Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…
By Rayford Pullen | [email protected]
When May arrives, we start thinking about weed control. With two years of drought under our belts, grass grazed short and hay stocks depleted, what we do now will influence our forage conditions for the entire year. With 75 percent of our annual warm season forages made by July 15 in North Texas, we need to get the grass growing while the sun shines.
Speaking of the sun shining, the biggest deterrent to growing lots of grass is restricted sunlight, and the biggest sun blockers we have are weeds.
Have you noticed weeds are normally just slightly taller than your grass and are probably blocking 90 percent of the sunlight from reaching the grass itself? So obviously, we need to improve conditions, so sunlight reaches the plants we want to grow.
With grass extremely short, more sunlight is hitting the soil surface now, which in turn results in more weed seed germinating. With the moisture we have received, we expect an abundance of weeds this year.
To read more, pick up a copy of the May issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Tressa Lawrence
Ranchers across northeast Wyoming and the surrounding areas saw record moisture levels in 2023. The year 2024 has seen significantly less moisture to date.
By Lindsey Monk
People are finishing up brandings. Here, Danny Walter is shown getting it done.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM
On July 6, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) posted in the Federal Register a proposal that radio frequency identification tags be used as official identification for cattle and bison. Following a period for public comment, the USDA APHIS released a statement on April 24, 2024, with the amended animal disease traceability (ADT) regulation for cattle and bison. The full press release may be found at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/aphis-bolsters-animal-disease-traceability-united-states. Under the new rule, cattle and bison will need to be identified with tags that are both visual and electronic.
The USDA defines ADT as knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they have been, and when the animal disease event took place. A system that allows for efficient traceability of livestock in the United States is essential for animal health and reducing the economic effect of a foreign animal disease outbreak and other diseases on livestock producers as well as others whose well-being depends on livestock production.
To read more, pick up a copy of the July issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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