Land and Livestock Post

November 2013 —

Grazing in the grass

Range management 101 PAGE 16

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BRYAN, TX 77802 PERMIT # 23

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PAGE 4 3

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JAMES THOMPSON PRESERVING THE BRAND

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PAGE 12 3

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Straight Freed slave’s frombranding the horse's ironmouth. given to Smithsonian.

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November 2013 — Issue 1 

The Land & Livestock Post

I

From the General Manager

Cattle producers need to give careful consideration when purchasing a bull, according to experts.

The latest on bull selection

By Blair Fannin

COLLEGE STATION – A herd bull is a key investment for cattle producers and several factors come into consideration

when deciding on which one is best for an operation, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Exten-

See SELECTION, Page 15

of these beauties in from the yard to display in the carpeting and furniture of our home. Eventually, the stickers turn brown and get harder and sharper and just don’t go with the decor of the house anymore. At this point I find it is best to extract each burr with my bare foot.

I had thought I killed all my sticker burrs, but this fall I was thrilled to see they came back, with a vengeance.

I don’t think there is an animal that thrives on grass burs, but if I find one I don’t think I’ll have time to write this column

• For more information about content or advertising, contact Jesse Wright at jesse.wright@ theeagle.com

November 2013 — Issue 1

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Blair Fannin

anymore, what with all the money counting I’ll be doing.

In the meantime, it is important to maintain your pastures so that you can graze them efficiently and get the most out them.

In our cover story, we look at grazing management and what you can do to keep your pastures productive.

We also have a new column from Dr. Steve Wikse in our Ask the Vet feature, as well as information about rebuilding herds and even a story about a cuckoo bird.

I hope you find something you like, and maybe learn something on the way, if not, you’re more than welcome to come farm sticker burrs with me.

Thanks for reading. ’Til next time,



’m not much of a farmer. In fact, it’s not even something I aspire to or even attempt. But, I do have to brag a little, because although it is not my expertise, I have managed to grow the thickest prettiest crop of sticker burrs in the county. I’m talking lush, green sticker burrs with long pointy spikes, that, if you even look at them too close, will jump on your pants leg or shoelace.

My family is rather proud of them, too. My wife, son, and even our dog have brought dozens upon dozens JESSE WRIGHT

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News

Argentina’s health woes linked to pesticide misuse MICHAEL WARREN ANd NATACHA PISARENKO Associated Press

BASAVILBASO, Argentina — Argentine farmworker Fabian Tomasi was never trained to handle pesticides. His job was to keep the crop-dusters flying by filling their tanks as quickly as possible, although it often meant getting drenched in poison.

Now, at 47, he’s a living skeleton, so weak he can hardly swallow or go to the bathroom on his own.

Schoolteacher Andrea Druetta lives in Santa Fe Province, the heart of Argentina’s soy country, where agrochemical spraying is banned within 500 meters (550 yards) of populated areas. But soy is planted just 30 meters (33 yards) from her back door. Her boys were showered in chemicals recently while swimming in the backyard pool.

After Sofia Gatica lost her newborn to kidney failure, she filed a complaint that led to Argentina’s first criminal convictions for illegal spraying. But last year’s verdict came too late for many of her 5,300 neighbors in Ituzaingo Annex. A government study there found alarming levels of agrochemical contamination in the soil and drinking water, and 80 percent of the children surveyed carried traces of pesticide in their blood.

American biotechnology has turned Argentina into the world’s third-largest soybean producer, but the chemicals powering the boom aren’t confined to soy and cotton and corn fields.

The Associated Press documented dozens of cases around the country where poisons are applied in ways unanticipated by regulatory science or specifically banned by existing law.

The spray drifts into schools and

homes and settles over water sources; farmworkers mix poisons with no protective gear; villagers store water in pesticide containers that should have been destroyed.

Now doctors are warning that uncontrolled pesticide applications could be the cause of growing health problems among the 12 million people who live in the South American nation’s vast farm belt.

In Santa Fe, cancer rates are two times to four times higher than the national average. In Chaco, birth defects quadrupled in the decade after biotechnology dramatically expanded farming in Argentina.

“The change in how agriculture is produced has brought, frankly, a change in the profile of diseases,” says Dr. Medardo Avila Vazquez, a pediatrician and neonatologist who cofounded Doctors of Fumigated Towns, part of a growing movement demanding enforcement of agricultural safety rules.

“We’ve gone from a pretty healthy population to one with a high rate of cancer, birth defects, and illnesses seldom seen before.”

Transformation

A nation once known for its grass-fed beef has undergone a remarkable transformation since 1996, when the St. Louisbased Monsanto Co. promised that adopting its patented seeds and chemicals would increase crop yields and lower pesticide use. Today, Argentina’s entire soy crop and nearly all its corn and cotton are modified genetically, with soy cultivation alone tripling to 47 million acres.

Agrochemical use did decline at first, then it bounced back, increasing ninefold from 9 million gallons in 1990 to more than 84 million gallons today as farm-

See ARGENTINA, Page 5

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Students play soccer during recess at a rural school near Concepcion del Uruguay, Entre Rios province, Argentina. Teachers say the farm that abuts their school yard illegally has been sprayed with pesticides, even during class time. In Entre Rios, teachers reported that sprayers failed to respect legally required 50 meter setbacks outside 18 schools, and doused 11 of them while students were in session. Five teachers have since filed police complaints.

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Argentina, from Page 4 ers squeezed in more harvests and pests became resistant to the poisons. Overall, Argentine farmers apply an estimated 4.3 pounds of agrochemical concentrate per acre, more than twice what U.S. farmers use, according to an AP analysis of government and pesticide industry data.

Glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s popular Roundup brand of pesticides, is one of the world’s most widely used weed killers. It has been determined to be safe, if applied properly, by many regulatory agencies, including those of the United States and European Union.

On May 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even raised the allowable levels of glyphosate residues in food, concluding that based on studies presented by Monsanto, “there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to the general population or to infants and children from aggregate exposure.”

Argentina’s 23 provinces take the lead in regulating farming, and rules vary.

Spraying is banned within 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) of populated areas in some provinces and as little as 50 meters (55 yards) in others. About onethird of the provinces set no limits at all, and most lack detailed enforcement policies.

A federal environmental law requires applicators of toxic chemicals to suspend or cancel activities that threaten public health, “even when the link has

not been scientifically proven,” and “no matter the costs or consequences,” but it has never been applied to farming, the auditor general found last year.

In response to soaring complaints, President Cristina Fernandez ordered a commission in 2009 to study the impact of agrochemical spraying on human health. Its initial report called for “systematic controls over concentrations of herbicides and their compounds ... such as exhaustive laboratory and field studies involving formulations containing glyphosate as well as its interactions with other agrochemicals as they are actually used in our country.”

