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Making sense of Kaput, dollars and not much sense
By Andy Anderson
Texas Agricultural Commissioner, Sid Miller, recently announced the approval for the use of poison in the fight against the feral hogs in Texas. With recent agricultural damage estimated at about $50 million annually, there is a lot of incentive to find a solution.
Currently the State of Texas lists the feral hog as an invasive species. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists the feral hog as an exotic animal, meaning there are no restrictions in hunting them. The feral hog is a highly sought after animal that is hunted in a variety of ways. During the day and at night hunters use thermal and night vision, using dogs to locate and catch them. They are trapped in large numbers and dispatched in larger numbers from the air using helicopters.
There are buying stations throughout Texas that buy the trapped hogs for use in dog food or exported as a delicacy. The feral hog, regardless of its invasiveness and damage, is a highly intelligent adversary that’s both respected and hated.
Ranchers and farmers despise the feral hog for the damage they cause to crops and range land, fences, roads and water sources. Anyone who has been in a tractor bailing hay and has run into an unsuspecting area where hogs have rooted up instantly develops an intense hatred for pigs.
Kaput Hog Bait, manufactured by Scimetrics, is a Warfarin based product, similar to rat poison. Warfarin is also approved and used as a medication in humans for a variety of illness. However, Warfarin in certain doses or from long term exposure can result in death or serious injury to humans. The same goes for feral hogs.
The EPA warning label for Kaput is “CAUTION,” which means low toxicity or a category III toxic substance. Category III Toxicity to humans means a person will have to ingest and/or be exposed to certain levels of the substance to be harmful, cause injury or death. Warfarin also interacts with other medications a person maybe taking.
To read more pick up a copy of the April 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
One of my professors out at Texas Tech University always told us that we aren’t just raising cattle, we’re raising grass, because without grass there is no cattle business. The same applies to most livestock species and crops we seek to raise- without good land management, no good yield can grow.
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 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.
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