Land & Livestock Post

January 15, 2012

Choosing well

USING GOOD INFORMATION TO MAKE THE RIGHT CULLING CHOICES PAG E 8 GETTING ANTSY

NIGHT LIFE IS THE GOOD LIFE

Scientists learn why ямБre ants thrive.

Feed cows at night for daytime birth.

PLANTING SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE

HORSING AROUND

PAGE 3

More young people trying out farming.

PAGE 4

PAGE 7

Learn what is normal for your horse.

PAGE 15

The Land & Livestock Post ✪ January 15, 2012

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From the General Manager

I

By STEVE BYRNS Texas AgriLife Extension Service

COLLEGE STATION — Like Old West cattle barons in a B-western, red imported fire ants are expanding their range and increasing their herds while laying wholesale waste to the range, according to an expert on the issue.

Micky Eubanks, a Texas AgriLife Research entomologist at College Station, said the ants are using a practice known as “mutualism” to help them thrive despite the estimated $1 billion Americans pour into controlling them annually.

“Mutualisms play key roles in the functioning of ecosystems,” Eubanks said. “In this case, fire ants protect aphids in exchange for the honeydew that aphids produce and the ants eat. Native ants also do this, however a study by our team recently published in the

Photo courtesy Shawn Wi Wilder lder

Red imported fire ants are shown “tending” cotton aphids.

Procee Proc oceedi eedings ng of the National Anc determined nce cademy of Science that mutualisms involving introduced species such as the red imported fire ant can actually enhance invasion success and ultimately disrupt entire native ecosystems.”

Eubanks said the phenomenon has received relatively little attention in scientific circles prior to this study.

The team included Eubanks and lead researcher, Shawn Wilder, Texas A&M Univer-

sity entomologist; David Holway, Division of Biological Sciences, Univer-sity of California; Andrew Suarez, departments of entomology and animal biology, og University of ogy, Illinois; and Edward LeBrun, Brackenridge Field Laboratory, University of Texas. Its members examined how afood-f tection ccess to food-for-pro mutualisms involving the red imported fire ant aids the success of this invader.

Eubanks said intense competition with other ants and insects in the pest’s native Argentina checks their explosive success there, but in the U.S. the invaders dominate the range, running roughshod over the native ants while making full use of the aphid “cows’” nourishing honeydew.

The research team found that the carbohydrate-rich

January 15, 2012

stay ahead of the curve in order to keep things on the right track. Our cover story takes a look at culling and offers some advice on when, what and how to cull your herd.

We also have some stories from Texas AgriLife as well as some information on horses for all you equine lovers. Hope you find something you like, and I hope your new year is off of to a good start. ’Til next time.

✪

forgot to take the trash out last week. Under normal circumstances such a slip is not much cause for concern. But last week’s trash had the boxes and bows and all the Christmas excess, on top of the usual JESSE WRIGHT trash, and then we brought a baby home from the hospital and the trash is piling up at an alarming rate.

It didn’t take long for the trash situation to get away from me. Just as with the trash, when it comes to culling your herd, it is necessary to

Learning how fire ants thrive

The Land & Livestock Post

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• See ANTS/Page ANTS 10

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The Land & Livestock Post ✪ January 15, 2012 4

News

Farming appealing to more young people

By DINESH RAMDE Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin factory worker worried about layoffs became a dairy farmer. An employee at a Minnesota nonprofit found an escape from her cubicle by buying a vegetable farm. A nuclear engineer tired of office bureaucracy decided to get into cattle ranching in Texas.

While fresh demographic information on U.S. farmers won’t be available until afte af r the next agricultural census is done next year, there are signs more people in their 20s and 30s are going into farming. Enrollment in university agriculture programs has increased, as has interest in farmer-training programs.

Young people are turning up at farmers markets and are blogging, tweeting and promoting their agricultural endeavors through other social media.

The young entrepreneurs typically cite two reasons for going into farming: Many find the corporate world stifling and see no point in sticking it out when there’s little job security; and demand for locally grown and organic foods has been strong enough that even in the downturn they feel confident they can sell their products.

Laura Frerichs, 31, of Hutchinson, Minn., discovered her passion for farming about a year after she graduated from college with an anthropology degree. She planned to work in economic development in Latin America and thought she ought to get some experience working on a farm.

