Farm & Ranch
Texas, crop weather for Dec. 1,2015
By: Robert Burns
Wet freezing weather further delays cotton harvest
Writer: Robert Burns, 903-834-6191, rd-burns@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – Some farmers were concerned about the recent ice and rain in the High Plains causing deterioration of cotton grade and quality, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service reports.
However, Dr. Gaylon Morgan, AgriLife Extension state cotton specialist, College Station, said past studies have shown one such event usually does not adversely affect grade or quality to any significant degree.
Morgan cited a study done Dr. Randy Boman and Mark Kelley in 2001 that showed weathering can impact fiber quality over time.
Boman, now with Oklahoma State University, is the past regional cotton agronomist based in Lubbock. Kelley is the current program specialist for AgriLife Extension’s South Plains region.
“There’s no doubt that over time, fiber quality does decrease, but it’s a gradual process,” Morgan said. “And I don’t think the rain and ice storm is going to make a dramatic impact on fiber quality.”
Download or preview a two-minute MP3 version of this report.
“Now if we were getting into January or February, then yes, the quality does progressively go down over time. But given the storm happened at the end of November, we do not expect this one event to affect quality much.”
The intensity of such a storm can also be a factor as well, Morgan said. An extremely heavy rain can literally pull the lint off the plant.
“But it is my impression that most of this precipitation was not intense,” he said.
If several ice and rain storms follow, further delaying harvest, then over time, bark content would be expected to increase for stripper harvested cotton. Leaf grades would typically increase, while strength, length and color would diminish, which can result in substantial discounts, Morgan noted.
AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summaries:
Central: Rangeland, pastures and livestock were all rated in good condition. Overall, crops were in fair condition. Soils were saturated. Temperatures remained above freezing. Stock-water tanks were full, and creeks and rivers were running. The Brazos River swelled to nearly overflowing. Producers who had earlier managed to get their wheat and oats planted had good stands, but there was concern about the future effect of standing water in fields. Livestock were holding strong. Some producers started feeding hay.
Coastal Bend: The region received more rain. Soil moisture was good, but the planting of wheat continued to be delayed by the wet conditions. Cooler temperatures and better soil moisture improved winter crops and forages in general. Cattle feeding was increased due to the cool, wet conditions.
East: Wet conditions continued throughout the region. From 2 to 4 inches of rain fell in some areas. Pasture and rangeland were in fair to very poor condition. Standing grass that had been stockpiled for winter use for beef cows was laid over and covered with water. Winter forages were getting established as warm-season forages finally entered dormancy. Topsoil moisture was adequate to surplus, while subsoil was mostly adequate. Ponds and creeks were full to overflowing. Trinity River flooding in Henderson County closed some county roads. Producers were moving cattle out of river bottoms. Feeding and working cattle was difficult due to saturated fields. Winter feeding was in full swing, with producers supplying supplements due to the poor quality of hay cut in the summer. Livestock were in fair to good condition. Fall calving was underway. Some producers in Trinity County were selling calves while others were holding them and watching the market. Polk County producers continued to market cull cows and calves with most of the bigger calves already gone. Angelina County was two weeks behind the historical average for the first frost. Feral hogs were active.
Far West: Topsoil and subsoil moisture were adequate. Glasscock County received a hard freeze that finally stopped cotton regrowth. Including moisture from melting ice, Culberson County received 0.2 inch to 1.75 inches of precipitation. Pecos County received 2.8 inches of rain. Presidio County had freezing drizzle with accumulations of 1 inch to 2 inches. Ward County received 2 to 5 inches of rain. Winkler, Loving, Reagan and Upton counties all reported up to 2 inches of rain in some places. Mule deer season began. Pasture and rangeland were in fair condition.
North: Topsoil moisture varied from adequate to surplus. On Nov. 26, a strong weather system brought much cooler air and heavy rain — from 10 to 14 inches in some areas. Temperatures remained in the 30s. Runoff created erosion problems. Winter wheat growth was stalled out by standing water. Winter pastures were doing well but needed some sunshine to help with growth. Livestock producers were providing feed and hay. Some producers were able to stockpile Bermuda grass hay to carry cows into winter a bit. Cattle were in good condition. Fall-born calves were doing well. Pastures were saturated, and feeding hay was sloppy work. Ponds and creeks were full. Timber harvesting came to a standstill. Wild hogs continued to cause damage.