But the commission hasn’t met since 2010, the auditor general found.

Government officials insist the problem is not a lack of research, but misinformation that plays on people’s emotions.

“I’ve seen countless documents, surveys, videos, articles in the news and in universities, and really our citizens who read all this end up dizzy and confused,” Agriculture Secretary Lorenzo Basso said. “I think we have to publicize the commitment that Argentina has to being a food producer. Our model as an exporting nation has been called into question. We need to defend our model.”

In a written statement, Monsanto spokesman Thomas Helscher said the company “does not condone the misuse of pesticides or the violation of any pesticide law, regulation, or court ruling.”

See MONSANTO, Page 7

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November 2013 — Issue 1

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Empty pesticide containers ready for recycling are collected inside an enclosure by the farming business association in Gualeguaychu, in Entre Rios province, Argentina. Widely ignored Argentine health minister guidelines recommend perforating empty containers to prevent reuse by residents. The association says the containers will be recycled into plastic tubing.

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News



Monsanto, from Page 5 “Monsanto takes the stewardship of products seriously and we communicate regularly with our customers regarding proper use of our products,” Helscher said.

Earliest adopters

Argentina was among the earliest adopters of the new biotech farming model promoted by Monsanto and other U. S. agribusinesses.

Instead of turning the topsoil, spraying pesticides and then waiting until the poison dissipates before planting, farmers sow the seeds and spray afterward without harming crops

genetically modified to tolerate specific chemicals.

This “no-till” method takes so much less time and money that farmers can reap more harvests and expand into land not worth the trouble before.

But pests develop resistance, even more so when the same chemicals are applied to genetically identical crops on a vast scale.

So while glyphosate is one of the world’s safest herbicides, farmers now use it in higher concentrates and mix in much more toxic poisons, such as 2,4,D, which the U. S. military used in “Agent Orange” to defoliate jungles during the Viet-

November 2013 — Issue 1

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenk

A protest sign directed to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and Cordoba Province governor Jose Manuel de la Sota that reads in Spanish: "Stop looting and contaminating! Monsanto out of Cordoba and Argentina," is posted on a fence where Monsanto is building its largest seed production plant in Latin America in the town of Malvinas Argentinas, in Cordoba province, Argentina.

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

Ask the Vet

Recent rains bring a greater threat of disease

W

e have had weather conditions over the past several weeks that increase the chances of several cattle diseases. After about four months of essentially no rain in College Station, I recorded 5 inches of rain from two storms in late September. Then, my rain gauge showed 5.3 inches of rain over a 24 hour period, Oct. 12-13.

That was a real gully washer.

Drought followed by heavy rainfall can lead to outbreaks of many different types of diseases Dr. STEVE WIKSE in cattle. Infections by spore-forming bacteria commonly occur. These weather conditions also can result in losses from diseases such as polioencephalomalacia or pulmonary emphysema which are caused by a sudden change from a low-quality to high-quality diet.

In addition, continual wet conditions can support severe parasite problems, especially lungworms. Outbreaks of leptospirosis occur with excessive rainfall.

Moist pasture conditions also can result in Dallis grass staggers which occurs when seedheads of Dallis grass are infected with the fungus Claviceps paspali.

I’ve seen most of these diseases in the Brazos Valley under weather conditions similar to our recent rains.

Disease causes

I would like to inform you

Photo courtesy of Dr. Steve Wikse

Spore-forming bacteria often cause sudden death of cattle in good condition. of three important diseases caused by spore-forming bacteria. These bacteria develop tough spores resistant to heat and drying that live in soil for decades. Ranches contaminated with the spores are under constant low-level threat of disease outbreaks, but the threat peaks following rains.

Heavy rainfall results in separation of particles in saturated soil. The very buoyant bacterial spores float up between soil particles to become concentrated on the surface of the soil as the water evaporates. The main way cattle become exposed to these diseases is by ingesting spores in water or in soil attached to grass.

• Anthrax is a highly fatal disease caused by the sporeforming bacterium Bacillus anthracis which infects all organs, and is characterized by fever, depression, bloody diarrhea and death within two to 48 hours. All ages of cattle are affected. Water is very important in the spread of this disease from one ranch to the next.

Anthrax is a very dreaded disease for two reasons: it is always fatal in cattle and it also be can fatal to people.

Not all areas of the Brazos Valley harbor anthrax spores, but outbreaks have occurred occasionally here in the past.

• Blackleg, caused by the spore-forming bacterium Clostridium chauvoei, is also a highly fatal disease, but mainly affects cattle 6 months to 2 years old. This bacterium

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Disease, from Page 8

T E X A S’

L A R G E S T

Prevention of diseases caused by spore-forming bacteria is based on vaccination.

Anthrax is prevented in some areas of Texas by routine immunization once a year with the Stern avirulent spore vaccine. The risk of an anthrax outbreak on most ranches in the Brazos Valley is not high enough to warrant routine vaccination, however. Cattle grazing pastures where anthrax has been diagnosed in the past should definitely be vaccinated.

It’s a good idea to begin clostridial vaccinations in calves at first working. The 8-way clostridial vaccine protects against redwater and can be used instead of the commonly used 7-way or 4-way clostridial vaccines which do not protect against redwater. It’s a good idea to use the 7-way or 8-way clostridial vaccines because they include protection against additional fatal but lower risk clostridial diseases such as black disease (Clostridium novyi). Control of liver flukes must be added to vaccination to prevent redwater.

If you would like to know if your ranch has liver flukes, have your veterinarian collect fecal samples from 15 cows and submit them to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for the fluke finder test. At least one will be positive if your herd has liver flukes.

November 2013 — Issue 1

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targets muscles, especially of the hind quarter, causing them to swell and become dark black from hemorrhage.

Black quarter is an old name for the disease. One theory is disease results when trauma causes ingested spores lying latent within muscles to proliferate. Trauma from passing through a squeeze chute alleyway was reported to be the likely cause of one outbreak of blackleg.

Affected cattle die suddenly or after signs of severe lameness. Like anthrax, nearly 100 percent of affected animals die, and losses can be numerous.

• Redwater is a highly fatal cattle disease caused by a combination of the spore-forming bacterium Clostridium hemolyticum and liver flukes. The main clinical signs of redwater are fever, severe depression, red urine and diarrhea. Affected cattle are generally adults, but even calves contract this disease.

Ingested bacteria reside in the liver in an inactive spore form indefinitely with no ill effect unless the liver is damaged. Migration of liver flukes through liver tissue causes damage that allows Clostridium hemolyticum spores to become active and produce potent toxins that cause disease.

Through the possible scenario of ingestion of spores now and migration of liver flukes through the liver in spring 2014, a ranch in the Brazos Valley could have a redwater outbreak next spring.

