Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
By Rayford Pullen
With fall officially here, we turn our attention toward the upcoming winter months and costs associated with keeping our herds healthy, productive and profitable. In our area of North Texas, forage quality improves dramatically once the temperatures moderate, meaning cool the heck down, and we get rain to rejuvenate it. Once nighttime temperatures begin hitting the 45-degree mark, growth basically stops, but the quality is really good and should remain good until a couple of weeks after our first freeze, which normally arrives mid-November. After that, we may need to supplement protein. If your cattle are thin going into the winter, you also will need to supplement energy, like grain, in order to prevent nutritional and health problems particularly affecting reproduction.
October is usually a wonderful month for us in regards to cattle production and economy. It also is when our fall born calves begin arriving, and what a pleasure it is to calve, especially first calf heifers, when the temperatures are north of 50. As our fall calves begin hitting the ground, we are fence-line weaning, deworming and vaccinating our spring born calves for blackleg and respiratory problems.
To read more pick up a copy of the October 2020 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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