She did stints on five farms, mostly vegetable farms, and fell in love with the work.

Frerichs and her husband now have their own organic farm, and while she doesn’t expect it to make them rich, she’s confident they’ll be able to earn a living.

“There’s just this growing consciousness around locally grown foods, around organic foods,” she said. “Where we are in the Twin Cities there’s been great demand for that.”

Farming is inherently risky: Drought, flooding, wind and other weather

extremes can all destroy a year’s work. And with farmland averaging $2,140 per acre across the U.S. — but two to four times that much in the Midwest and California — the start-up costs can be daunting.

Still, agriculture fared better than many parts of the economy during the recession, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts record profits for farmers as a whole this year.

“People are looking at farm income, especially the increase in asset values, and seeing a really positive story about our economy,” said USDA senior economist Mary Clare Ahearn, citing preliminary statistics. “Young people are viewing agriculture as a great opportunity and saying they want to be a part of it.”

That’s welcome news to the government. More than 60 percent of farmers are over the age of 55, and without young farmers to replace them when they retire, the nation’s food supply would depend on fewer and fewer people.

“We’d be vulnerable to local economic disruptions, tariffs, attacks on the food supply,

• See YOUNG/Page YOUNG 5

AP photo/Jim Mone

Laura Frerichs, 31, with husband Andy carrying infant son Eli on her organic farm outside of Hutchinson, Minn., discovered her passion for farming about a year after she graduated from college with an anthropology degree. She is among more people in their 20s and 30s going into farming.

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January 15, 2012

AP photo/Jim Mone

Laura Frerichs, 31, of Hutchinson, Minn., planned to work in economic development in Latin America and thought she ought to get some experience working on a farm. number,” Rojas said. “But ship program paid for by the now I’m doing what I love to USDA, which began giving do. If I’m having a rough day money in 2009 to universities or I’m a little sad because the and nonprofit groups that sun’s not shining or my trac- help train beginning farmers. tor’s broken, I can always go The grants helped train about out and be by the cattle. That 5,000 people the first year. always makes me feel better.” This year, the USDA estiRojas got help in changing mates more than twice as careers from an apprentice- many benefited.

create problems when there are crops to be harvested and cows to be milked.

In addition, many farmers need second jobs to get health insurance or make ends meet.

As the USDA notes, threefifths of farms have sales of less than $10,000 a year, although some may be growing fruit trees or other crops that take a few years to develop.

None of those factors dissuaded 27-year-old Paul Mews. He left a high-paying job as a nuclear engineer last year to become a cattle rancher in Menard, Texas. His wife’s family has been ranching for generations, and Mews decided he’d much rather join his in-laws and be his own boss than continue shuffling paperwork at the plant.

“When you’re selfemployed it’s so much more fulfilling. You get paid what you’re worth,” he said. “It’s really nice that what you put into it is what you’re going to get back out.”

✪

really, any disaster you can think of,” said Poppy Davis, who coordinates the USDA’s programs for beginning farmers and ranchers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has called for 100,000 new farmers within the next few years, and Congress has responded with proposals that would provide young farmers with improved access to USDA support and loan programs.

One beginning farmer is Gabrielle Rojas, 34, from the central Wisconsin town of Hewitt. As a rebellious teen all she wanted to do was leave her family’s farm and find a career that didn’t involve cows. But she changed her mind after spending years in dead-end jobs in a factory and restaurant.

“In those jobs I’m just a number, just a time-clock

One of the groups that received a grant is Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, or MOSES. The Spring Valley, Wis., chapter teaches farming entrepreneurs how to cope with price swings and what to do in cases of catastrophic weather.

MOSES also organizes field days, where would-be farmers tour the operations of successful farms to learn and share tips. Attendance is up 20 percent this year, director Faye Jones said, and some outings that used to attract 30 or 40 people have drawn as many as 100, most between the ages of 18 and 30.

“I think for many people, farming has been a lifelong dream, and now the timing is right,” she said. Among the reasons she cited: the lifestyle, working in the fresh air and being one’s own boss.

If farming is beginning to sound like an appealing career, there are downsides.