Redwater nearly always only occurs in regions where the cattle liver fluke Faciola hepatica or deer liver fluke Fascioloides magna are present. We have both types of liver flukes in the Brazos Valley, but they

are not on all ranches. Flukes need water to survive. Ranches that have poorly-drained, swampy areas have problems with liver flukes.

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Bottom Line

Heavy rains literally float

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

10

News Proposed Cuckoo protections cause confusion, concern

By Edgar WaltErs The Texas Tribune

The western yellow-billed cuckoo, a bird subspecies whose populations have verged on extinction in the western United States, is again up for consideration for special protections under the Endangered Species Act — and the proposal has some farmers and ranchers worried for their livelihoods.

For farmers and ranchers in West Texas, the proposal to list the bird’s western population as a threatened subspecies — submitted Oct. 3 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — has created questions and few answers. Critics of the proposal, including Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, say the increased protections are unnecessary and could hurt the agriculture industry. But the agency that proposed the special protections has been out of commission and unable to answer questions about the proposal for more than two weeks because of the partial government shutdown.

“We oppose the listing of the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, as we believe there is inadequate scientific basis for such a listing and it has the potential to reduce economic activity in the affected region,” Lauren Willis, a spokeswoman for the comptroller’s office, said in a statement.

Proponents of protected status for the bird, however, say the proposal shouldn’t come as a surprise, because the animal’s habitat has been disappearing for decades. A listing under the Endangered Species Act would protect the cuckoo’s habitat from encroaching development and livestock, experts said.

“Cattle eat the cottonwood and willow saplings” — that mature into trees that the cuckoo prefers to nest in — “and prevent regeneration of the riparian ecosystem,” said Ken Rosenberg, an applied conservationist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University.

Texas is home to both western and eastern populations of the cuckoo, which researchers say are genetically distinct.

Only the western population of the bird is up for review by the Fish and Wildlife Service. So the

A Yellow-Billed Cuckoo in Salineno. proposed listing would primarily affect counties in West Texas and the Upper Rio Grande, according to the comptroller’s office.

The cuckoo’s habitat, which exists primarily along riverbeds, is much sparser in the dry climate of West Texas. And in many states west of Texas, there are severe cuckoo shortages, with only a handful of breeding pairs left, experts said. California has extended extra protections to the bird by listing it as endangered under state law.

Because of its geographical ties to both eastern and western populations, the condition of the western subspecies of the cuckoo in Texas is less clear.

Unlike other states, Texas does not have a formal survey of the species. Some evidence also

Photo by Vince Smith

suggests the bird has achieved reproductive success in West Texas urban areas even as its numbers remain low in rural habitats, said Cliff Shackelford, an ornithologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

In eastern regions of the state, the yellow-billed cuckoo often makes the top 10 list of most abundant species.

“I’m not thinking this is going to be a huge issue for Texas,” Shackelford said of the proposed protections. “It’s a forest bird, and out west, there are very few forests.”

This is not the first time the protected status of the western yellow-billed cuckoo has been an issue. In 2001, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined the subspecies should be listed, but it did not issue a proposal because of higher priorities.

State officials warn of economic consequences should the listing be successful this time.

The comptroller’s office could not provide specific estimates for the potential impact on the West Texas economy, but according to its report on the species, as many as 1,800 ranching and agricultural jobs could be affected.

Ranchers and farmers in counties that could fall under the ESA listing have complained of a lack of information from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Mel Davis, special projects coordinator for the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, said those whose jobs might be affected need more time to evaluate what’s at stake.

“Because of the shutdown, the clock’s ticking on these proposed listings. Fish and Wildlife needs to extend the comment period,” he said. The current proposed rule says the agency will accept comments until Dec.

2.

The Endangered Species Act has been a top target of criticism from Texas Republican candidates for agriculture commissioner. In a campaign ad in which the ESA appears as the villain in a horror flick about government overregulation, candidate Eric Opiela said the federal protections are “trying to destroy the economy and the future of Texas.”

Despite the recent attention, conservationists say the push for a federal listing is not a new development. Not only has the cuckoo’s status under the Endangered Species Act been pending for more than a decade, but a vanishing ecosystem has long threatened the western yellow-billed cuckoo, Rosenberg said.

“The biological situation really hasn’t changed,” he said.

“The western riparian habitat and ecosystems have been severely degraded for a century.”

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 November 2013 — Issue 1

Prevent, from Page 9 devastating disease-causing bacterial spores from deep in the soil to the surface. Outbreaks of disease due to the spores can be prevented by vaccination.

Vaccination of all ages of cattle against clostridial diseases this fall and administration of boosters at spring working is highly recom-

mended. Include treatment for liver flukes this fall if they are a problem on your ranch.

With these diseases an ounce of prevention is worth way more than a pound of cure because there is no cure.

• Dr. Steve Wikse is a retired professor of large animal clinical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University.

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Freed Texas slave’s branding iron donated to Smithsonian

November 2013 — Issue 1

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The Land & Livestock Post

News

12

Special to The Post

Descendants of Calvin Bell, a Texas slave freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, have donated a branding iron he registered in 1878.

He is believed to be the first freed slave to register a brand in Galveston County after the war.

By CHRISTOPHER SMITH GONZALEZ Associated Press

TEXAS CITY — When Felicia Taylor and her family finally found the approximately 135-year-old branding iron registered by her great-greatgrandfather, they struggled with what to do next.

The branding iron, in the shape of a U, belonged to Calvin Bell, the freed slave who helped found The Settlement, a community of freed slaves and now a Nationally Recognized Historic District in present-day Texas City.

The Galveston County Daily News reports the iron was registered in 1878 and it is believed that Bell is the first freed slave in Galveston County to register an iron, Taylor said. But for years, no one knew where the iron was or even that it existed.

Historian Alicia Galloway has worked with Taylor’s mother, Erma Johnson, for years doing research on the history of The Settlement.

It was while going over records at the Galveston County Courthouse that they came across the information, Galloway said.

It was while in a containment camp during the Civil War that Bell began working cattle for George Washington Butler, a rancher in what is now the north part of Galveston County.

After the war, Bell was freed and he and other African-American cowboys continued to work for Butler, leading major cattle drives to markets in Kansas.

Bell moved from Butler’s ranch about 1874, Galloway said.

He registered his brand four years later. To do that, the law at the time required that he have more than 20 head of cattle, she said.

“If you just had a milk cow or two you didn’t have to brand them,” she said.

Galloway said she is not sure how Bell acquired his herd, but it could have come from the Butler ranch.

“A lot of times, Butler paid in cattle,” she said.

The first brand was a U, likely chosen for his wife Unistine, also known as Katie, Galloway said.

In the 1880s, he would register a second brand that was either a 7U or a U7, she said, likely for the seven children he and his wife had.

But for all the historical research they had done, Galloway said she had no idea that at least one of the branding irons still existed somewhere.