Panhandle: Temperatures were slightly above average for the first part of the reporting period, then dropped to below average on Nov. 26. By that evening, a wintery mix of precipitation came to most of the region. Soil moisture continued to be rated mostly adequate. Collingsworth County received about 1 inch of ice countywide. The ice load toppled many mature trees. Harvest activities were delayed indefinitely by the wet conditions. Deaf Smith County had similar weather, and harvesting came to abrupt halt there as well. Producers had earlier wrapped up all corn and grain sorghum harvesting before the winter storm came. Yields were average to slightly below average despite all the hail and wind events of the previous two months. There were still many acres of cotton yet to be harvested, but producers were more concerned about the damage done to cotton quality than finishing the harvest. Winter wheat was in good condition, with some fields yet to be planted. Hemphill County temperatures plunged into the 20s with the coming of the light rain and snow. Ranchers were supplementing cattle with protein and hay during the stressful conditions. Wheat pasture became dormant. Ochiltree County still had a few scattered fields of corn, cotton and sorghum left to be harvested, as well as wheat to be planted. Producers were able to work only a couple of days before the freezing rain hit. Depending upon how long it takes fields to dry out, it could be a week or more before harvesting is finished. Randall County had three days of below-freezing weather. Wheeler County cotton was covered with ice.
Rolling Plains: Winter weather brought rain, sleet, ice and snow that damaged trees and downed power lines. Rain accumulations totaled more than 7 inches in some counties. The moisture was expected to boost the growth of late-planted winter wheat that had received only minimal moisture during the past few weeks. Although the moisture helped winter wheat and pastures, it wasn’t welcomed by most cotton farmers. The cotton harvest had started in many areas, but the wet conditions will keep producers out of fields for several days. However, the freezing weather was helpful. Producers who hadn’t already applied defoliants were saved the extra expense by the killing freeze. Livestock were in good condition, and producers began supplying supplemental feed daily in order to sustain cattle until wheat fields produce enough grazing. Hay supplies remained high in most areas due to almost-perfect growing conditions earlier this year. Pecans were being harvested.
South: A cold front brought cooler temperatures and drizzle but no freezing weather. Soil moisture was adequate throughout the region. In the northern part of the region, some peanut crops were harvested before rains halted fieldwork. In La Salle County, conditions were cold, rainy and misty most of the week. In the eastern part of the region, row-crop farmers sprayed weeds and grasses in fields that had sprouted after harvest. In the western part of the region, conditions remained favorable for forb and pasture growth. Winter oats were doing well with all the moisture received, and coastal Bermuda grass remained green but stopped growing due to lower temperatures. Spinach harvesting for both processed and fresh market varieties was active. Cabbage, spinach and onions made good progress. Livestock producers only had to provide minimal supplemental feed because of good grazing conditions. In the southern part of the region, fields were saturated in parts of Cameron County. Fall corn, tomatoes and onions were doing well. Harvesting these crops was expected to begin at the end of December.
South Plains: Rain and ice fell in varying amounts across the region during the Thanksgiving weekend, completely shutting down cotton harvesting. In most cases, it will be quite a while before farmers can get back into the fields to finish. In Swisher County, about 25 to 30 percent of cotton was yet to be harvested. Earlier yield reports of dryland yields ranged from 700-900 pounds per acre. Irrigated cotton averaged 1,500 pounds per acre. The winter wheat crop was shaping up to be the best in recent years due to all the early season moisture. Corn yields were between 200-240 bushels per acre. Lubbock County had temperatures near or below freezing for three days. Garza County received from 2 to 3.5 inches of rain, with temperatures dropping to the upper 20s at night. Daytime highs hovered just above freezing. Supplemental feeding of cattle during the cold weather continued. Mitchell County reported the first hard freeze of the season, finally killing the leaves of some of the confused trees and plants that had put on blooms and/or started new growth. Scurry County received from 2 to 4 inches of rain. The outlook for all other aspects of agriculture was positive.
Southeast: Soil moisture throughout the region varied widely, but was mostly adequate to surplus, with adequate ratings being the most common. Fort Bend, Lee and Walker counties had 100 percent adequate moisture. San Jacinto County had 100 surplus levels. Rangeland and pasture ratings varied from fair to poor, with fair ratings being the most common. Walker County had a few days of warm weather that promoted the growth of cool-season forages. Most ponds were filled by frequent rainfall. Rainy conditions continued in Brazos County as well. Grimes County had wet weather with intermittent cold snaps. Some pastures were too wet to work in. Montgomery County pastures were also wet, and accessing them was a problem. Fort Bend County livestock were in good condition with remaining warm-season and cool-season grasses coming on strong.
