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Published: Wednesday, 19 March 2025 13:22
Spring has definitely sprung. When I check the temperature in New York and Boston I am so, so glad that I live in South Texas. And thanks for the refreshing wind that seems to greet us each day. We would surely feel the heat more if we did not have the gentle wind to keep us comfortable.
The weather has created a desire for people to travel and many are hoping to be able to travel out of the United States.
That should sound like music to a tour operator but actually what happens is with so many traveling many hotels are often booked well in advance and charter bus companies are short on qualified drivers and equipment and often unable to serve the many requests being made for transportation services. So actually, arranging lodging and transportation becomes a real challenge.
Since I live in the country and grew up on a farm, I am constantly reminded as I drive into town of one of my favorite tours - the one-day farm tour. How beautiful it is to see the well-manicured fields boasting the nice straight rows of their recently planted crop.
Now ladies, I know that most of you don't agree with my comments. All too often I have heard you say that you have had all the farming you want. I did not have to raise my children on a farm. I was just twelve years old when we moved to the big city of Houston and did I ever miss the farm, playing on the creek bank and slipping away to enjoy the swimming hole every chance I had. So, I remember the fun times - not the hard times. Farming is hard but it is what made the Rio Grande Valley what it is today.
Even so the history of farming in the Rio Grande Valley is very interesting. The lure of the rich alluvial soil built up by the millions of years of flooding from the Rio Grande River and the price of the land back in the early 1900's is what brought so many settlers to our area.
Even so, the lack of water was a real challenge. Before long, irrigation districts were formed and water from the Rio Grande soon revived the wilting crops. This wonderful weather that we have is great not just for outdoor enjoyment but for the production of insects that devour our crops. Next came the crop dusters who to this day must spray the fields to protect the crops from those predators. It is interesting that those very ladies who said they had had enough of farming are the first to want to climb up and sit in the passenger seat of the duster plane.
You will hear all about the farming industry and how it developed in the Rio Grande Valley. Most interesting of all will be the visit with a present-day farmer whose father was an immigrant from Mexico. His dedication to farming was instilled in his son and his grandson. Today that son of an immigrant owns over 1,500 acres of farmland due to good management and hard work. He also follows the harvest into North Texas with the three cotton pickers he owns.
This is a full day tour with lunch included. Come learn about farming in South Texas.