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Farm & Ranch

What is anaplasmosis?

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By Jessica Crabtree and Dr. Jered Harlan

Anaplasmosis typically appears in fall months. Why you ask? It is because symptoms of the disease appear 21 to 45 days after infection, after fly season in late summer. Anaplasmosis has been prevalent more in the southern states.

What is anaplasmosis? It is a vector-borne, infectious blood disease in cattle caused by the rickesttsial parasites – Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale. Vector-borne are diseases that are transmitted among their human, animal or plant hosts by arthropods, usually insects, but also even surgical instruments. It is also known as yellow-bag or yellow-fever according to thecattlesite.com. Simply put, it is an infectious disease of cattle that causes destruction of red blood cells. Once infecting the blood cells, anaplasmosis causes severe anemia. It is mostly spread by ticks.

A document from the Texas Agriculture Extension Service about anaplasmosis in beef cattle, printed in 1992, divided the disease into four stages: incubation, developmental, convalescent and carrier. Incubation starts with infection of Anaplasma marginale and lasts until one percent of the animal’s red blood cells are infected. To read more pick up the February 2016 issue of NTFR. 

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Farm & Ranch

Managing Show Cattle Through The Winter

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By Heather Welper

Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.

The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.

When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.

To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

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Farm & Ranch

Double M Ranch & Rescue

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By Hannah Claxton, Editor

As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.

Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.

“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.

McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.

To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

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Farm & Ranch

Acorn Toxicity

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By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH

With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.

If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.

Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.

To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

brown acorns on autumn leaves, close up
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