“We went on a search to find this branding iron,” Taylor said.

It turned up in a box of remains from the estate of Francis Bell, Taylor’s aunt from California.

Once the branding iron was found, the family had to decide what to do with it. Taylor said they considered keeping it but finally decided on donating it the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture, which is set to open in 2015.

Family members drove to Washington, D.C., to hand the iron over to museum curators there.

“Stories of the black presence in the American west is one of those overlooked parts of our history,” said Paul Gardulo, curator of the museum.

The purpose of the museum is “to help the broadest population understand the central role that African-Americans have played in this country’s history and culture,” he said.

The story of Calvin Bell and the black cowboys in Galveston County is a story the museum can help shed a light on and share with more people, he said.

The branding iron will be a great way into a story that will intrigue a lot of people, Gardulo said. “(The branding iron) connects us to those people who lived, who carved out a home for themselves,” he said. “The branding iron is a tangible piece that connects us to those very human stories, and I think those are stories that resonate with all of us.”

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Julio Ariza, a retired accountant, and his wife, used their life savings to buy a farm more than 20 years ago, which today is surrounded by genetically modified soybean plantations. Ariza says he believes pesticide spraying caused abortions and deaths in his farm animals, such as pigs and chickens.

Safe, from Page 7

nam War. In 2006, a division of Argentina’s agriculture ministry recommended adding caution labels urging that mixtures of glyphosate and more toxic chemicals be limited to “farm • Christopher Smith Gonzalez wrote areas far from homes and poputhis for The Galveston County News. lation centers.” The recommen-

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See IGNORED, Page 21

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Reporting deadline for Pasture, Range Beware of pastures with prussic acid and Forage Insurance is Nov. 15

By GLenn SeLK Oklahoma State University

By Kay LedBetter Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

November 2013 — Issue 1

It was discovered in the early 1900s that, under certain conditions, sorghums are capable of releasing hydrocyanic acid, commonly called prussic acid. Prussic acid when ingested by cattle, is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and blocks the animal’s cells from utilizing oxygen.

Thus the animal dies from asphyxiation at the cellular level.

Animals affected by prussic acid poisoning exhibit a characteristic bright red blood just prior to and during death.

Lush young re-growth of sorghum plants are prone to accumulate prussic acid, especially when the plants are stressed such as drought or freeze damage. Light frosts that stress the plant but do not kill it often are associated with prussic acid poisonings.

Producers should avoid grazing fields with sorghum-type plants following a light frost. The risk of prussic acid poisoning will be reduced if grazing is delayed until at least one week after a “killing freeze.”

As the plants die and the cell walls rupture, the hydrocyanic acid is released as a gas and the amount is greatly reduced in the plants.

One never can be absolutely certain



AMARILLO — The deadline is nearing for Pasture, Range and Forage Insurance, designed to provide livestock and hay producers protection against acreage losses, said DeDe Jones, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service risk management specialist in Amarillo.

The 2014 sign-up and acreage reporting deadline for this program is Nov. 15, and notices of premiums due will be sent by July 1, Jones said.

“Insurance is a critical component in producers’ risk management portfolios during periods of drought or uncertainty,” she said. “This policy benefited many cattle producers around the Panhandle in 2011 and 2012 due to the low rainfall conditions.”

Payment is not determined by individual damages, but rather area losses based on a grid system, Jones explained. Producers can select any portion of acres to insure, but they must also choose a minimum of two two-month intervals or a maximum of six two-month intervals per year to

insure.

Coverage levels between 70 and 90 percent are available, she said. Once coverage is selected, the producer chooses a productivity factor between 60 and 150 percent. The productivity factor is a percentage of the established county base value for forage.

The base value is a standard rate published by the Risk Management Agency for each county. It is calculated based on the estimated per-acre cost of grazing, Jones said. For example, Hansford County’s value is $8.11 per acre.

She said Texas uses a rainfall index to determine the insurance coverage.

The rainfall index uses National Oceanic and Atmospheric Climate Prediction Center data and a 12-by-12 mile grid system.

A decision-support tool to help producers determine coverage levels and intervals can be found at agforceusa. com/rma/ri/prf/dst.

For more information about the insurance and how it fits into a risk management plan, contact Jones at 806-677-5600 or dljones@ag.tamu.edu.

that a field of sorghum is 100 percent safe to graze. Sun-curing of hay will reduce HCN, especially if the hay is crimped. The complex that binds the hydrocyanic acid is hydrolyzed and the hydrocyanic acid evaporates in gaseous form.

A field test procedure is available in some areas. It will not give quantitative levels for a sample, but rather an indication of the presence of cyanide. In this test, “Cyantesmo Paper,” is utilized to detect the presence of hydrocyanic acids and cyanides in freshly cut plant material. In the presence of cyanide, the pale green paper turns blue. Refer to your county Extension educator–agriculture for assistance with the test.

Cattle that must be grazed on sorghum pastures during this time of year should be fed another type of hay before turning in on the field, and should be watched closely for the first few hours after turn in.

If signs of labored breathing such as would be found in asphyxiation are noted, cattle should be removed immediately.

Call your local veterinarian for immediate help for those animals that are affected.

For more information, read OSU Fact Sheet PSS-2904 (Prussic Acid Poisoning) before turning cattle to potentially dangerous fields.

The Land & Livestock Post

News

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News

Training offered Nov. 19 on rebuilding beef herds

By RoBeRt BuRns Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

JACKSONVILLE — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel will conduct a Nov. 19 training, “Rebuilding the Beef Herd: Planning to capture opportunities.”

Whether East Texas has a dry or wet fall and good or poor pasture conditions, this fall is the time to have a beef herd expansion plan in place, said Aaron Low, AgriLife Extension agent for Cherokee County.

“Those with serious intent to enter, rebuild or expand their beef operation can’t wait until rains come and pastures are completely healed to develop a plan,” said Ron Gill, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist in College Station. “A plan must be in place when opportunity presents itself.”

Held at the Norman Activity Center, 526 E. Commerce St., Jacksonville, registration is $40 per person. It includes lunch, and must be paid by Nov. 15, he said. To register, go to agriliferegister.tamu.edu or call 979845-2604.

There are pros and cons to rebuilding a herd now, Low said.

One of the cons is the uncertainly about weather patterns.

Another is the high cost of replacement cows.

“The January 2012 Texas beef cow inventory was 660,000 cows smaller than it was just a year before, due largely to the drought,” said Rick Machen, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist in Uvalde.

“But those same factors mean

market prices are charting record highs,” Machen said. “The smaller cow inventory combined with high input costs, competing uses for land, prices of competing meats and radical changes — both domestic and export — in grain use are reshaping the beef business.”

Speakers will include Gill; Vanessa Corriher-Olson, AgriLife Extension forage specialist in Overton; and Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in Overton.

