Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
By Rayford Pullen
The math is a little scary in the cattle business right now. I don’t know exactly what your calves are bringing, but let’s assume in the neighborhood of $800 and that you can produce that calf at an annual cost of $500 for a net income of $300/head.
Compared to a year ago, our profit has probably been cut in half and compared to two years ago, it has been cut by two thirds. All the while our cost of production hasn’t changed too much, while our cost of living has probably increased. While it didn’t take us long to adjust to the higher prices we were receiving for our calves, adjusting to the two thirds reduction will be tougher.
We hear a lot about selling our calves as preconditioned or natural or both. The fact of the matter is that unless you are selling truck load lots of calves, you are probably whistling in the wind unless you are using a sale facility or marketing agency that will comingle calves and then sell them in truck load lots.
With the average herd size in the 50 head range, the majority of the producers are at the mercy of the buyers at the sale barn the day they sell and that is whether or not they have been vaccinated and weaned.
The beef business is huge and your small lot of calves will be comingled with many others and lose their identity as soon as they are loaded on a truck with calves representing five or 10 other ranches.
So what are we to do when the market deals us a bad hand? About the only thing I can control to any extent at all is my cost associated with producing calves, my weaning weights and quality.
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2016 NTFR issue.
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.
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.
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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