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The Quail Comeback
By Russell Graves
After a banner year across Texas’ quail lands, spring brought optimism. Each morning in the haunts where wild bobwhite quail are found, male bobwhites incessantly cry their familiar call in search for a mate. It’s a comforting and hopeful sound if you are a quail hunter. The hope is that the male finds a female with which to mate and populate the brush with dozens of new baby quail.
Throughout much of Texas, spring rains have been ample enough to give bloom to a host of seed-producing plants and a hatch of bugs that are essential sources of protein for young chicks. While the volume of rain that’s fallen this spring is paltry compared to 2015, it’s generous when you compare it to the long term drought that plagued the state in the early part of the decade, a drought that decimated bobwhite populations to the point that some die-hard hunters wondered if they’d ever return.
Silas Ragsdale was one of those hunters. “This has always been a good quail place up until a few years ago when the birds started to disappear,” lamented Ragsdale, speaking of his quail hunting spread located near Hedley in the southeastern Texas Panhandle. “They were never really completely gone over the past few years, but their numbers were noticeably scarce.”
On his first day back in the field this past season, Ragsdale already had a renewed optimism in regards to the future of bobwhite quail. The birds, it seemed were back and his worries were assuaged—at least for now.
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2016 NTFR issue or call 940-872-5922 to subscribe.
By Hannah Claxton | Editor
The North Texas area is located within USDA Hardiness zones seven and eight. The zones are categorized by predicted low temperatures for winter and timing of the first and last frosts.
Zone seven usually has winter low temps between 0 and 10 degrees F with the average date of the first frost falling between Oct. 29 and Nov. 15 and the average date of the last frost falling between March 22 and April 3.
Overall, these two zones have similar climates and growing conditions, making the options for timing and variety within a garden very similar.
In these zones, cool-season crops should go in the ground in March, meaning that soil preparation should start now.
To read more, pick up a copy of the January edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Heather Lloyd
Vaccinations are a critical component of maintaining the health and well-being of horses, especially in environments where they are exposed to other animals, such as in the sport, show and performance arenas. Horses, like all animals, are susceptible to various infectious diseases that can spread quickly and cause serious harm.
A routine vaccination schedule helps prevent the spread of these diseases by preparing the horse’s immune system.
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.
Having herds on a controlled breeding schedule means that we have a predictable calving schedule, and while it’s only over a couple of months, for us it does fall right after the start of the year. I lobby annually to call ours the “Winter calving season”, but I am outvoted and my husband still refers to it as Spring. Unlike producers in our Northern States, we don’t have to contend with brutally harsh winter weather, and on those rare times we do, thankfully it is not for extended periods. Regardless of whether you have a Spring or a Fall calving schedule, the health of a newborn calf begins with the mother’s health, and the mother’s health is largely dependent on the producer.
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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