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Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…
By Rayford Pullen
August is the month we start making plans for fall and winter pastures and making sure we have our hay supplies in good shape. In conversations with several producers around the country, one thing we have discussed is cutting our winter supplement costs, if possible.
We all know our costs of production have gone up in recent months in regards to fuel, fertilizer and feed, or as we call them, the big Fs. As we look at our margins, about the only thing we can do to increase our profits is to decrease our overhead. While many producers sell their calves as packaged beef there are not a lot of other options to increase our margins. While I do like this option, finding places to harvest our cattle has become a nightmare as our harvesting facilities are overloaded with demand.
So, we begin to look at what we can do to cut our costs that relate to keeping an animal year-round with winter feed cost being the most. Among the things we have discussed is making sure the hay we either raise or purchase is high quality to reduce protein needs, feeding liquid feed as opposed to cubes and utilizing winter pastures for our cow herd’s nutritional needs during the winter. We have not come up with the solution to our problems, but one thing that really sticks out is buying or producing higher quality hay.
To read more pick up a copy of the August 2021 NTFR 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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