Southwest: The week was wet and cool. Rain raised topsoil and subsoil moisture levels. Pastures and winter crops were doing well. Wheat and oats improved from fair to good condition with the largely favorable weather of the past few weeks. Many warm-season plants were going dormant. Livestock remained in good condition.
West Central: Days were rainy and cold with some ice accumulations. Many areas had the first freeze. Cotton harvesting and wheat planting were halted by wet conditions. Farmers were concerned about cotton quality and grade deterioration on unharvested acres. Wheat and oats remained in good condition, but sunny weather was needed to promote growth. Rangeland and pastures continued to improve, with winter grasses emerging and greening up. Livestock were in fair to good condition with increased supplemental feeding. Stock tanks and ponds were full. Though the pecan crop was late to mature, the harvest was finally underway.
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By Savannah Magoteaux
Two bales can look almost identical and feed very differently. Color, smell and leafiness tell part of the story, but a forage test tells you what your cattle are actually being offered. If you buy hay by the ton or are trying to stretch winter feed, that little lab sheet can be one of the cheapest management tools on the place.
Reading the report
Start with dry matter. Hay contains water, and labs report nutrients either “as fed” or on a dry-matter basis. Feeds are easiest to compare on a dry-matter basis because it takes moisture out of the comparison. Hay that is 90 percent dry matter is about 10 percent water.
Crude protein, usually abbreviated CP, is the number most people recognize. It estimates protein from the forage’s nitrogen content. Higher isn’t automatically better. The goal is to match the hay to the animal. A dry, mature cow in mid-gestation doesn’t need the same protein as a lactating cow, a growing replacement heifer or a young calf.
Energy matters just as much. Beef cattle forage reports commonly estimate energy as total digestible nutrients, or TDN. Low-TDN hay may fill a cow up before it supplies enough energy, particularly when her requirements rise late in gestation or during lactation. That is when you may need better forage, an energy supplement or a different feeding plan.
Fiber numbers explain why some hay looks coarse and why animals may not be able to eat enough of it. Neutral detergent fiber, or NDF, is closely tied to intake. As NDF climbs, cattle generally eat less because the forage moves through the digestive tract more slowly. Acid detergent fiber, or ADF, is tied to digestibility. Higher ADF generally means lower digestibility.
Some reports also include relative feed value or relative forage quality. These indexes help compare lots of forage, particularly alfalfa and mixed hay, but they aren’t a complete ration. They don’t replace looking at protein, energy, minerals, animal class and expected intake.
Then come the numbers you hope are boring. Nitrate testing matters when drought, heavy nitrogen fertilization, cloudy weather or other conditions have stressed the forage enough to cause nitrate accumulation. Sorghum-type forages, johnsongrass, corn and some weeds deserve particular attention. Nitrates stay in hay after it is cut and baled, so a risky crop doesn’t become safe just because it dried.
Minerals deserve a look, but this is where a hay report gets harder to interpret. Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and other minerals may be listed, yet a complete mineral program depends on water, other feeds and local conditions. A high number isn’t always an advantage. Excessive potassium, for example, can interfere with magnesium use under some circumstances. If you are balancing a ration for high-risk animals, work with a nutritionist or Extension specialist rather than treating the lab sheet as a stand-alone mineral prescription.
Moisture tells another story. Hay baled too wet is at greater risk of heating and mold, and very wet hay can become a fire hazard as microbial activity raises its internal temperature. A test taken months later can’t reconstruct every storage problem, so inspect the stack, too. A musty odor, visible mold, unusual heat and dark discoloration are all reasons to investigate.
Getting a good sample
A hay test is only as good as the sample, and sampling is the step most likely to ruin a good analysis. A handful pulled from the outside of one convenient bale doesn’t represent a stack of 100 bales. Round bales aren’t uniform from the outside to the center, and one bale may not represent the whole cutting.
Texas A&M AgriLife recommends using a hay probe and collecting cores from multiple bales in a lot, then combining them into one representative sample. A coring probe reaches through the layers of the bale and gives the lab a much better cross-section. Test different cuttings, fields or hay types separately, and don’t blend samples from separate fields or cuttings to save the cost of a test if you will feed them as separate lots.
