Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile back at the ranch
By Rayford Pullen
Fall is upon us once again, and around here we have winter pastures, weaning spring-born calves and assessing winter needs on our mind. While winter is officially only three months long, like the other seasons, it seems as though winter is much longer due to the extra time and expense it requires to keep our cattle going and growing until spring comes a knocking again.
At our address, we had a wonderful grass year with our native grasses waist high, our cattle in great shape and our spring-born calves really turning it on. Since we rely on our native grasses as our winter hay source, at this time it looks like we will be in great shape.
We basically have a continuous grazing operation although we do defer grazing on some of our pastures each year to keep them healthy and growing.
Excess forage availability for the cattle seems to be the reason they are doing well this year. There is no cure for overgrazed pastures other than rainfall and rest, and we have certainly had our share of overgrazing the past few years during the droughts, and it certainly showed up in our lower weaning weights.
“The Time It Never Rained,” a book authored by Elmer Kelton and written about dry times in the San Angelo area, included a passage, “some areas of the state have several droughts during the summer, while others have several summers during the drought.” I know we have all learned some tough lessons that will stick with us for years to come with the availability of water for livestock and people being ranking right at the top of those lessons.
What’s ahead? Here’s my take on what’s going to happen in the next few months and years. Take it with a grain of salt and don’t bet the farm on it, but at least come up with your own thoughts and make plans accordingly.
Cattle prices will, in my opinion, recover from the lows of this past spring but may not be around too long. I believe producers will need to get options on their cattle so as not to let this opportunity slip by. Are we headed for a recession? If so, interest rates will go up and for those operating on borrowed money, our cost of production will go up and the price of cattle will retreat.
To read more pick up a copy of the September 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe 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.
By Rayford Pullen | [email protected]
Spring has sprung and hopefully the rains will continue where our country will heal from the previous droughts and our grasses will thrive. We are especially hopeful for the Panhandle of Texas where our neighbors and friends have been dealt a deadly blow to homes, ranges, livestock, and people. Keep them in your prayers as they will not be able to return to normal for many years if at all. Having lost their ability to benefit from this great cattle market is a double whammy for all of them.
Now is the time of year when we need to take care of business as it relates to our new calves that have been hitting the ground this spring. First and foremost is vaccinating for Blackleg followed by deworming with a white wormer and the IBR complex. Blackleg is a soil-born disease and with pastures extremely short this spring our calves have been grazing the green grass as soon as it shows itself, making them even more vulnerable to picking contaminates from the soil.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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