Farm & Ranch
To till or not to till
By Judy Wade
With wheat harvest rapidly approaching, some farmers are debating what farming technique they will use this year. Will they continue their traditional tillage program, or will they switch to the no-till method?
Traditional tillage means the soil is plowed several times to a depth of eight to ten inches to remove stubble and weeds and prepare a seed bed for planting.
No-till farming is a term that basically describes a way to grow crops without disturbing the soil through tillage or plowing.
This article is not intended to answer the question, but rather to give both sides of the argument.
Three long-time farmers, James Montgomery, Tommy Henderson, and Johnny Harding, plant wheat on sandy land adjacent to each other in north Clay County along Red River.
Montgomery, who lives in Waurika, Okla., farms 1,350 acres in Texas and another 1,650 in Oklahoma. He uses traditional tillage methods for a variety of reasons. “I graze my wheat, pulling off around March 1.
To read more pick up the May 2015 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
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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