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Grazing North Texas – Wild Plum
By Tony Dean
Wild plum is a small tree that forms dense thickets on prairies and roadsides from East Texas to the Rolling Plains. Plums are a member of the rose family, and there are at least 14 species and several varieties of this family in Texas. A number of these species are plums, with about 10 different plums identified across the state.
One of the most common species of plum in Texas goes by several common names, including wild plum, sand plum and Chickasaw plum. The term sand plum comes from the fact that it can grow in several soil types but is most at home on sandy sites.
Plum bushes are usually four to eight feet tall and can reach heights of 12 feet. They can spread by rhizomes or underground runners, and this causes them to be found mostly in thickets ranging from a few feet in diameter to over an acre, but they can cover many acres.
Most of us know this shrub from the small edible fruit that it produces each year.
To read more pick up a copy of the April 2018 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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