Country Lifestyles
Cowboy Culture
By Clay Reid
In my business as a cowboy and ranch manager, there are many other titles that you get to wear sometimes. Welder, electrician, plumber and the list goes on and on. A man has to be pretty dang diverse in this line of work or he ain’t gonna last long. Above all else his number one title is the shepherd of his flock, and to be a good shepherd he must be able to heal them when they need mending.
That means when they get sick you cure them. When they break it you fix it. When they cut it you sew it. And then there will be the time when a new mama will need assistance in bringing new life into the world.
This ain’t always a cowboy’s most favorite thing to do, because usually when a cow decides to do it is in the middle of the night on the coldest night of the year. It’s never in the middle of a 75 degree day. Oh, no, it’s God’s way of poking fun at a dumb cowboy. Sometimes he goes a little overboard on the funning and this is where my story begins.
25 years ago, me and my practice wife was living over in Archer City. I was doing my second tour working for a drilling company and trying to keep the wolves from scratching at the door. We had a little boy named Jake who was a year-and-a-half old, but I always wanted a little girl. You know the one—they always talk about “Daddy’s girl.”
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2016 NTFR issue.
By: Martha Crump
Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.
A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.
Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”
In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.
When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Annette Bridges
A friend and I were recently talking about our husbands. She made a comment that I felt also perfectly described me and my hubby.
“He slows me and I hurry him. I’m sure that is why we do well together,” she said.
“Precisely!” I thought. Why?
Because when two different worlds collide, it can be magical.
No matter what those two different worlds are- a man and a woman with very different personalities, beliefs, or backgrounds, two partners with contrasting passions, strengths, or talents, or when a country boy marries a city girl.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, is known for its rich history as a railroad stop, but over the course of the last year, one teen girl has put it on the map for agriculture as well. Emma Harvey has lived in Tarrant County her entire life. Despite being highly involved in her local 4-H chapter, she still felt there was more she could do. In the spring of 2023, she stepped up to the plate to take over the title of Tarrant County Teen Miss Agriculture USA.
“It all started when I put in an application for the teen title here in Tarrant County,” explained Harvey.
The Miss Agriculture USA program is a national non-profit, age-inclusive pageant program that offers both competition and non-competition titles to women dedicated to the promotion of agriculture.
Read more in the October issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available online and in print. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive NTFR in your inbox each week.
Photo by Hannah Claxton.
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