Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile back at the ranch
By Rayford Pullen
If you’re ready for 2018 to become a memory, raise your hand. What a wreck for those of us who are at the mercy of the weather and markets to make a living. Being an eternal optimist, I must admit my optimism was wavering a bit at times during the hot dry months of summer, the low price of cull cows and the wettest October on record, but as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of 2018, I couldn’t help but think and hope that 2019 would serve us better, and here’s hoping it does.
I’ve worn out a few pencils the past few months trying to make heads and tails of the cards we’ve been dealt in the cattle business and trying to figure out what we can do to ensure our future financially.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in the commercial or seed stock business, spending less than we are making can be a challenge. My observation is that doing everything we are told is the best for our cow herd, may not always be the best thing for us from a profitability stand point. We can spend ourselves into oblivion doing the “right things” when doing just the necessary things would be sufficient.
Around our place we deworm and vaccinate our calves for blackleg when they are two to three months old, while our cows will receive a vibrio-lepto vaccination at the same time. Is that enough? It just depends on who you talk to or where you are getting your advice on what is essential or not.
Around here, that is about all we believe we need to do, and with calving and weaning percentage around 90 percent or so, we don’t think the extra things recommended by some folks would be cost effective.
To read more pick up a copy of the January 2019 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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