Texas Producers Find Value in Alternative Crops

Jun 12, 2025

By Adam Russell

Texas farmers continue to find ways to add value to their operations through alternative crops like oilseeds and cover crop forages.

Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist and statewide hemp and alternative crop specialist, Lubbock, said markets may be limited for alternative crops like sunflowers, sesame, Sudan grass and canola, but Texas producers are taking advantage of cropping opportunities.

For producers, alternative crops can serve as primary summer crops or provide supplemental income. They can also provide the benefits of a cover crop during the cool season.

“Alternative crops are a small piece of Texas ag production,” Trostle said. “But for producers looking for opportunities to supplement their primary crop production, they can really be a value-added component.”

Source : tamu.edu

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Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. Our part-time employee, Brock, also helps with the filming. 1980 was our first year in Waldron where our main farm is now. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.