James Richard “Dick” Carroll

When Dick first arrived in Chambers County, there were only a half dozen improved pastures. Dick saw the potential for improvement and set about quickly to educate local farmers and ranchers.  He set up a series of projects that benefited not only farmers and ranchers, but the community as a whole.  Through result demonstrations on fertilization, use of herbicides and insecticides, water management and new varieties, Dick Carroll passed research information on to farmers that helped produce beneficial results. 

“I was just a kid in 4-H when Dick Carroll first came to Chambers County,” said David Griffith, former Barbers Hill resident and member of the first Chambers County 4-H. “Mr. Carroll worked heavily with my dad who oversaw all the Barber properties in Barbers Hill.  They worked together a lot on pasture improvement, and Mr. Carroll got them to do all the latest technologies that were available in the 50s and 60s.”   

From a personal standpoint, he’s the first one that got me interested in agriculture; it wasn’t just because I grew up on a farm and ranch.  He was very instrumental, at that time, for bringing Chambers County around to modern production.   I remember he got some of the rice farmers to try different varieties. He was a very personable guy and easy to get along with.  He always provided an answer to your questions and if he didn’t have an answer, he would get back to you with one. Because of that, folks in the community came to trust him, and he was able to get some folks to try new techniques.  Sometimes Texas A & M and even Sam Houston would come up with things that didn’t really fit Chambers County, but Mr. Carroll was able to adapt their techniques to work in our area. He was a pillar of the community, always involved in what was going on in all areas of the county.  It was during the 40s and 50s that he introduced fertilizing and spraying herbicides by airplane,” concluded David.   

Son, Allen with his dad, Pudge Willcox   

“Dick Carroll did a demonstration project with me on my Alicia grass in the 70s,” said Pudge.  “Alicia grass was one of the hybrid Bermuda grasses, much like Coastal but it was a better producer.  I still have a little of that growing somewhere,” he said with a chuckle. 

“When I came here, I was concerned that about the only attempts at crossbreeding were with Brahman cattle—all legs, humps and ears and not too much body quality,” said Dick Carroll in a 1979 article.  “I’ve lost count of all the short courses and meetings we’ve had on breeding cattle for better beef herds. We introduced English breeds of bulls and crossbred them to range cattle here to get a better beef animal,” Carroll said.  “Today, we have crosses of all conceivable kinds and through crossbreeding we have developed this thing called hybrid vigor.  The Brahman bloodlines are still essential in Chambers County, though.  Other types of cattle may do okay on the higher ground of some parts of county, but they have to have the Brahman blood to survive in mosquitoes and humidity of the marshes.  When we first brought the English bulls in, the mosquitoes gave them an introduction of anaplasmosis, and a lot of good animals died while the native cattle were immune to it.  Today we can control this disease with injections and vaccination.  Our cattle have been upgraded tremendously by bringing in top quality bulls, raising top quality bulls and keeping good replacement heifers,” said Carroll. Calf crop percentages rose dramatically under Dick’s leadership. 

“Back in the 50s, if you got a scramble calf at TVE or the Youth Project Show it was going to be a Brahman,” said Pudge.  “The only scramble calves at TVE were Brahman bulls.  There were three or four really good Brahman breeders within the general area, the Boyts had ‘em and Joe Dunnigan at Felicia, and Jim Sterling at Dayton had ‘em, so it was easy to get one,” he stated.   

"You know, we used to lose a lot of cattle to loin disease too.  The cows would get down and finally die; it was nothing but a phosphorous deficiency.  Wherever you saw myrtle bushes growing on real knolly land, you would figure if you left cattle there long; they would die of loin disease.  You’d see a cow chewing on a bone, and sometimes she’d get a bone hung in her mouth.  All it was, they were trying to make up for that phosphorous deficiency.  Carlton Trant, who was executive director with the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, and I worked together to get farmers and ranchers to utilize federal cost sharing assistance to improve pastures, put out lime, and plant clovers and grasses.  Their neighbors saw the results, and they tried it too, and that almost eliminated loin disease.  Farmers began using phosphorous fertilizer on land they were farming and when it went back to pasture, that helped too.” 

“Back then, few farmers were applying fertilizer on the basis of soil tests to determine the nutrient needs of the land,” Carroll said.  “They bought fertilizer by brand, rather than by nitrogen content.  At first, the farmers didn’t believe in it, and the only soil testing lab was at A & M.  The Commissioners Court bought about the most elaborate soil testing kit available, and I was able to demonstrate to farmers how deficiency of various plant foods affected production.  This was the start of the soil testing movement here.  There’s still not enough soil testing done, but enough to give a trend,” concluded Carroll. 

Donnie Lagow, far left. 

Forage testing was another pet project of Carroll’s.  He obtained a tissue testing kit and demonstrated to cattlemen results of harvesting hay at its peak food value.  “You can have your cake and eat it too,” said Carroll.  You may not make as much hay in that cutting, but when you cut your hay when it’s in a tender, succulent, nutritious state, your cattle will eat it and get more out of it.   