The work involves tough physical labor, and vacations

The Land & Livestock Post

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The Land & Livestock Post ✪ January 15, 2012

News

AgriLife publication can help with feral hogs Ways to protect corn and protein pellets offered

By PAUL SCHATTENBERG Te s AgriLi Texa riLife riLi Life Extension Service

COLLEGE STATION — A team of experts has developed a new Texas AgriLife Extension Service publication focused on keeping feral hogs from raiding wildlife feeding stations.

The four-page publication, “Using Fences to Exclude Feral Hogs from Wildlife Stations,” was developed by Texas A&M University System and U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wildlife experts. It provides advice and direction on how landowners can protect corn and protein pellets intended for wildlife from being eaten by feral hogs.

The new publication may be downloaded from the Texas AgriLife Bookstore website at agrilifebookstore. org or Plum Creek Watershed Partnership website at pcwp. tamu.edu/feral-hogs.

“We developed this resource primarily for residents of the Plum Creek watershed area, but it’s applicable to landowners throughout the state,” said Jared Timmons, an AgriLife Extension assistant who addresses feral hog issues in the Plum

Creek watershed.

“In many parts of Texas, feral hogs damage landscapes, pollute the water, and hinder farming, ranching and lif management,” said life wildlife Billy Higgenbotham, AgriLife Extension wildlife and fisheries specialist. “Using fencing to exclude them from supplemental feed should be a part of every ranch-management plan.”

He added that feral hogs are responsible for more than $52 million in damage to the state’s agriculture industry each year.

“Feral hogs not only damage crops and other property in the Plum Creek Watershed and other areas of the state, they also have been identified as a possible source of nonpoint pollution to the water table in many locations,”

Published by Bryan-College Station Communications, Inc. (979) 776-4444 or (800) 299-7355

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Feral hogs consume a significant portion of supplemental feed intended for deer and other wildlife. A new Texas AgriLife Extension Service publication shows how to keep feral hogs away from wildlife feeding stations using “exclosure” fencing.

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Nighttime is right time to feed expectant cows

By DONALD STOTTS Oklahoma State University

✪ January 15, 2012

STILLWATER, Okla. — It is generally accepted that adequate supervision at calving has a significant positive effect on reducing calf mortality, which has been of increasing importance with the use of larger beef breeds and cattle with larger birth weights.

“On most ranching operations, supervision of first-calf heifers and more mature cows will be best accomplished in daylight hours while the poorest observation typically will take place in the middle of the night,” said Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension emeritus cattle specialist.

The easiest and most practical method of inhibiting nighttime calving at present is by feeding the expectant mothers at night; the physiological mechanism is unknown, but some hormonal effect may be involved.

Selk said rumen motility studies indicate the frequency of rumen contractions falls a few hours before parturition. Intraruminal pressure begins to fall in the last two weeks of gestation, with a more rapid decline during calving.

“It has been suggested that nighttime feeding causes intraruminal pressures to rise at night and decline in the daytime,” he said.

In a Canadian study of 104 Hereford cows, 38.4 percent were fed at 8 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. and delivered calves during the day.

A British study utilizing 162 cattle on four farms compared the percentages of calves born from 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. to cows fed at different times. When the cows were fed at 9 a.m., 57 percent of the calves were born during the day, compared to 79 percent for cows fed at 10 p.m.

“There are field trials by

Photo courtesy of cattletoday.com

Many experts say that feeding expectant cows at night most often will cause them to deliver during daylight hours, when assisting with the birth if necessary is easier.

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The Land & Livestock Post ✪ January 15, 2012

News

Head ’em up, move ’em out!

Vigorous culling decisions necessary for profit

By ROBERT FEARS Special to The Post

R

egardless of whether a cow is raised or purchased, she is a capital investment for production of a salable item: a weaned calf. If the cow does not produce a calf every year, return on investment is not good.

Estimated annual maintenance costs of a mature cow range from $500 to $550 and these expenses must be recovered from the value of her weaned calf in order to stay in the cattle business.

Determine the problem “Befor ef e culling a non-productive efor cow, it is important to determine if she is the problem,” said veterinarian Mike Wirtz, a rancher in Brenham.

“Good nutritional and health programs must be executed so that both bulls and cows will breed. All bulls should receive breeding soundness exams each year before they are put with the cows. Bulls, shown to be infertile, should be sold.”

