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[AgriLife Today] Transitioning cropland to pastureland in Rolling Plains requires multi-year planning

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Some Rolling Plains’ producers are considering converting their cropland to a forage/pasture system. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter)

By: Kay Ledbetter

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, [email protected]
Contacts: Stan Bevers, 940-552-9941, [email protected]

VERNON – A growing interest in shifting out of crop production and into a forage-based system in the Rolling Plains has Stan Bevers, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist in Vernon, consulting his crystal ball.

And he has some advice for those who are contemplating the move, “Have a multi-year plan and have a chunk of equity, because you can’t borrow your way through this.”

He said there are a lot of variables and a lot of factors involved in the transition. And while he has seen a number of acres go into pasture over the past two years at the peak of the cattle market, things are changing.

“I think there were people thinking there wouldn’t be another bad day in cattle,” he said. “They have quickly found out there will be.

“You have to have a multi-year plan, because no one can predict prices and production levels. This forces you to consider what might happen.”

What are the projections for calf prices in the next few years? And what about wheat prices; how long will there be below break-even-point wheat prices?

“With the cattle prices that have been projected for the next few years, transitioning doesn’t look like a good option, especially with wheat prices expected to move up over the next five years.”

Bevers said it has been a combination of the continual increase of input prices and market happenings – high beef cattle prices for several years and falling wheat prices – that have prompted the move by producers out of annual production and into a more permanent pasture situation.

“In areas such as the Rolling Plains where there is marginal crop production, specifically on wheat where costs of production have consistently been rising and the price falling, the average production of 20 bushels per acre just doesn’t work anymore,” he said. “We can even go to the $5 to $5.50-a-bushel wheat and still not make it work.

“So now we have producers saying they are willing to bear the one-time pain – the cost of putting in a permanent pasture — rather than the annual pain of the cost of putting in wheat,” Bevers said.

The problem, he said, is the cost of establishing a pasture is only the first step in the change to a forage-based system. Once the pasture is established, they have another pain to bear – determining whether to run cows or put stocker cattle on it.

“You need to be able to fund that with a chunk of equity. If you have to borrow the money to seed the grass and then borrow more to stock it with cattle, the way it is penciling out, you won’t have that paid off on a five-year note.”

Run the numbers; create a multi-year plan, he advised.

“This isn’t something you will do overnight,” Bevers said. “It will be a two- and three-year process. You usually don’t get 100 percent utilization the first year or two, so have an alternate plan.”

And while the prognosis for the future may not look good right now, he said the one given is that things will change.

“Considering the projections I’ve seen, everybody would be giving up right now,” said. “But something is going to change. It might be that there is a drought that will cause wheat prices to go higher, or things get worse and other producers get out, causing less production and forcing prices to go higher.”

In planning, he said, producers should be prepared for best-case and worst–case scenarios.

“If you are going to do this, you have to have a plan and recognize the amount of equity you have available to do this.”

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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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Farm & Ranch

Silver Bluestems

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By: Tony Dean

There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.

Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.

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

Meanwhile Back At The Ranch

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By: Rayford Pullen

Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.

We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.

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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