Program
The theme of this year's program is "Marketing Texas Pecans.” Some excellent promotion programs will be reviewed, for many have agreed that such efforts were effective in helping move the 1965 crop. Foreign lands promise to be good markets for pecans if we will work to develop them. A conference speaker will give first hand reports on the solution offered by many of the leaders in the industry as a means of receiving a fair price for pecans. The recently organized Pecan Improvement Association is offered as a means for marketing "Western Shelling Stock" grown in Texas. Developments in the pecan shelling industry and the shelling qualities of many new USDA selections will be of vital concern since about 88 percent if the nation's pecan crop is shelled before it reaches the consumer. Many are aware that the Texas Pecan Show has grown to such size that it must be reorganized. The Pecan Show Committee will outline sweeping changes in the 1966 Texas State Pecan Show Rules. The method of queen selection will be drastically changed. Scientists representing the newly organized Texas pecan research program will welcome your comments and suggestions. Texas Pecan Grower’s support of this program through legislators in Austin and in Washington, D. C., has made it possible. Continuing efforts by the Texas Pecan Grower Research Committee will be reviewed. The meeting will be logically closed by looking into the future by means of the 1966 Pecan Crop Estimates.
EXHIBITS
You are invited to view the exhibits in the Coronado Room. Randolph Terrell of Seguin is in charge of the commercial exhibits and Ed Migura, Bastrop County agricultural agent, is in charge of the educational exhibits.
Commercial exhibits offer interesting displays of many new items not seen at previous annual conferences. This afternoon at 3:50, you will hear explanations of the displays and the demonstrations to follow in Zilker Park. Have your car in the Convention Parking Lot so you can join the police escorted procession at 4:30 for Zilker Park.
You will be able to see the fruits of the harvest research efforts at Texas A&M demonstrated in addition to an excellent variety of other commercial equipment.
The winning entries from the 1,027 entered in the 1965 Texas State Pecan Show are on display. Their quality was maintained by frozen storage.
MEMBERSHIP
An analysis of our membership is as follows: County Membership
Dallas .....................................................................30
Travis .....................................................................24
Harris .....................................................................24
Tarrant ...................................................................24 Guadalupe .............................................................17
Bexar ......................................................................16
San Saba .................................................................16 Eastland ..................................................................12
Hood ................................................................11
Brazos ..............................................................10
Brazoria ..............................................................9
Brown .................................................................9
Wharton .............................................................9
Bastrop ...............................................................8
Bowie ..................................................................8
Fayette ................................................................8
Wichita ................................................................8
Mills .....................................................................7
McLennan ............................................................7
Hamilton ..............................................................6
Lamar ...................................................................6
Lubbock ................................................................6
Taylor ...................................................................6 Williamson ...........................................................6
Caldwell ...............................................................5 Comanche ............................................................5
El Paso .................................................................5
Gonzales ..............................................................5
Midland ...............................................................5
Navarro ................................................................5
Total Life, Regular, Contributing, and Sustaining Membership in 103 Texas Counties (a decrease of 66 from last year) ..............................................................................453
**Life members are: F. R. Brison John Hutchison Elmo Cook A. H. Krezdorn J. M. Cooper Henry New W. T. Evers J. L. Rainey O. S. Gray, Sr. E. Guy Risien
***Contributing members are: Dr. James E. Anthony H. C. Pape L. R. Allison Company George Peyton R. B. Bagley Sam A. Pollard W. D. Baines, Jr. Charles W. Prothro Robert Baldwin Bob A. Roberts Dr. Kenneth G. Bebb Jack Sanderson Dr. Dwight Dill Taber Shelton J. M. Doerfler John W. Speck Sumner C. Evans Lucius M. Stephens Buster Follmar Dallas Telford Margaret Follmar Elijah Thompson B. B. Freeman Roland Wiley Gulf Coast Bag & Bagging Co. Larry J. Womack M. C. Laake T. N. Wood W. H. McAlister, Jr. George W. Yarbro J. Arthur Miller James G. Whitley
****Sustaining members are: Ray Bass L. D. Romberg Diablo Farms Kenneth Suggs Ray Peeler Warren Wells
Membership in 19 other states (a decrease of 6 from last year) ................................65
Membership in 6 foreign countries made up, of Mexico, South Africa, Philippines, England, Peru, and Brazil (an increase of 6 over last year) ...................................................................16
Total Regular, Life, Sustaining, and Contributing membership (a decrease of 66 from last year) ................................................................534
Honorary membership (an increase of 7 over last year) ............................................64
Courtesy membership (a decrease of 78 from last year) ............................................89 County Extension Agents ..........................................................................................243 District Agents .............................................................................................................12 Other Extension Personnel .........................................................................................15 Total on roll (a decrease of 222 from last year) ....................................................... 957
We lost 65 dues paying members this year which was a little more than the 53 we gained last year. It was the largest decrease we have experienced during the 8 years your present Secretary-Treasurer has been in office. The present 235 dues-paying members are well above the 231 in this category back in 1958-59.
Several reasons may be responsible such as lack of the 1965 Proceedings, insufficient follow-up on members who have forgotten to pay dues and low prices in the fall of 1965.
Definite steps have been taken to improve the efficiency of the Secretary's office. Mrs. Dorothy Holland, editor in Texas A&M University's Department of Agricultural Information, will be asked to assume responsibilities as associate editor for the Texas Pecan Growers Association during the 1966-67 year. Her duties will be:
- to edit both the 1965 and 1966 Proceedings
- to edit Texas Pecan News
- explore the possibility of publishing a Quarterly magazine
- develop other literature for the Association such as a membership brochure
- secure advertisements for these publications
Our directors are to be commended for taking this progressive step in securing the part time services of a professional editor. Such action will permit our publications to appear on a regular schedule and not have to be worked into a heavy teaching and research load. Your present secretary has been teaching three courses this past spring and trying to devote a great deal of time to the pecan research program which you worked so hard to secure. This pecan research program has to succeed and I can assure you that I have put top priority on it, which meant that many times activities which should have been done for the Association went undone.
INSTRUCTION
The Budding and Grafting Shortcourse offered in June 1966 contained 46 students. The next opportunity to secure resident instruction at Texas A&M University will be on July 26, 27 and 28, 1966, when the Pecan Orchard Management Shortcourse is conducted. The Native Pecan Improvement Shortcourse will be offered on July 25, 26 and 27, 1967. Reservations for these courses may be secured by contacting the Continuing Education Office, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843.
SCHOLARSHIP
Enrollment in agriculture at Texas A&M is up 81 percent over last year. Young men are beginning to see, that we, nave a hungry world to feed, and that food sciences have a tremendous, future. However, very few of these new students in agriculture are considering horticulture as a major. Where are we going to secure trained men for the pecan industry? One incentive is our J. F. Rosborough Scholarship Fund. We have already had several inquiries about the availability of this scholarship fund but have had to turn them down since we do not have adequate capital to earn sufficient interest for a scholarship at this time. Courses which offer a number of scholarships seem to have a psychological advantage over others. A course in which a number of scholarships are available attracts the attention of prospective students apparently because they feel that someone has considered the future of that industry important enough to establish incentives to students who will prepare for employment in that specific field. However unsound this reasoning may be, it none-the-less is prevalent among our high school seniors across the State.
We currently have $1600 in the J. F. Rosborough Scholarship Fund. We must have $5,000.00 to insure earning of $250 per year. Won't you help support it?
