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 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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