Farm & Ranch
Ag Elsewhere: Montana
Photo and description by Jean Stimpson
Here, the Stimpson family was feeding cows in the pasture across the highway from their home. “The winter this picture was taken was about six or seven years ago and the snow wasn’t really deep, but it was cold. We had to stop feeding with the team that winter because it got too slick out. Here they were pulling a wagon with just one 1,400-pound bale on it, but with it being so slick it was just too hard on them.”
Feeding this way, Stimpson shared, is really a time-honored tradition not many still do. “Back when our grandparents fed like this. They didn’t have round bales; it was loose hay— pitch it on and pitch it off. We respect and admire the way they did it back then and my husband [Byron] really wanted to do it that way again,” Stimpson said.
Stimpson’s daughter bought the team, Dolly and Dixie. Efficiency wise, Stimpson debated, there is not a lot of difference, “Tractors take fuel, oil, tires. The team takes hay, oats and pasture. The tractor needs to be plugged in so it will start in the morning, but the horses never fail to start when it’s 30 below and the cows need to be fed!”
To read more pick up a copy of the December 2017 NTFR issue.
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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