Annual calving requires controlled breeding seasons,” said Bruce Carpenter, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist at Fort Stockton.

“When calving season is too long, management is more difficult and many cows will not calve each year.

Shorter calving seasons make the bottom line better because herd management expenses and marketing income can be better controlled.

“Cows are pregnant for about 285 days of a 365-day year,” Carpenter said.

“There is not much time left for reproductive tract recovery and subsequent rebreeding. If cows are to calve every 12 months, the calving season can be no longer than 80 days per year.

Thus, a breeding season of 80 days creates an 80-day calving season the following year followed by another 80day breeding season,”Carpenter said.

Reasons for culling

8

Rigorous culling is necessary for moving a herd into an 80-day breeding period. High fertility cows with good nutrition will breed within the 80-day period and low fertility cows may not.

Photo by Robert Fears

The estimated annual maintenance cost of a mature cow is estimated to be more than $500, so if the cow doesn’t produce a calf every year, year the return on investment is poor. poor Producers are urged to base culling decisions on a variety of factors, and then limit breeding season to 80 days, which would obtain the desired 80-day calving season.

With year-round breeding it is hard to identify low fertility cows because you don’t know exactly when they are bred.

By pregnancy testing after a defined breeding period, the open cows can be identified and culled to decrease capital expense.

“A cow not only needs to be culled for her inability to calve annually, but she should also be evaluated on ease of calving, milk production and the size of calf she weans,” said Joe Paschal, livestock specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension at Corpus Christi.

“I like to see a high calving ease score, but a light birth weight. Big calves can cause calving problems. Calving ease score indicates a cow’s ability to have a calf or the ability of a calf to be born.”

When culling cows, keep those with average milk production,” Paschal said.

“Cows that are average in milk production produce a lot of milk in wet years and enough milk in dry years to raise a good calf. lf Keep cows that wean lf. the right-sized calf to maximize profit.

The heaviest calves are not always the

best. As calves become larger, average milk production of a herd tends to increase. Higher milk production leads to increased maintenance costs that may not be recovered by the added weight of the calf,” Paschal said.

In addition to culling poor-producing cattle, sell cows with flawed conformation because these characteristics will be passed to offspring.

Calves with poor conformation have less value. Sell old cows before they

• See CULL/Page CULL 9

Cull From 8

Obtain the best value

• Robert Fears is a freelance writer and ranch management consultant.

From 6 Hunters and wildlife managers often provide feed for white-tailed deer and other wildlife in Texas, using an estimated 150,000 tons of corn each year.

“In addition to corn, many deer managers also supply high-protein pellet feed, but research has shown much of this supplemental feed is consumed by non-target species such as feral hogs,” Timmons said.

To meet management goals and reduce feed costs, Timmons said, deer managers should take steps to prevent feral hogs from accessing deer feed, and the new publication will provide “useful, practical information” toward reaching that end.

“Research conducted in South Texas brush country showed that fencing around feeding stations that excludes feral hogs is an effective way

A result demonstration was conducted to determine appropriate fence heights of exclosure fences around wildlife feeding stations ... . moval, and non-landowners may report feral hog sightings.

The result demonstration was funded by the USDA Renewable Natural Resources Extension Act. Publication costs were funded through the Plum Creek Watershed Feral Hog Project with funding support from the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency through a Clean Water Act Nonpoint Source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and from the Cooperative State Re-search, Education, and Ex-tension Service, USDA and National Integrated Water Quality Program.

January 15, 2012

“Informed marketing, rather than simply selling, can add to cull cow income,” said Ron Gill, Livestock specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service in College Station. “In an average year, culled cows represent 10 to 20 percent of the gross revenue. Factors affecting value are sale weight, body condition, muscling, quality and blemishes, all of which can be managed at the ranch to derive more cow value. Cull cow value is based on percent lean meat yield and live weight.

Hogs

to keep them getting to and eating the corn and other supplemental feed landowners put out for wildlife,” Timmons said. “And while exclosure fences are time and labor intensive, they will pay for themselves in feed savings.”

Timmons said a result demonstration was conducted to determine appropriate fence heights of exclosure fences around wildlife feeding stations, and that the publication provides results of this study. The publication also has photos, a list of materials, fence height recommendation and cost estimates related to building an exclosure fence.

