Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…
By Rayford Pullen, [email protected]
We make approximately 75 percent of our yearly summer forage by July 15 each year. How did you do? Summer just keeps marching along and with August looming, now is a great time to begin thinking about fall pastures. As mentioned in previous articles, we need to take a look at our current pasture situation as it relates to warm season grasses and fall and winter pastures.
It seems as though feed prices this fall will be comparable to last year’s prices, which were expensive with most, if not all protein cubes, costing more than $450 per ton. Based on this cost, and feeding four pounds of cubes per day, our winter cost for protein alone is $112 per head plus labor. Although hay prices have moderated this year, we are still looking at roughly $300 per cow plus labor. Now we have more than $400 per head required to feed a cow for 125 days which is just a third of the year.
To read more, pick up a copy of the August issue of NTFR magazine. 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.
By: Rayford Pullen
Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.
We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.
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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