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 Barry Whitworth, DVM
Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.
Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.
The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Tressa Lawrence
Babies are tucked away in every nook and cranny. Many ranchers across Wyoming have baby animals popping up all over this time of year.
By Lindsey Monk
Another load of grain in to keep feeding the calves until the green grass can really start popping.
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