“He was a stickler on testing forage,” declared Pudge Willcox, “and they had forage contests where people would bring their hay.  Dick was really into improving the quality of life for agriculture and he did a really good job of that. 

“We would take samples of our pasture grass to the county hay show,” said Janet Lagow.  “The samples were laid out on long tables.  TVE has been holding hay shows for years.  They would judge it on color, protein analysis, and palatability (how tender it is).  I got a trophy for my Bahia one year at the State Hay Show.  It got 18%, which was unheard of.  I cut it within thirty days which is also unheard of.   

Some of the techniques instituted by Dick, in conjunction with the Soil Conservation District, were applying superphosphates to stimulate the growth of desirable grasses and clovers and the introduction of resilient winter grasses like Coastal Bermuda that would stand up to the heavy grazing.  The Jenkins Farm of Hankamer was a crop innovation leader in clover production and the clover seed industry.  Walter Jenkins made a trip to Germany to procure a seed-cleaning plant, the only one of its kind at the time.  The plant enabled them to bag 6,000 pounds of clover seed daily.   

“When Texas A & M introduced the clover to our area, they didn’t warn us about the bloat,” said Janet Lagow,  “We lost a bunch of bulls!  We’d have to hit them with a trocar in their flank and try and get the air off of them as quickly as possible.  That was about the same time the screw worm epidemic hit, in the 60s.” 

In the mid-60s Dick Carroll began testing soybeans and sorghum in Chambers County.  In an article by Sam Whitlow of the Farmer Stockman, Dick said, “We will have more grain sorghum and soybeans in the future to supplement our main cash crop—rice.  Up until that time, many observers thought Chambers County was too low, too wet, and too humid for production of these crops.  Soybeans, on demonstration field in 1965, made 25 to 35 bushels an acre, not irrigated.  Mostly they used the Lee variety.  In 1966, they had some pretty good soybean yields, but the average was below 1965 because of excessive rain.  Carroll cited the experience of Roosevelt Guillory of Stowell, who planted 80 acres of the Lee variety of soybeans on June 28, 1966, using one bushel of seed per acre.  The soil test recommendation was a 12-48-48 per acre.  Guillory divided the 80 acres into two 40-acre fields for fertilizer application purposes.  One field received the soil test recommendation of a 12-48-48 per acre, and 20 bushels of beans were harvested.  The other 40-acre field received 24-48-24 per acre, and 18 bushels per acre were harvested.  The 12 pounds of extra nitrogen, and the 24 pounds less of potash indicated a 2-bushel reduction in yield.  Guillory sold the crop of beans for $2.90 a bushel. 

“Soybeans have had their ups and downs,” stated Carroll in 1979, “but we have had acreage increases every year now for a long time.  This year we have over 43,000 acres of soybeans, and most assuredly it is a companion crop to rice.  I’m of the opinion it will exceed our rice acreage before long,” he predicted.   

In 1965, grain sorghum got a trial.  A DeKalb F61 hybrid was used; it was not irrigated.  Yields averaged about 2,800 pounds.  Yields on demonstration fields ranged from 4,500 to 5,500 pounds an acre, which is a very reasonable grain sorghum yield.  In 1966, when the rainfall jumped up to well over 70 inches, grain sorghum yields in test fields averaged about 2,800 pounds.  The excessive rain delayed planting and grass caused a damaging invasion of the crop.  “We’ve had a good year,” Carroll said in his interview with Sam Whitlow.  “I look for more grain sorghum acreage in 1967.  We’re learning more about grain sorghum as a row crop,” concluded Dick. 

“Soybeans weren’t really adaptable to this climate, noted Pudge Willcox. “Dick had a seminar on soybeans and he had an extension agent specialist from A & M come down to talk about soybeans. He had been down the year prior to this and he opened his comments by saying, ‘Well, I told you last year that soybeans are not going to work in Chambers County, but you still act like you want them to grow here,’ so he put on another demonstration. Like I said, about the only crop you can depend on here is rice. It’s perfect here for rice, but soybeans didn’t work out. Same thing with sorghum you had with corn, too many bugs would get it. There’s a sorghum midge, (a tiny, reddish-orange fly whose larvae are major pests of grain sorghum), and if you don’t spray it at exactly the right time, you end up with a great big beautiful head but no seeds. That’s why I quit farming and got a real job,” laughed Pudge. “I didn’t have very much rice allotment, my daddy had given me ten acres for a project when I was in FFA, and some people had given me their allotments, but it still wasn’t enough to make a living off of. I was trying soybeans, milo, and sorghum. Milo and sorghum would lose so much money it would take all the profit I was making on rice. So, I quit farming and went to work for Texas Gulf Sulphur,” he said, chuckling lightheartedly. 

