Country Lifestyles
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
By Martha Crump | [email protected]
In his 1914 poem, “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost coined the phrase, “good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker in Frost’s poem finds humor in the fact that his pine cones are not going to cross the property line to eat his neighbor’s apples from his orchard and even asks his neighbor why a fence was needed if there are no cows. He further pondered what exactly they might be walling in or walling out, but the neighbor stands firmly behind his father’s advice of, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Ironically, the division between the neighbors’ land in the poem is the one thing that routinely brought the two men together.
Understanding fence law in Texas is an interesting undertaking at best, frustrating at worst and highly dependent upon not only local or county laws, but on fence location as well. Texas is an open-range state, meaning just that – livestock owners do not have to fence in their livestock to keep them from roaming at large. More than a century ago, the Texas Supreme Court supported the open-range policy by stating, “If the cattle of one person wander upon the [unenclosed] lands of another…they are not trespassers, and the owner is not liable for any damage that they may inflict.” As recently as 1999, the Texas Supreme Court again upheld this concept, holding that “it is the right of every owner of domestic animals in this state…to allow them to run at large.”
To read more, pick up a copy of the May issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By: Martha Crump
Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.
A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.
Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”
In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.
When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Annette Bridges
A friend and I were recently talking about our husbands. She made a comment that I felt also perfectly described me and my hubby.
“He slows me and I hurry him. I’m sure that is why we do well together,” she said.
“Precisely!” I thought. Why?
Because when two different worlds collide, it can be magical.
No matter what those two different worlds are- a man and a woman with very different personalities, beliefs, or backgrounds, two partners with contrasting passions, strengths, or talents, or when a country boy marries a city girl.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, is known for its rich history as a railroad stop, but over the course of the last year, one teen girl has put it on the map for agriculture as well. Emma Harvey has lived in Tarrant County her entire life. Despite being highly involved in her local 4-H chapter, she still felt there was more she could do. In the spring of 2023, she stepped up to the plate to take over the title of Tarrant County Teen Miss Agriculture USA.
“It all started when I put in an application for the teen title here in Tarrant County,” explained Harvey.
The Miss Agriculture USA program is a national non-profit, age-inclusive pageant program that offers both competition and non-competition titles to women dedicated to the promotion of agriculture.
Read more in the October issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available online and in print. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive NTFR in your inbox each week.
Photo by Hannah Claxton.
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