The general session will start at 8:30 a.m, with the presentation, “Beef, Better — and Different — Times Ahead,” followed by “Forage Recovery and Pasture Restocking.”

“This discussion will focus on the art and science of balancing grazing pressure and forage supply,” Corriher said. “When it rains, drought-stricken warmseason forages must be allowed to rebound either from root reserves or seed while resource managers begin to restock with cattle.”

At 10:30 a.m. a talk will be given on “Evaluating Replacement Options.”

“What type of cow best fits the new production paradigms?”

Gill said. “In this review of critical considerations like mature size, environmental adaptability and market acceptance, cattlemen may find answers to questions such as: ‘What might I buy? Can I find them?’ and ‘How concerned should I be about health issues?’”

After lunch, the discussions will include “Flexibility in Resource Use;” and “Leased Grazing — What, Why and How;” and “Can a $2,500 Cow Break

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Robert Burns

Houston County cowhands round up and separate spring calves for sale in late September. The January 2012 Texas beef cow inventory was 660,000 cows smaller than it was just a year before, due largely to the drought.

Even?” at 903-834-6191. gelina and Nacogdoches counThe training will adjourn at The training is jointly spon- ties. Contact information for 4:30 p.m. sored by AgriLife Extension all AgriLife Extension county For more information, call offices in Smith, Henderson, offices can be found at counties.

Low at 979-845-2604 or at Banta Rusk, Anderson, Houston, An- agrilife.org/.

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Selection, from Page 3

Jason Banta, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist in Overton, was one of the bull workshop instructors along with Jason Cleere, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist in College Station.

Fertility and potential calf birth weights were other points to study, he said.

“Genetic potential for growth and price per pound are other things to consider,” he said.

Cleere advised producers to avoid buying bulls with an

are an estimated measure of the genetic impact of a parent on the offspring. EPDs are used to compare genetic potential for traits like birth weight, yearling weight and milk production for an animal and vary depending on breed.

Another point to consider is what is the best breed type?

“That’s the million dollar question,” Cleere said. “Because we don’t have a controlled environment in Texas, we have different types of cattle that are best suited for different parts of the state.”

Those are the Trans-Pecos, High Plains, Central Texas, East Texas, Gulf Coast and South Texas areas, he said.

Heterosis or hybrid vigor also plays a big role in cattle selection for Texas ranchers, he added.

“The more harsh your environmental conditions are, the more important heterosis is,” Cleere said. “Hybrid vigor is very important.”

Both Cleere and Banta said strong interest at the previous two bull workshops will lead to another educational opportunity in the future.

November 2013 — Issue 1

A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo

by Blair Fannin

unknown background. He said producers should consider buying from a breeder who specializes in producing quality genetics for commercial operations.

Next, consider how much you are willing to pay for a bull.

“How much do I spend? I like to turn this around and say how much do I invest in a bull?”

Cleere said.

Half of the g enetics from a cow herd will be generated from the female and the other half from the bull.

“That bull is over half of your calf crop,” Cleere said.

“Folks spend $1,500 to $2,000 on replacement females and then gripe about spending $1,500 on a bull. He makes a huge impact on the genetics of a commercial cow herd.”

He said breed type, individual performance data, pedigree and visual appraisal are some of the items to consider when purchasing a bull.

“You are not going to use all of it during selection, but some of those apply to the goals of your operation,” he said.

Banta said Expected Progeny Differences or EPDs are also used in bull selection. These



sion Service experts.

Jason Cleere and Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialists from College Station and Overton, respectively, recently conducted a one-day workshop on bull selection.

When selecting a bull, Cleere said, “I encourage you to look at the big picture.”

Herd size and cor rectly matching the perspective bull to cow ratio is one thing to keep in mind.

“Part of this decision is the age of the bull and its previous breeding experience,” Banta said. “A bull that has bred before as a yearling will cover more cows than one without previous experience. Acreage size is another thing to consider or how much a bull can cover to breed a cow. Hilly terrain can affect breeding coverage, so also keep this in mind.”

Banta said one of the factors affecting fertility in a bull is size of testicles.

“We are actually measuring the widest part of the scrotal circumference,” he said. “Once a bull starts puberty, scrotal size

grows, and slows down as they get older. It’s not uncommon to see a centimeter to two centimeters change per month.”

Measuring scrotal circumference provides a good indication of testicular volume, sperm production, sperm quality, puberty of bull, puberty of daughters and is a heritable trait, Banta said.

Two big things when we talk about sperm quality is motility (how many sperm cells are alive and moving) when looking under a microscope, and morphology – are the sperm cells normal?

“Primary abnormalities occur in the testis and secondary abnormalities in the epididymis,” Banta said. “The probability of a bull having satisfactory semen quality increases from 30-38 centimeters; circumference is highly correlated to total sperm output, moderately correlated to normal sperm morphology.

“The thing you need to realize is care should be taken in avoiding bulls with extra-large scrotal circumferences. Injury can occur while out in the pasture,” Banta said.

The Land & Livestock Post

News

15

The Land & Livestock Post

News

Pasture buffet

November 2013 — Issue 1



Grazing management basics

By RoBeRt FeaRs Special to The Post

A

t a cattleman’s field day near Salado, the ranch owner began his presentation by talking about his grass and his efforts to keep it in a healthy condition. After discussing range management practices, he then talked about cattle and whitetail deer.

This rancher has his priorities in the correct order. Available forage is the backbone of any ranching operation and, without it, profits suffer.

During the 58th Annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course, Charles “Butch” Taylor, regents fellow and professor with Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Sonora, gave a presentation on grazing management basics. He listed four practices necessary for proper grazing management, in the order of their importance, and discussed each one. Excerpts from his presentation are used in this article.

Proper stocking rates

16

Several factors are involved in determining stocking rates. First, not all of the available forage should be consumed. Allow plants to develop their root systems so that they can extract water and mineral from the soil. Functioning root systems require the presence of green leaves and are important for sustaining health and productivity of pasture and rangeland.

Plant reproduction also is necessary for pasture and range survival.

Plants cannot compete and survive if they are frequently defoliated during the growing season by animals grazing close to the ground.

Second, amounts and kinds of plants vary from one pasture to the next and also fluctuate greatly between years. A specific stocking rate recommendation for a large geographical area can be misleading and dangerous. The land manager must understand the plant mix and eating habits of the livestock on his/her ranch and adjust animal numbers to balance with the forage supply.

This is probably the most important aspect of ranching and certainly the

Photo by Robert Fears

Leave enough height on grass so that it can reproduce. Plants cannot compete and survive if they are frequently defoliated during the growing season by animals grazing close to the ground.

On the cover: Sheep offer another income stream in addition to helping control weeds.

Photo by Robert Fears

most important component of grazing management. Success of all other practices and economic returns to the ranch depends directly on achieving a proper stocking rate.

