, or Scott Willey, Fayette County Extension Agent, at 979-968-5831 or at sawilley@ag.tamu.edu.

Feral Hogs 101 Lunch & Learn on October 20th

Join us on Tuesday, October 20th for a casual lunch and learn, running through the basics of feral hog biology and management. Participants will learn introductory information on feral hogs including biology, behavior and identification, and both nonlethal and lethal control strategies. Pesticide applicator license holders will receive 1 Integrated Pest Management CEU at the end of the program. To participate, please submit $10.00 via exact change or check payable to Bastrop County Ag Demonstration Fund by 5:00PM on Monday, October 19th. For more information, contact the Bastrop County Extension office.

New World Screwworm Situation Update – June 23rd, 2026

Click the image below to access the recording