Other materials on feral hogs and feral hog management also may be found on the Texas AgriLife Bookstore or Plum Creek Watershed Partnership websites. The partnership website has 12 additional feral hog-related publications as well as voiceover presentations and a feral hog reporting website. On that site’s reporting portion, landowners may report feral hog activity, including re-

✪

lose their teeth, decline in body condition and become non-productive.

“Add weight to thin cull cows before selling,” Gill said.

“This is particularly valuable when cows are at a 3 body condition score or lower at culling. Adversely, sell cows before they become too fat and reach 8 and 9 body condition scores.

“Consider cull cows as a valuable asset and handle them as such. Bruising is a major problem with cull cows.

Most bruises are caused by rough handling and hauling from the time they are sorted at the ranch until they are processed at the point of sale,” Gill said.

“Market crippled cattle directly to a packer, without going through usual marketing channels,” Gill said.

“Cows with other blemishes, such as bad eyes, probably should also be sold directly to a packer. Be cautious and concerned about withdrawal times when marketing cows that have been treated with animal health products.”

Marketing non-productive and substandard cattle releases capital for purchase of better animals.

Cull cattle values vary according to the employed marketing skills.

The Land & Livestock Post

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The Land & Livestock Post ✪ January 15, 2012

News LIVESTOCK MARKET REPORTS Buffalo Results of the Buffalo Livestock Exchange’s Dec. 17 sale: Head: 1,097.

Steers: 150-200 lbs., $150$205; 200-300 lbs., $150-$205; 300-400 lbs., $150-$208; 400500 lbs., $145-$193; 500-600 lbs., $135-$175; 600-700 lbs., $125-$165; 700-800 lbs., $125$145.

Heifers: 150-200 lbs., $138$200; 200-300 lbs., $135-$200; 300-400 lbs., $130-$200; 400500 lbs., $125-$180; 500-600 lbs., $123-$150; 600-700 lbs., $120-$150; 700-800 lbs., $115$135.

Slaughter bulls: 60-$88.50.

Slaughter cows: $52-$80.50.

Bred cows: $650-$1,260.

Cow/calf pairs: $650-$1,290.

Caldwell Results of the Caldwell Livestock Commission’s Dec. 14 sale:

Head: 562.

Steers: 200-300 lbs., $160$199; 300-400 lbs., $160-$199; 400-500 lbs., $150-$185; 500600 lbs., $140-$170; 600-700 lbs., $115-$140.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $140$185; 300-400 lbs., $150-$190; 400-500 lbs., $135-$180; 500600 lbs., $130-$165.

Slaughter bulls: $63-$86.

Slaughter cows: $35-$84.

Stocker cows: $550-$1,050.

Jordan Results of the Jordan Cattle Auction’s Dec. 15 sale: Head: 2,068.

Steers: 200-300 lbs., $190$225; 300-400 lbs., $185-$219; 400-500 lbs., $170-$199; 500600 lbs., $155-$178; 600-700 lbs., $135-$146.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $150$176; 300-400 lbs., $140-$179; 400-500 lbs., $137-$159; 500600 lbs., $133-$159; 600-700

lbs., $130-$147; 700-800 lbs., $115-$123.

Slaughter bulls: $72.50-$91.50.

Slaughter cows: $660-$1,220.

Stocker cows: $660-$1,220.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,000-$1,460.

Navasota Results of the Navasota Livestock Auction Co.’s Dec. 17 sale: Head: 1,817.

Steers: 150-300 lbs., $125$210; 300-400 lbs., $110-$200; 400-500 lbs., $110-$175; 500600 lbs., $110-$167.70; 600-700 lbs., $105-$147.50.

Heifers: 150-300 lbs., $120$190; 300-400 lbs., $115$172.50; 400-500 lbs., $115$155; 500-600 lbs., $105-$145; 600-700 lbs., $105-$140.

Slaughter bulls: $55-$88.50.

Slaughter cows: $35-$74.

Stocker cows: $650-$1,200.

Cow/calf pairs: $800-$1,225.

— Special to The Post

Ants From 3 substance known as “honeydew” — that sticky fecal substance that drips on your car from aphids feeding on tree leaves — is a magic elixir to the ants. It gives them the energetic edge needed to out-forage native species and conquer new territory.