Putting the numbers to work
The most useful way to read the report is backward from the cattle. What class of animal will eat this hay, at what stage of production, and how much is she likely to eat? Once you answer those questions, the lab numbers start to mean something.
A mature dry cow in good body condition can often use lower-quality forage than a first-calf heifer nursing a calf. Young cattle need nutrients for growth on top of maintenance, and cold stress raises energy demand. A hay test becomes valuable when you pair it with those real-world differences.
Remember that price per bale isn’t the same as price per unit of nutrition. A cheap bale with very low energy and protein may require expensive supplementation, and better hay can turn out to be the lower-cost feed once you count waste and supplements.
Before buying, try putting two hay reports side by side. Compare dry matter, crude protein, TDN and fiber first. Then add delivered cost and likely feeding waste. A heavier, denser bale isn’t automatically more economical, and a greener bale isn’t automatically more nutritious. The numbers make the comparison fair.
Testing is especially valuable after a hard weather year. Drought hay may be lower in yield and higher in nitrate risk. Mature, rain-damaged hay may test lower in protein and energy than it looks. Hay cut from a fertilized field after stress may deserve a safety screen before it ever reaches a feeder.
A forage test won’t make poor hay better. It shows you where the gaps are before your cattle show them through lost condition or lower performance. One report can’t answer every feeding question, but it replaces several guesses with measurements, and that makes winter nutrition planning much more accurate.
By Savannah Magoteaux
A heavy crop of acorns under an oak tree usually looks more like a sign of fall than a livestock problem. For most cattle in most years, that is all it is. Trouble starts when acorns stop being an occasional bite and become a meaningful part of the diet.
Oak leaves, buds and acorns contain tannins that can damage the digestive tract and kidneys when cattle eat enough of them. Green acorns are generally considered more toxic than mature brown ones, but either can cause problems if cattle eat too many.
The risk climbs when forage is short and cattle go looking for something else to eat. Drought, overgrazed pastures or simply a heavy acorn crop can set up that situation.
Cattle aren’t equally interested in acorns. A few animals in a herd may eat far more than the rest, which helps explain why cases can appear scattered.
Early signs can be vague. Affected cattle may go off feed, look depressed or become constipated. As the damage progresses, you may see dark or bloody manure, abdominal pain, frequent urination followed by reduced urine output, dehydration and weakness. Kidney failure is the most serious concern.
You can’t remove every acorn from a wooded pasture, so prevention comes down to keeping cattle from relying on them. Adequate forage and supplementation take away the incentive to eat large amounts.
You can also fence cattle away from heavily producing oaks for a while, especially when pasture conditions are poor. If several animals seem to be seeking out acorns, take a close look at the rest of the ration instead of assuming they will quit on their own.
If you suspect oak poisoning, call a veterinarian early. Treatment is supportive and does much more good before severe kidney damage sets in. Moving unaffected cattle away from the source and providing good-quality feed and water may prevent more cases.
Acorns are an important fall food for deer, squirrels and other wildlife, and a few acorns generally don’t spell disaster for cattle. The concern is quantity. A pasture full of oaks becomes a different management problem when grass is short, cattle are hungry and the ground is covered with something they are willing to eat.
Oak toxicity comes up most often in cattle, but other livestock can be affected, too. And the risk isn’t limited to acorns. Oak buds and young leaves also contain tannins, so spring can occasionally bring problems as well. In fall, though, the obvious temptation is lying on the ground where cattle can eat it quickly.
Watch where your cattle spend their time. If cows that normally graze open grass start camping under oaks and hunting acorns, that behavior tells you something.
Walk the pasture, estimate how much usable forage is left and check whether a few dominant animals are eating more than the rest. Hay or supplemental feed may help, but place it where all the cattle can reach it rather than assuming one feeder will solve the problem.
Oak poisoning can look like other illnesses, and no one can diagnose kidney damage from pasture observation alone. A veterinarian may use history, clinical signs and lab work to separate it from dehydration, digestive disease or other toxicities. That is another reason to mention a heavy acorn crop when you call. A detail that seems like an ordinary part of fall can be an important part of the history.
Your pasture plan doesn’t have to be complicated. If one wooded trap has a much heavier acorn crop than the rest, use another pasture while you still have the choice.
If you can’t move the herd, make sure hay and supplement are adequate before the animals get hungry enough to seek out acorns aggressively. Salt or mineral by itself won’t make up for a shortage of forage.
