Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile back at the ranch
By Rayford Pullen
If you’re ready for 2018 to become a memory, raise your hand. What a wreck for those of us who are at the mercy of the weather and markets to make a living. Being an eternal optimist, I must admit my optimism was wavering a bit at times during the hot dry months of summer, the low price of cull cows and the wettest October on record, but as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of 2018, I couldn’t help but think and hope that 2019 would serve us better, and here’s hoping it does.
I’ve worn out a few pencils the past few months trying to make heads and tails of the cards we’ve been dealt in the cattle business and trying to figure out what we can do to ensure our future financially.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in the commercial or seed stock business, spending less than we are making can be a challenge. My observation is that doing everything we are told is the best for our cow herd, may not always be the best thing for us from a profitability stand point. We can spend ourselves into oblivion doing the “right things” when doing just the necessary things would be sufficient.
Around our place we deworm and vaccinate our calves for blackleg when they are two to three months old, while our cows will receive a vibrio-lepto vaccination at the same time. Is that enough? It just depends on who you talk to or where you are getting your advice on what is essential or not.
Around here, that is about all we believe we need to do, and with calving and weaning percentage around 90 percent or so, we don’t think the extra things recommended by some folks would be cost effective.
To read more pick up a copy of the January 2019 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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