“Laboratory and field experiments demonstrated that honeydew with its high carbohydrate content dramatically increases fire ant colony growth, a crucial factor of competitive performance,” he said.

“We examined colony growth by rearing fire ants with and without honeydew-producing aphids. After seven weeks, laboratory ant colonies with access to honeydew-producing

aphids were 20 percent larger than those grown with cotton plants, but no aphids, even though both colonies had all the insect prey they could eat.

“Our findings support the hypothesis that although mutualisms help generate and maintain biodiversity in our native flora and fauna, introduced species such as the red imported fire ant can infiltrate these networks and divert resources for their own success with potentially devastating consequences to their native neighbors.”

For more information on the published work, “Intercontinental differences in resource use reveal the importance of mutualisms in fire ant invasions,” go to the Discovery Blog article at tinyurl.com/ 7end6gy or, for the complete work, go to dx.doi.org/ 10.1073/pnas.1115263108.

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Free soil testing program offered in South Texas

By ROD SANTA ANA Texas AgriLife Extension Service

January 15, 2012

10522 FM 2095 • Gause, Texas 77857 Bill Pendergrass • 979.203.6800 bill@fluhartyfarms.net

The free soil testing campaign is made possible by funding from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, and administered through the Texas Water Resources Institute and AgriLife Extension.

For more information about the Arroyo Colorado watershed, visit www.arroyocolorado.org.

For more information about the soil testing program, contact the AgriLife Extension county office AgriLife Communications photo by Rod Santa Ana in Hidalgo, Cam- Grower Brian Jones, second from left, hosts Texas AgriLife Extension Service pereron or Willacy sonnel on his farm for soil testing. They include, from left, Donnie Valdez, Brad counties.

Cowan and Enrique Perez. The free soil testing program runs through the spring.

✪

WESLACO — Farmers in Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties are encouraged to take part in a free soil testing program to help the environment and their bottom lines, according to officials with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

“Our soil testing program has been very successful for many years now in helping growers know exactly how much residual fertilizer is already in the ground,” said Donnie Valdez, a longtime grower in the Weslaco area and an AgriLife Extension specialist.

“By knowing how much fertilizer is in the soil, many growers have been able to cut down on the fertilizer they apply, which can amount to a huge cost savings, especially with rising fertilizer prices,” he said.

The program started in October and will extend through the spring, Valdez said.

“Producers can obtain a soil sampling kit from their AgriLife Extension county office and return their samples for shipping to the Texas A&M Soil Testing Laboratory

in College Station. The analysis is free and results are mailed directly to the grower,” he said.

The soil analysis takes the guesswork out of nutrient management, according to Brad Cowan, an AgriLife Extension agent in Hidalgo County.

“The results of the soil test will tell a grower exactly what nutrients are in the soil so they can pay only for the nutrients needed to meet their crop yield goals,” he said.

Improper rates, timing or application of fertilizer nutrients actually can reduce crop yields and impair water quality via runoff, Cowan said.

“It just makes good sense to know the nutrient makeup of your soil before you add more nutrients,” he said.

Proper nutrient amounts and placement aid in the reduction of nonpoint source pollution into the Arroyo Colorado, an important waterway in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Valdez said.

“The Arroyo is critical to drainage in the Valley,” he said. “Its watershed covers portions of Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties, home to more than 1 million people, according to census reports.”

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The exact reason is unknown, but far more often than not, feeding expectant cows at night will cause them to deliver their calves during daylight hours.

Selk said some ranchers with small herds have reported success controlling access to the large round bales.

“The hay is fed within a small enclosed pasture or lot near a larger pasture where the cows graze during the day,” he said. “In the evening, the gate to the area where the hay is placed is opened and the cows are allowed to enter and consume hay during the night. The next morning, they are moved back to the daytime pasture to graze until the following evening. In this manner, the nighttime feeding is accomplished with hay or silage only.”

Selk recommends cow-calf producers do whatever best fits their specific if operation. ific “During winter months, baby calves born in the warmer part of the day have radiant heat from the sun to help reduce cold stress,” he said. “These calves have a better chance for early colostrum consumption and therefore survival. Let’s not overlook that advantage.”

✪

cattle producers utilizing nighttime feeding when 35 cows and heifers were fed once daily between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.; 74.5 percent of the calves were born between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” Selk said.