Making annual and seasonal adjustments to animal numbers in response to fluctuations in forage production is probably the most frustrating and difficult task in grazing management, There are basically two strategies with variations of each: • The first is a conservative approach, which generally is advocated

by range scientists. It recognizes the highly variable amount of forage production even in a very short time period. Forage production for the “average” year is determined and stocking rates are set for a somewhat lower level. This provides a margin of safety for all but the most severe droughts, and allows for range improvement during the above average forage production years. It gives maximum stability, but reduces returns per acre.

• The second approach to grazing management involves making frequent adjustments in animal numbers to match forage production. In theory this approach will yield the maximum

net return, but in practice, there are some limitations. Forage quality is good when it is green, but is generally low when it matures. This means that the stocking rate decision must be made before the growing season, which is difficult to do it accurately.

A variation of the second approach is to adjust animal numbers after the growing season to utilize the mature forage. This delays decisions and reduces uncertainty, but the mature forage will support animal maintenance, not weight gains. A flexible strategy to overcome this problem is to use either

See GRAZE, Page 17

Graze, from Page 16 all stocker animals or to utilize a low base herd of breeding animals and make adjustments in numbers with stockers. This strategy will result in greater income variance, and the average level of net returns will depend upon the skill and luck of the manager.

Kinds, classes of animals

Season of Grazing

Photo by Robert Fears

Creation of a larger number of pastures with cross fencing is sometimes required to facilitate proper grazing management. than sheep and cattle; under severe conditions, they generally can meet their nutritional requirements better than sheep and cattle.

Sheep generally utilize more forbs

T

21S

(40-60 percent) and less browse (10-20 percent) than goats. If forbs are scarce, they will shift their diets strongly to grasses (40-60 percent). Sheep are efficient foragers when forage availabil-

Forage quality varies greatly across seasons, and the nutrient requirements of breeding stock also vary seasonally. Matching breeding, weaning and culling dates with forage quality and availability cycles improves productive efficiency of the operation.

Traditional management practices

November 2013 — Issue 1

Different types of grazing animals have different dietary preferences and foraging strategies. Native pastures contain mixes of grasses, forbs and browse and can have variable topography. Because of these characteristics, native pastures vary in their suitability for different kinds and classes of animals.

Given the opportunity, goats select diets that average about 40 percent grass, 20 percent forbs and 40 percent browse on an annual basis. Goats are selective grazers and do not utilize grasses and forbs closely. They can pick essentially all of the foliage from woody plants. Thus, moderate stocking with goats places little pressure on the vegetation, but heavy stocking will result in a decrease in woody plant cover.

Goats are more efficient foragers



ity is limited, but they cannot utilize browse as efficiently as goats.

Cattle select diets based primarily on grasses (80-90 percent) with lesser amounts of forbs and browse. Cattle are the least efficient foragers. They have large, broad mouths and require large amounts of forage daily to meet their nutritional requirements. When vegetation is short, it generally is not possible for cattle to harvest an adequate amount of the short grasses and forbs or pick the leaves from shrubs to meet their requirements. Thus, the number of cattle should be limited to balance with the taller grass supply.

This means that during drought when vegetation is short, cattle numbers probably will have to be reduced more severely than sheep and goat numbers.

The Land & Livestock Post

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News Seasons, from Page 17 related to breeding and weaning have generally evolved towards the times of year when green forage is available.

Calves, lambs and kids have high nutrient requirements and their dams’ nutritional requirements are high during lactation. It is also critical that females receive good nutrition prior to and during breeding.

In Texas, the period of highest forage quality is spring and the second highest quality occurs during fall. The lowest quality forage is in the winter for cattle and during summer and winter for sheep and goats.

Distribution of grazing

Distribution of grazing is a critical component of grazing management if the forage is to be utilized efficiently and without site deterioration.

Two principal aspects of distribution should be considered. Area selective grazing is related to uniformity of forage utilization between and within different range sites, at varying distances from water, and at varying topographic positions.

Species selective grazing is related to the preferential use of different plant

species. Both of these present major challenges for grazing managers.

Area selective grazing can be reduced by creating smaller pastures, fencing to avoid difficult site and topographic combinations within pastures, more water development, and using a mix of animal species suited to the vegetation and topography.

Increasing stock density will improve grazing distribution, but may result in overgrazing, if the high stock densities are sustained. If combined with proper stocking and adequate deferment in a rotational grazing system, however, increased stock density can be used to enhance grazing distribution and range improvement.

Species selective grazing is difficult to control. If animals selectively graze certain plant species resulting in their close defoliation while neighboring plants of less preferred species are not utilized, competition will favor the less preferred species. Because species selective grazing frequently cannot be controlled, deferment (removal of all grazing livestock) is recommended to overcome its negative effects.

Two practices can be employed to reduce the effects of species selective grazing. First, match the mix of animal

Photo by Robert Fears

Putting the right number of animals on pastures is the key factor in grazing management. species to the vegetation based on their diet preferences, and second, control animal numbers so that the total demand is balanced with the supply of grazable forage.

Grazing management systems can be designed to graze all available forage and at the same time, leave enough plant material to enable pasture recovery. To be effective, these systems need

to be based on the plant species composition in each pasture and match capabilities of the ranch. Help in designing grazing systems can be obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the county agricultural extension agent and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service range science specialists.

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rk An a l C

November 2013 — Issue 1

TE PRIVA Y T A E TR



SAN ANTONIO — One of the benefits of attending the San Antonio International Farm and Ranch Show Nov. 8-9 will be the variety of educational opportunities offered, said the show’s educational coordinator.

“There will be many educational programs at this year’s show, as there have been in previous years,” said Bryan Davis, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent in Wilson County, who oversees the annual event’s educational programming.

“Most of the programs are free and some offer Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units.”

The show will be at the San Antonio Livestock Exposition grounds, 3201 E. Houston St. Educational programming on Nov. 8 will focus mainly on land and natural resource management, including pond and pond predator management, as well as management of soils and cattle forage materials. Six continuing education units will be offered throughout the day.

Nov. 9 programs will include training and testing for private pesticide applicators, horse clinic, weed and brush identification program, and presentation on feral hog control. Three continuing education credits will be offered during the after-

noon program.

“Another very informative and helpful program we’ll offer on the second day will be a youth livestock clinic,” Davis said. “We hope 4-H and FFA members will take advantage of this program, which will demonstrate the proper method for showing livestock and address many livestock care topics.”

He said topics to be covered at the clinic will include health management, feed and nutrition, showmanship and project selection.

“The clinic will be extremely useful for young people who are or plan to be involved in animal projects and/or showing animals in livestock shows in area or statewide venues,” Davis said. “It will be a rare opportunity to get a lot of information at one time from a variety of experts with decades of combined experience with different types of livestock.”

