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Deer In Decline
By Russell A. Graves
He’s the deer I’ve been searching for over the past couple of days. Driving throu-h the rugged badlands of the Tongue River Country of Northwest Texas, mule deer are numerous but big ones are rare.
On the flat fields where canyon draws feed to and from the agricultural grounds of the area, mule deer often congregate by the dozens to feed on an easy meal of fresh green shoots of tender wheat.
Their pattern is predictable: travel and bed in the rugged breaks and crags that have been created by incessant forces of wind and water and when it’s time to eat, move out to the open areas where humans cultivate the land and provide an easy meal for a variety of wildlife. Mule deer are especially fond of this loosely symbiotic relationship.
Their behavior seems at odds with the usual wariness that wild deer typically exhibit. Whitetails (the cousin of mule deer and the source of the ascendant DNA in which the mule deer evolved over millennia) are more paranoid and like to stick close to cover in order to flee if danger presents itself. Mule deer on the other hand, evolved in the western United States and out on the open plains where they could see danger well in advance.
Of the two primary Texas deer species, mule deer are the more claustrophobic, preferring to stick to the wide open areas where danger is easily spotted.
While the mule deer’s range is huge compared to the whitetail, winter and the mammal’s ultimate proximity to food sources make their pattern a little more predictable out here. With two days left in the old year, I roam this ranch in search of a post rutting buck that’s looking to recover his spent energy by tapping into his likely travel corridors as he goes back and forth to feed and bed.
To read more pick up a copy of the February 2018 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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