Farm & Ranch
Higgins Branchini Shooting Foundation
By Dani Blackburn
Michael Higgins and his wife, Melinda Branchini, of Forestburg found a way to ingeniously unite their two passions — education and shooting — in a way that gives back to others when they created the Higgins Branchini Shooting Foundation.
The HBSF is a national charitable organization providing funds to collegiate students competing in clay target shooting sports.
“We don’t have any children, and we wanted to give back,” Branchini explained. “I’m interested in academics and my husband is interested in shooting, so we blended the two.”
HBSF is possibly the only organization of its kind giving grants to individual collegiate shooters rather than groups and teams. Since its creation, the organization has given $120,000 to students at 42 different universities in 22 different states from California to Connecticut.
Higgins serves as the board president, while Branchini is the executive director. Other board members include Elizabeth Cook, secretary; Steven Wirth, vice president; Mimi Wilfong, board member and Shea Self, board member.
College students who are members of their college or university shotgun shooting team are automatically eligible for HBSF assistance. Financial assistance in the form of grants, not scholarships, is extended to individuals based on the advisory committee’s recommendations.
Each applicant must provide a business plan detailing how they will use the funds provided.
Higgins began shooting at just nine years old with rifles before moving to a shotgun with moving targets. (Photo by Dani Blackburn)
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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