Farm & Ranch
The Dr. McDonald Column – Mesquite, Coyotes and Cockroaches
By Steve McDonald, DVM
My life has been enshrouded by brush. I grew up in Holliday, Texas, in a sea of mesquite thickets. Thorns made barefootin’ and short pants outside the city limits (Only about five blocks from the water tower at the center of town) unthinkable.
Mesquite dominated the environment. Except for cultivated fields and some prairie dog towns, the mostly flat to rolling plains were, and still are, literally covered with it. The prairie dog towns are gone now, and farmers are becoming less inclined to try to eke out a living when up against fuel costs and a land where it sometimes rains, and sometimes doesn’t. The mesquite will be here to offer shade to the last coyote and the last cockroach that are left.
Mesquite tough? They wrote the book. While we can admire their survival mechanisms, it’s kind of hard to say anything good about them. Mesquite beans are readily consumed by horses and cattle, but they get deposited in a pat of fertilizer, facilitating the spread of the plant.
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2016 NTFR issue.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM
Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.
Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.
The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Tressa Lawrence
Babies are tucked away in every nook and cranny. Many ranchers across Wyoming have baby animals popping up all over this time of year.
By Lindsey Monk
Another load of grain in to keep feeding the calves until the green grass can really start popping.
-
Country Lifestyles1 year agoScott & Stacey Schumacher: A Growth Mindset
-
Equine7 months agoThe Will to Win
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoStyle Your Profile – What your style cowboy hat says about you and new trends in 2017
-
Country Lifestyles4 years agoAmber Crawford, Breakaway Roper
-
HOME7 years agoGrazing North Texas – Wilman Lovegrass
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoDecember 2016 Profile, Rusty Riddle – The Riddle Way
-
Country Lifestyles8 years agoJune 2016 Profile – The man behind the mic: Bob Tallman
-
Outdoor9 years agoButtercup or Primrose?