By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Many farmers and ranchers are feeling the pressure as urban areas continue encroaching on the rural regions of the state.

Just north of Austin, Williamson County farmer Bob Avant has had a good year with his crops, but the area is quickly growing in population.

“I probably get contacted by a real estate person once a month to sell my property,” Avant said. “I’m four miles from the $18 billion Samsung plant, and a number of my neighbors are under the same pressure. Hopefully, we’re not forced to do that, but I guess if we get surrounded by houses, we might have to sometime.”

Several farmers in the area struggle to move their equipment due to increased traffic and lack of familiarity and understanding of what farmers do.

Avant expects development to grow, making it more difficult for farmers in the area to continue their operations.

“I’d say Williamson County west of Highway 95 is going to be pretty much houses in five years,” Avant said. “There are a number of businesses that are moving in, so the face of Williamson County is going to change significantly. I’m not saying agriculture will not exist, but it’s going to be smaller primarily either in the eastern quarter of the county or in the western part of the county for livestock.”

That development is happening on prime agricultural land, where farmers have had a good year.

“We just harvested our second cutting. We made almost five bales to the acre, which is about two bales more than we usually get, so just an exceptional yield on coastal,” Avant told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.

He expects a record yield for this year’s corn harvest.

“In certain spots, it’ll probably be a historical yield. We had a lot of rain, so there are going to be some spots that were wet and won’t be as good, but the corn looks really good,” Avant said.

Last year, storage space was scarce, so many farmers added extra storage on their farms.

“I know several farmers anticipated this and put in some extra storage on farm,” Avant said.

For now, farmers like Avant continue to focus on maximizing their yields despite the growing pressure from urban sprawl.