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo He said private applicator The 2013 San Antonio International Farm and Ranch Show Nov. 8-9 will feature a wide variety of educational programs, most training and testing will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The of them at no cost and some offering continuing education units. cost is $40 for the materials and $10 for the training.

For more information on the applicator training, contact Davis at 830-393-7357 or by-davis@ tamu.edu.

Show admission is free, but there is a $5 per day charge for parking on the show grounds.

For more information on the show, go to www.farmandranchexpo.com.

The Land & Livestock Post

News International Farm and Ranch Show features education

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

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November 2013 — Issue 1

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Ignored, from Page 12

Monsanto said in response to AP’s questions that chemical safety tests should only be done on live animals, and that injecting embryos is “less reliable and less relevant for human risk assessments.”

“Glyphosate is even less toxic than the repellent you put on your children’s skin,” said Pablo Vaquero, Monsanto’s corporate affairs director in Buenos Aires. “That said, there has to be a responsible and good use of these products because in no way would you put repellent in the mouths of children and no environmental applicator should spray fields

with a tractor or a crop-duster without taking into account the environmental conditions and threats that stem from the use of the product.”

Out in the fields, warnings widely are ignored.

For three years, Tomasi routinely was exposed to chemicals as he pumped pesticides into the tanks of crop-dusters. Now he’s near death from polyneuropathy, a debilitating neurological disorder, which has left him wasted and shriveled.

“I prepared millions of liters of poison without any kind of protection, no gloves, masks or special clothing,” he said.

“I didn’t know anything. I only learned later what it did to me, after contacting scientists.”

“The poison comes in liquid concentrates, in containers with lots of precautions to take when applying it,” Tomasi explained. “But nobody takes precautions.”

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where they can, often disregarding Monsanto’s guidelines and provincial law by spraying

with no advance warning, and even in windy conditions.

In Entre Rios, teachers re-

November 2013 — Issue 1

Monsanto’s response

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Cattle are corralled near the town of Berabevu, in Santa Fe province, Argentina. As Argentine ranchers turn to higher-profit soybeans, formerly grass-fed cattle are fattened on corn and soy meal in feedlots. Argentina’s entire soy crop and nearly all its corn have become genetically modified in the 17 years since St. Louis-based Monsanto Company promised huge yields with fewer pesticides using its patented seeds and chemicals. Soy cultivation alone has tripled to 47 million acres, transforming a nation once known for its grass-fed cattle into the world's third largest soybean producer.



ity study.”

Molecular biologist Andres Carrasco at the University of Buenos Aires says the burden from the chemical cocktails is worrisome, but even glyphosate alone could spell trouble for human health. He found that injecting a very low dose of glyphosate into embryos can change levels of retinoic acid, causing the same sort of spinal defects in frogs and chickens that doctors increasingly are registering in communities where farm chemicals are ubiquitous.

This acid, a form of vitamin A, is fundamental for keeping cancers in check and triggering genetic expression, the process by which embryonic cells develop into organs and limbs.

“If it’s possible to reproduce this in a laboratory, surely what is happening in the field is much worse,” Carrasco said. “And if it’s much worse, and we suspect that it is, what we have to do is put this under a magnifying glass.”

His findings, published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology in 2010, were rebutted by Monsanto, which said the results “are not surprising given their methodology and unrealistic exposure scenarios.”

ported that sprayers failed to respect 50-meter (55-yard) limits at 18 schools, dousing 11 during class. Five teachers filed police complaints this year.

Druetta also filed complaints in Santa Fe, alleging that students fainted when pesticides drifted into their classrooms and that their tap water is contaminated. She is struggling to get clean drinking water into her school, she said, while a neighbor keeps a freezer of rabbit and bird carcasses, hoping someone will test them to see why they dropped dead after spraying.

Buenos Aires forbids loading or hosing off spraying equipment in populated areas, but in the town of Rawson, it’s done directly across the street from homes and a school, with the runoff flowing into an open ditch.

Felix San Roman says that when he complained about clouds of chemicals drifting into his yard, the sprayers beat him up, fracturing his spine and knocking out his teeth. He said he filed a complaint in 2011, but

The Land & Livestock Post

News

See COMPLAINT, Page 24

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News

Texas farmers, ranchers hit hard by shutdown U.S. livestock producers had received more than $100 million in federal assistance for disasters, but they can’t get help for disasters that occurred after Sept. 30, 2011, until Congress takes action. Most have been forced to slaughter significant portions of their herds in the wake of record drought conditions.

By NeeNa Satija The Texas Tribune

Despite Congress reaching an agreement to end the federal shutdown, the agricultural industry in Texas is feeling the effects of 16 days of “nonessential services” being unavailable.

Someof themostessentialservices for farmers and ranchers — such as crop insurance payments and federal inspections needed to get products onto the market — stayed intact. But the data that the U.S. Department of Agriculture regularly releases on commodity prices, supplies and demand was not available during the shutdown. That has left producers flying blind when trying to come up with appropriate prices.

“Any lack of information in a marketplace creates a situation that’s not very stable,” said Jeff Geider, director of the Institute of Ranch Management at Texas Christian University.

Cattle prices fluctuate significantly from day to day, so the USDA data is crucial for ranchers. Without it, sellers are at a disadvantage.

“They lose some leverage. In the absence of that data, there is nothing for them to turn to,” Geider said. Consumers were unlikely to have seen an impact at the grocery store, he said, because retail prices are relatively stable. But producers could have seen a drop in profits over the long term, had the shutdown continued.

In addition, payments that some producers were expecting in the beginning of October were delayed until the end of the shutdown, including direct cash payments for commodities such as cotton.

Steve Verett, executive vice president of Plains Cotton Growers, which grows cotton east of Lubbock, said his firm’s direct cash payments amount to

around $20 per acre. Although that’s a relatively small amount, farmers count on the payments as a part of their cash flow in the wake of harvesting season.

A delay in payments that help landowners convert deteriorated cropland into grassland also had an impact, said cotton grower Brad Heffington. “Probably the ones that are hurting the worst are the widowed landowners,” who often rely on those annual payments as a key source of income, he said.

Commodity farmers also have not not had access to lowcost loan programs offered by the federal Farm Service Agency, which had been completely shut down. That can be especially serious for cotton growers in the High Plains, Verett and Heffington said, because this is the prime time for their cotton harvest. The loans help farmers hold on to their cotton after harvesting to wait for the price to improve.

Perhaps the bigger issue for the agriculture industry is that the shutdown had stalled negotiations on a new farm bill, which was already overdue.

An extension on the previous bill expired Sept. 30, leaving agricultural producers in the lurch for assistance that had been promised to them under the old farm bill, which was passed in 2008.

