Farm & Ranch
The Dr. McDonald Column — Screw Worms Are Where I Started
By Dr. Steve McDonald
What drove me to be a vet? It all started when I was 13. My great-grandfather had a ranch in Young County. He owned about 400 head of cattle, all Hereford, and about a dozen head of horses. He calved in the fall, hopefully after frost.
Earlier calving, or a late frost, insured that the newborn calves would be infested with screw worms, the maggots of tropical flies that ate living flesh.
They would set up housekeeping in the fresh, raw navels of the baby calves and snack away. The adult flies couldn’t survive the winter in North Texas, but would ride the southern winds from Mexico every spring, arriving by early June at the latest.
If conditions were right, meaning a strong southwesterly wind, the flies might arrive by mid-April. A couple of days of this wind was all it took to bring on an early fly season. It was horrible. The cattle would have to be gathered and the babies would have to be treated on their navel with a vile-smelling concoction that would kill the maggots.
To read more pick up a copy of the October 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Farm & Ranch
Ag Elsewhere: Wyoming
By Tressa Lawrence
Despite some blue skies, March can still bring sub-zero temperatures to Wyoming as calves hit the ground.
Farm & Ranch
Ag Elsewhere: Montana
By Lindsey Monk
Welding on some corrals before dark. It’s been a mild winter in Montana so far, knock on wood.
Farm & Ranch
Land Market Report: January Land Sales
By Jared Groce
The rural land market in North Texas has had a fairly stale start to the year, with the number of transactions closed being minimal so far. There has been an increase in call volume from buyers, and some are turning into contracts, but I feel like we are still a little slower than we usually are at this time of the year. The “experts” are expecting fewer transactions in 2024 as compared to 2023, and they may be correct, because election years always seem to be slower. Once the election is over, and regardless of who wins, things seem to pick up once again. It is a strange phenomena that just seems to happen every four years.
With the amount of growth that we are currently experiencing here, I do not expect things to get any cheaper. More people means more houses, and they have to have land to build those houses on.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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