Farm & Ranch
The Dr. McDonald Column : A column concluded – The Real Cowboy Way
By Jim McElvain
We talk cowboy a lot, but what’s the real definition or meaning of “Cowboy Way?” I’ve edited a few of Dr. Steve McDonald’s stories for NTFR over the last year or two, and Jessica Crabtree has been kind enough to print them. Reading about Dr. McDonald’s work and misadventures gives an idea of the true cowboy way, but let me tell you about Steve McDonald.
Steve spent much of his early youth on the land, eventually living with his grandmother in Holliday, Texas.
He hunted, fished and even trapped muskrats and sold hides for spending money. After high school he joined the U.S. Marines and spent one of the bloodiest years of the Vietnam War with a rifle company. Returning, he started school at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.
There was a whole gaggle of us Vietnam vets just returning, and parties upon the arrival of GI Bill checks spelled doom for many of our academic careers. Steve began working for a farmer near Odell, Texas, plowing, fencing, welding and any other work needed. He later started his own small company, a one-man operation welding and building barns and corrals.
I had graduated college and was teaching high school, but in summers I’d work for Steve. He was the hardest working man I’ve ever tried to stay up with, and as honest and good as a man can be.
To read more pick up a copy of the February 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
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 Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
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.
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