Licenses

As of Sept. 1, all tow operators and vehicle storage facility employees must be licensed. This includes office staff and field staff -- anyone who works at the facility.

Tow truck operators are required to have a license in one of the following areas:

-- an incident management license holder can perform nonconsent tows, private property tows and consent tows.

-- a private property license permits non-consent tows and consent tows.

-- a consent tow license holder can perform consent tows.

Consent tow trucks may only do consent tows.

To apply for a license online, visit www.license.state.tx.us/ App_Online. The process is easy to complete. For more information, phone the TDLR Customer Service Contact Center at (800) 803-9202 or (512) 463-6599.

Ram test

The annual ram performance test conducted at the Texas AgriLife Research Station at Sonora will begin Sept. 8-9 with delivery of rams entering the test.

Test animals may be registered or non-registered. Only registered rams born between Oct. 1, 2007 and April 30, 2008 will be eligible for the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders' Association Registry of Merit program.

The test is open to ram lambs regardless of initial weight. But fall-born lambs weighing less than 135 pounds and springborn lambs weighing less than 100 pounds on the initial weigh day will not be eligible for certification.

Complete animal information -- including sire, type of birth, age of dam and birth date -- is required by the first weigh day.

Rams also should be individually identified by ear tag or tattoo, and tagged with the mandated scrapie tag.

Waldron recommends test animals be taught to eat from a feed trough before delivery. The rams will be treated against internal parasites and vaccinated against enterotoxemia immediately after arrival. Rams should have at least one-half inch of wool at delivery. A deposit of $400 per ram is due at arrival.

For more information, contact Dr. Dan Waldron, Dr. Frank Craddock or Dr. Chris Lupton at (325) 653-4576, or call Dr. Charles "Butch" Taylor at (325) 387-3168.