Farm & Ranch
The Dr. McDonald Column
By Dr. Steve McDonald
The phone went off at 11:30 a.m. A retired game warden who used to be a roper before his health deteriorated had a cow down trying to calve. He is really a nice man who helped me do many things while I was building my clinic. He refused pay, saying he didn’t have enough to do since he had retired.
He had several horses at that time plus a fair sized cowherd. In the intervening years, several medical problems had come up, and he sold all his horses saving one old friend who he said had never let him down. He sold most of his cattle, keeping a few to give him something to feed and fret over.
I had seen very little of him in the last year or two.
I was walking out the door to palpate cattle for a ranch 50 miles away, when I got a call from him. He needed help, but the job I was headed for was given to me because the rancher’s former vet was habitually late. He wanted someone punctual, which I intended to be.
I told the game warden that I couldn’t get there, and he should find some one else. He said his place was right on the way to Jacksboro, and he already had caught the cow, his trailer had a flat, etc.
To read more pick up a copy of the May 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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