“My daddy taught me how to inoculate soybeans,” said Janet Lagow.  “Before you plant, you put the seed in a big wash tub and put your powdered inoculate in it.  Add a little water and stir it in with the soybeans.  Put your inoculated seed into a drill to plant it.   Inoculated seed gives a better crop yield,” said Janet.   

In 1978, Earl Rivers of Double Bayou had an impressive stand of corn in his corn demonstration field.  He must have had the “Midas Touch” because this is a rare sight in Chambers County, according to Pudge Willcox.  “We tried corn down here, but we have so many bugs the bugs would get to it before we could harvest it.  Earl Rivers’ corn crop in Double Bayou looked pretty good, but as far as corn becoming a cash crop, it didn’t work out for us in Chambers County.  We’ve tried everything in the world down here, and rice is about the only thing you could depend on,” Pudge stated matter-of-factly.   

“Our ranch had 23,000 acres; most people don’t have that,” explained Janet Lagow.  “Mexico was wanting to figure out; how do we do stewardship and pasture management.  My dad had started doing wet soil management where you flood fields that have invasive plants like sump weed, cattails, or whatever vegetation you don’t want.  You would flood it and then take the water off and snake kill it.  He went over these practices with folks.  Dick Carroll would line the programs up; this was a Dick Carroll project held at to our ranch.    

“They also demonstrated how to do control burns,” continued Janet.  “They didn’t really spray back in the day; you had to do it mechanically; snake kill it, dry it, disc it down, flood it, keep the water on for three months and pull it off.  When you got rid of all the bad vegetation then the saltwater paspalum and the good grasses would come in.  The Jackson were another family in Do9uble Bayou who had extensive acreage.  Quinten Jackson of the Jackson Ranch demonstrated how to do a control burn.  This was another Dick Carroll project, Dick was our soil conservationist county agent, and he was incredible at educating people on these practices, he was well-reached internationally.  Ken Sparks was our soil and water conservationist along with Bill Baham; they started it all.  Bill Baham ran the soil and water conservation department for 25 years; he was the best” 

Franklin Bradford of the Anahuac Progress wrote in 1971, ‘Catfish farming in the Trinity River basin—and elsewhere—has been increasing for several years. A new source of farm income, catfish farming also is a new food source for millions who heretofore might have shunned one of the most delectable of fish foods. But now comes shrimp farming, and the results may be as great, or greater, than those of the bewhiskered catfish. Texas A & M University is experimenting with shrimp ponds near Angleton, supported by the school’s Sea Grant Program.’

Edward’s catfish Acres is on Hwy 124 in Stowell and Kole Catfish Farm butts up to the Wildlife Refuge on FM 1985, south of Stowell. “They had a pretty good operation going there,” said Pudge Willcox.  "Steve Kole’s dad was really good friends with Dick Carroll." concluded Pudge.

In 1978, the extension service expanded its area of educational assistance to the new Sea Grant Program, and the Chambers County Sea Grant committee was organized.  “This program is for those who harvest the sea,” said Carroll.  “More concern will be given this area in years to come.  Fishing and shrimping have a very significant impact on Chambers County economy,” declared Carroll. 

Around the time Dick arrived in Chambers County he faced a major challenge, controlling the spread of nutria (coypu) that were introduced into the marshes in the late 1940s.  “They quickly changed the complexion and the lifestyle of the marshes of lower Chambers County.” said historian Kendon Clark.  “The nutria was advertised as a deterrent to overgrowth of vegetation on marshland duck ponds and waterways. The live nutria, natives of South America, were sold for upwards of fifty dollars per pair from breeders across the county. In the lower Chambers County marshes near the area where Manson Clark and his associates had the Canada and Wilborn ranches under lease, Ralph Barrow, another extensive landowner and rancher, purchased several pairs of nutria for the purposes so stated above and turned them loose in his ranchland marshes.”   

Their population spread like wildfire, aided by a hurricane in the late 40s that dispersed them all along the Texas coast.  The abundant rodents caused extensive damage to the wetland vegetation by decimating native plants that hold the marsh soil together.  They had also been observed destroying water bird nests.  An open season for nutria was quickly instituted in an effort to control the population of the invasive rodent; skilled local hunters and trappers were utilized to hunt and kill them for their pelts.  Janet Lagow of Double Bayou said when Hurricane Carla hit our area during the 60s, it pumped in so much salt water it reduced the population tremendously. 

The water hyacinth was another invasive species Dick Carroll had to deal with during the 70s.  He followed the protocol of Texas A & M University, using several strategies to control the spread of this beautiful but damaging plant. The most effective was treating the plants with herbicides such as bispyribic, diquat, and triclopyr, to name a few. He also introduced the Neochetina beetle, which fed on water hyacinth and helped reduce their population.  Physical removal was an added measure used by the county.  Although Dick met the challenge of the invasive species aggressively, excessive population of water hyacinth continues to be an ongoing problem in our county.