Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile back at the ranch…
By Rayford Pullen
This spring calving in the middle of the winter is for the penguins. While I have mostly been an advocate of spring calving, calving in the fall when the temperatures are a lot milder is looking better and better all the time, but there’s just one catch, and that is you basically have to give up half a year’s calf crop to get it done, and it doesn’t make really good financial sense from that perspective to move calving from spring to fall.
I’ve been thinking a little about what’s going on in this cattle market, and I guess I’ll just keep on thinking about it because I have not come up with any answers. We now have a new president, and we are anxious to see what impact that will have on commodity markets as well as the stock market. There is one thing for sure and that is it will be different, good for some, bad for some, and neutral for others, about the way it has always been. We will just continue to do business as usual, looking for opportunities along the way and hoping we recognize them when they show.
Calving in the winter is certainly stressful from a temperature standpoint where temperatures can range from 10 to 75 degrees, and while we don’t expect any calving issues, we do try to keep a closer watch over our first calf heifers with the first check around 8 a.m. and the last check about 11 p.m. We try to keep them in traps near our routine high traffic routes so we can observe them several times per day.
To read more pick up a copy of the February 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
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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