In perhaps the most convincing study to date, more than 1,330 cows on 15 farms in Iowa were fed once daily at dusk, with 85 percent of the calves being born between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

“Whether cows were started on nighttime feeding the week before calving, started in the herd or started two weeks to three weeks earlier made no apparent difference in calving time,” Selk said.

Various means have been employed to reduce effectively animal loss at calving time, and skilled personnel should be available to render obstetric assistance and neonatal

care.

“Currently, evening feeding of cattle seems to be the most effective method of scheduling parturition so assistance can be available during daylight hours,” Selk said.

Though it is always a sound management practice to observe all the females in a herd, typically the percentage of adult mature cows that need assistance at calvng is extremely low compared to the percentage of first-calf heifers.

“That’s good news on a number of fronts, particularly because — on ranches with larger herds — it is pretty much physically impossible to feed all of the expectant mothers after 5 p.m.,” Selk said. “In those instances, the ranch manager should plan to feed the mature cows earlier in the day, and then feed the first-calf heifers at dusk.”

What about the situation where large round bales of hay are being fed to the cows and heifers? If the cows have

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January 15, 2012 âœŞ

The Land & Livestock Post

Learn what’s normal for your horse

By DONALD STOTTS Oklahoma State University

“Still, a rise in temperature is one of the most conclusive signs that something abnormal is occurring in the horse,” Freeman said.

Temperature parameters are easily monitored by horse owners, and should be recorded in a horse’s permanent file.

Freeman recommends inexperienced owners have their local veterinarians show them the proper techniques.

“The actual task of monitoring temperatures parameters can alter the observable results so a watchful, experienced eye must relate the measurements with other indicators of a horse’s stress status,” he said.

Horse owners or local veterinarians can use this information to diagnosis problems more quickly, thereby increasing chances of a rapid recovery for the horse.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Labor Department is proposing new rules for child farm workers that would keep many from driving tractors, using big equipment and working with livestock.

Labor officials say the rules are needed because farming is one of the nation’s most dangerous occupations.

The National Safety Council says nearly 29 out of every 100,000 farm workers die on the job.

But farmers say the proposed rules could keep kids from learning about the hard work and responsibility necessary to work on a farm. And, if young people can’t get jobs on farms, fewer will develop an interest in agriculture.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Mike Spradling says he knows there are dangers in agriculture, but there are also many important lessons young people can learn.

January 15, 2012

mal’s heart girth on its left side. There will be two distinct sounds per beat.”

Respiration rates for resting mature horses should be around 12 breaths to 16 breaths per minute. This rate is signific if antly inific creased when the horse is sick or stressed.

“Respiration rate can be expected to be highly variable even under normal behavior and health,” Freeman said. “However, consistent rapid, shallow breaths are an example of signs of stress.”

A horse’s normal temperature of around 101 degrees Fahrenheit likewise will increase when the animal is in a diseased or distressed state. Temperature can be higher and still remain within normal parameters when horses are housed outside in hot weather or in the case of newborn foals.

✪

STILLWATER, Okla. — Horse owners have a better chance of detecting disease and stress in a horse if they are familiar with the normal behavior and physiological parameters of the animal.

Familiarity with what constitutes “normal” for a horse allows equine managers to respond quickly to abrupt or sizable changes, said Dave Freeman, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension equine specialist.

“Some horses are naturally calm, others extremely active; some are aggressive eaters, others are slow and picky,” he said. “Horse behavior can be expected to change during certain times, such as foaling, weaning or when horses are moved to new environments or are placed with new horses.”

If a horse manager knows the individual behavior for each horse, changes from that normal behavior can be followed up with more quantitative measurements.

A horse’s heart rate will vary from resting rates of 30 beats to 40 beats per minute to highs of more than 200 beats per minute during extreme stress or intense exercise. Heart rate can be estimated by taking the horse’s pulse from arteries which traverse the jaw or from those arteries located in the lower leg.

“An elevated heart rate while a horse is at rest is a sign the animal is in pain or stressed,” Freeman said. “A stethoscope can be purchased fairly inexpensively.

The owner’s local veterinarian can show him or her where to place the stethoscope to best monitor heart rate, usually along the ani-

Labor Department proposes rules for child farm workers

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