Outdoor
Grazing North Texas
By Tony Dean, [email protected]
We all take the sun for granted. If we’re building fence on a hot July day, we try to hide from it. If we are pulling a calf on a cold January morning, we welcome a few rays coming our way. Either way, it’s always there. We can’t live without the sun. We depend on it not only for our lives, but also for our livelihood as ranchers. As part of his gift to us, God gave the process of photosynthesis. This is how grasses grow.
Photosynthesis is the process plants use to sustain themselves. Plants gather water and nutrients from the soil and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Using the sun’s energy, the plant produces oxygen along with energy for growth in the form of sugar.
In managing cattle, the more we understand about the mothering instinct, and the herding instinct, the better job we do in livestock management. A big part of managing our grazing lands is understanding how plants respond to sunlight. Some plants want to maximize their exposure to it, and some prefer a more limited amount. Texas bluegrass has a wide range of sunlight adaptation. Texas bluegrass is a highly palatable native cool season perennial that can grow in open pasture or in shaded areas. When subjected to years of heavy grazing pressure, it decreases in open areas but can maintain a presence in shaded brushy areas not subject to heavy grazing. When we can incorporate well-planned rotation grazing into our management, Texas bluegrass can reappear in open pasture.
To read more, pick up a copy of the July issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Jelly Cocanougher
Delicate microbes buried just beneath the surface. We walk by them, unbeknownst to us. Spores, spawn, and sclerotia, each with distinct characteristics. It is said that these fungi are all connected, speaking to one another as they populate the earth. The interconnectedness of all living things and the decaying world, such beauty lies within these otherworldly alien organisms.
By: Landon Moore
Landon Moore is the Wise County 4-H President and a member of the Wise County 4-H County Council. He is involved in beekeeping, as well as raising rabbits and poultry.
This essay was one that he wrote, and it was named the champion for both the Texas and National chapters of the Foundation For The Preservation of Honey Bees.
Varietal honey is honey that comes from a single source.
This honey has a flavor derived from the source flower and can even have a similar scent. In general, lighter colored honeys have a more subtle taste and dark honeys are more intense. Varietal honey has been compared to wine, in that honeys produced in different years can be distinguished, even if they come from the same flower and location.
This phenomenon is called terroir and is responsible for the individual taste of each honey harvest.
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: Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
Early in the summer, I was sent a press release that caused one of those holy wow moments. The headline said it all, “Proven Winners ColorChoice Expands Catalog with the Addition of Hollywood Hibiscus.”
I had already become familiar with the Hollywood Hibiscus series and was thrilled that the Proven Winners was adding this to their lineup.
This flower is nothing short of beautiful and exhibits prolific flower production. The flowers show three distinct colors, deep red in the very center, then the majority which is a rich rose pink with lighter pink to white along the margins.
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.
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