The problem usually fades as cattle eat through the crop or the acorns weather or get covered. Don’t return cattle that have already shown signs as soon as they look better, though. Kidney injury can be serious. Follow your veterinarian’s recommendations and reassess the pasture before turning recovered animals back out.
By Jared Groce
Late summer has been brutal on our livestock, our grass and the rural land market in North Texas. We currently have an astounding 42 months of inventory on hand in our report area, and the only properties selling are the ones priced right. Overpriced properties aren’t even getting looked at, much less receiving offers, so pricing your property correctly matters more than ever right now.
Many sellers are still picturing the daily price increases we saw in 2020 to 2023, but those days are behind us, and agents need to be more realistic with listing prices to get any activity for their clients. Hopefully the rains will come soon and bring more land buyers with them this fall, but right now it is still very much a buyer’s market. No one knows how long this dry spell will last, but it will likely take a flood to end it. The same is true of the weather!
They say the best time to plant a tree, or buy land, was 20 years ago, and the second-best time is today.
| County | Area | Acres | $/Acre | List Price | Sold Price | Sale/List | DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay | Henrietta | 120.07 | $5,150 | $714,000 | $618,309 | 86.60% | 434 |
| Clay | Bellevue | 159.44 | $6,184 | $981,000 | $985,959 | 100.50% | 48 |
| Clay | Henrietta | 293 | $4,982 | $1,538,250 | $1,459,600 | 94.90% | 212 |
| Clay | Average | 190.84 | $5,438 | $1,077,750 | $1,021,289 | 94.00% | 231 |
| Collin | Anna | 11.08 | $84,356 | $1,200,000 | $935,000 | 77.90% | 634 |
| Collin | Average | 11.08 | $84,356 | $1,200,000 | $935,000 | 77.90% | 634 |
| Cooke | Muenster | 11 | $18,000 | $209,000 | $198,000 | 94.70% | 250 |
| Cooke | Gainesville | 19.3 | $16,580 | $345,000 | $320,000 | 92.80% | 541 |
| Cooke | Valley View | 96.23 | $15,500 | $1,679,215 | $1,491,565 | 88.80% | 194 |
| Cooke | Average | 42.18 | $16,693 | $744,405 | $669,855 | 92.10% | 328 |
| Denton | Sanger | 16.46 | $39,422 | $649,000 | $649,000 | 100.00% | 47 |
| Denton | Cross Roads | 10.35 | $97,575 | $1,200,000 | $1,010,000 | 84.20% | 40 |
| Denton | Sanger | 300 | $14,000 | $4,999,999 | $4,200,000 | 84.00% | 1,327 |
| Denton | Aubrey | 74.09 | $57,684 | $4,815,525 | $4,273,550 | 88.70% | 302 |
| Denton | Average | 100.22 | $52,170 | $2,916,131 | $2,533,138 | 89.20% | 429 |
| Grayson | Collinsville | 11.61 | $46,516 | $600,000 | $540,000 | 90.00% | 280 |
| Grayson | Van Alstyne | 18.8 | $58,511 | $1,175,000 | $1,100,000 | 93.60% | 280 |
| Grayson | Whitesboro | 30 | $37,984 | $1,170,000 | $1,139,506 | 97.40% | 277 |
| Grayson | Average | 20.14 | $47,670 | $981,667 | $926,502 | 93.70% | 237 |
| Jack | No sales reported | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Montague | Montague | 485 | N/A | $5,566,000 | N/A | N/A | 333 |
| Montague | Bowie | 26 | $12,244 | $323,500 | $318,352 | 98.40% | 743 |
| Montague | Montague | 37.3 | $10,327 | $428,950 | $385,195 | 89.80% | 1 |
| Montague | Saint Jo | 1,185 | $7,764 | $10,000,000 | $9,199,829 | 92.00% | 19 |
| Montague | Average | 433.33 | $10,112 | $4,079,613 | $3,301,125 | 93.40% | 274 |
| Wise | Sunset | 12 | $19,027 | $234,000 | $228,320 | 97.60% | 16 |
| Wise | Sunset | 12 | $19,027 | $234,000 | $228,320 | 97.60% | 14 |
| Wise | Chico | 11.44 | $24,476 | $299,000 | $280,000 | 93.60% | 24 |
| Wise | Chico | 10.25 | $29,265 | $315,000 | $300,000 | 95.20% | 12 |
| Wise | Average | 11.42 | $22,949 | $270,000 | $259,160 | 96.00% | 17 |
DOM = days on market
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