Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile back at the ranch…
By Rayford Pullen
I certainly hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends and hopefully December will bring a time when we can pause and be thankful for all the blessings we have in our life that make our daily tasks rewarding. Being successful is not rewarding in itself unless we can share it with someone.
For all the prayer warriors out there praying for rain, you did a great job, and I understand this October was the wettest in recorded history, and the army worms, all I can say is wow!
What a show of destruction they were able to pull off over night with complete fields destroyed in the blink of an eye. When I read that each moth could lay 2,000 eggs, I knew we were in trouble just from the sheer numbers we saw in our pastures and in the Friday night lights.
Hopefully we have those critters behind us since their voracious appetites for our winter and summer pastures came at a time when we were recovering from the summer drought and looking at high-priced hay.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch, we got our fall calves fence lined weaned with little or no sickness despite the ever changing weather and continued rain.
They then received vaccinations for the virus complex, blackleg and dewormed. The vaccinations were repeated two weeks later since one vaccination is not 100 percent effective and the second hopefully gets those covered.
Doing what we can to minimize calf morbidity is not only beneficial to our business, but the industry as well since calves that do not get sick because they were vaccinated will hopefully not require antibiotics in the future, and that is something our customers are concerned about.
To read more pick up a copy of the December 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe 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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