Chief among those is disaster relief. In August, the USDA des-

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ignated eight Texas counties as federal disaster areas, making those counties and their neighbors eligible for extra federal assistance — but without new funding authorized by Congress, there’s no money behind the designations.

Crop growers are somewhat protected with subsidized crop insurance policies, which will continue. But Congress has not renewed funding for disaster relief for livestock producers.

In August 2011, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said

A historic blizzard in South Dakota that wiped out a large part of the cattle herd this month was a stark reminder of the importance of federal disaster programs. Ranchers couldn’t reach anyone at the USDA about getting disaster assistance, and even if they could, no money had been authorized

by Congress for such a purpose.

“If Texas had something like that happen, which is possible with hurricane season, then we’d be in a terrible situation just like they are up north,” said Tracy Tomascik, associate director of commodity and regulatory activities at the Texas Farm Bureau.

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The farm bill has been held up for years over the contentious nutritional assistance programs, including food stamps.

But if the shutdown hadn’t happened, it’s likely that Congress would have either passed a new farm bill or extended the old one, said DeDe Jones, a risk management specialist with Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Extension Service.

Instead, “basically, there is no farm policy whatsoever,” she said.

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The Land & Livestock Post

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News Complaint, from Page 21 it was ignored.

“This is a small town where nobody confronts anyone, and the authorities look the other way,” San Roman said. “All I want is for them to follow the existing law, which says you can’t do this within 1,500 meters (of homes). Nobody follows this.

How can you control it?”

Sometimes even court orders are ignored.

Investigation

Dr. Damian Verzenassi, who directs the Environment and Health program at the National University of Rosario’s medical school, decided to try to figure out what was behind an increase in cancer, birth defects and miscarriages in Argentina’s hospitals.

“We didn’t set out to find problems with agrochemicals.

We went to see what was happening with the people,” he said.

Since 2010, this house-tohouse epidemiological study has reached 65,000 people in Santa Fe province, finding cancer rates two times to four times

higher than the national average, including breast, prostate and lung cancers. Researchers also found high rates of thyroid disorders and chronic respiratory illness.

Dr. Maria del Carmen Seveso, who has spent 33 years running intensive care wards and ethics committees in Chaco province, became alarmed at regional birth reports showing a quadrupling of congenital defects, from 19.1 per 10,000 to 85.3 per 10,000 in the decade after genetically modified crops and their agrochemicals were approved in Argentina.

Determined to find out why, she and her colleagues surveyed 2,051 people in six towns in Chaco, and found significantly more diseases and defects in villages surrounded by industrial agriculture than in those surrounded by cattle ranches.

In Avia Terai, 31 percent said a family member had cancer in the past 10 years, compared with 3 percent in the ranching village of Charadai.

Visiting these farm villages, the AP found chemicals in places where they were never intended to be.

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Expenses add up when raising replacement heifers

By JoB Springer The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

Photo courtesy of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

For ranchers looking to rebuild their herds from within the ranch, the question arises as to how much it will cost to raise their own replacement heifers.

However, if a rancher is able to locate replacement heifers elsewhere at a lower price, it would be worth considering the

outside purchase, depending on the goals of the operation.

A similar evaluation should be made on your respective op-

eration to determine whether or not it makes economic sense to raise or purchase quality replacement heifers.

November 2013 — Issue 1

SALE EACH SATURDAY



The Southern Great Plains has seen better forage growing conditions in 2013 than in many recent years. This has been, in part, due to less wind, cooler temperatures and more rainfall.

Many ranchers are beginning to chomp at the bit to use these additional forages and are thus looking to rebuild their cow herds. For ranchers looking to rebuild their herds from within the ranch, the question arises as to how much it will cost to raise their own replacement heifers.

While every ranch has its own set of unique resources, this article addresses the question of how much it will cost an average-sized ranch in the Southern Great Plains to raise replacement heifers in 2013 and 2014.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average herd size in the Southern Great Plains is approximately 43 head.

A rancher trying to expand his herd will need to exceed the typical attrition rate of 17 percent (seven head). In this example, 14 heifers will be used as the initial selection number of potential replacement females.

Replacement heifers need to be approximately 65 percent of their mature weight at the time of breeding. Therefore, a typical herd in the Southern Great Plains would see heifers being bred around 750 pounds.

This is a pivotal point when the rancher can either sell a feeder heifer or decide to keep the heifer on the farm as a replacement. A spring-calving cow herd will see many heifers being covered as early as March or April. According to the futures market, these 750-pound heifers would be worth $151 per

hundredweight or $1,132.50 per head.

During the next nine months, several operating costs will be incurred by the ranch, including use of owned or leased forage at $162 per heifer; supplemental feed when standing forage is limited or requires supplementation at $79.20 per heifer; free-choice mineral at $39.15 per heifer; pre-breeding vaccinations, fly control and dewormer at $8 per heifer; a 1 percent death loss at $14.24 per heifer; sickness at $1.25 per heifer; a pregnancy test at $6 per heifer; labor at $207.92 per heifer; breeding bull’s annual depreciation at $36.79 per heifer; and the annual cash expenses associated with the bull at $42.86 per heifer. The accumulated expenses so far are $1,729.91 per heifer.

Other expenses are incurred to the ranch when replacement heifers are raised on the ranch.

These expenses include a loss on replacement heifers that were not bred or abort at $48.34 per heifer; utilization of ranch resources during the year a replacement heifer is raised instead of running productive cows at $112.50 per heifer (raising replacement heifers, instead of purchasing, displaces productive cows or other livestock); and a forgone implant at weaning of heifer calves that would have added weight and value had the heifer been sold at $46.30 per heifer (replacement heifers should not be administered an implant).

When all expenses are considered, the average-sized ranch in the Southern Great Plains will have approximately $1,937 tied up in each productive replacement heifer produced on the ranch in the coming year. Many ranchers have experienced sticker shock when they have priced replacement heifers from other ranches.

The Land & Livestock Post

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The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News

Despite problems, South Plains cotton doing well Despite so many cards being dealt against it through the growing season, South Plains cotton looks very promising, said Mark Kelley, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service cotton specialist in Lubbock.

The region had a coolerthan-normal spring and late freezes, and remained locked in drought by mid-summer, Kelley said. There were also the usual High Plains pitfalls of hail, high winds and blowing sand that knocked out some fields. And many dryland re-plantings of hailed-out or blown-out fields were late, bumping right up against the crop insurance planting deadlines.

And the latest discouraging development was that winter came early this year to the area, with freezing or near-freezing weather shutting down late-set

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Mark Kelley

South Plains irrigated cotton was yielding as much as four bales per acre. boll development on late-planted cotton that could really have used another couple of weeks to finish out, he said.

“They had their first freeze

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Kelley said the average first freeze for the area is around Oct. 31.

“We had some cotton that was pretty late planted and pushed hard by irrigation and sure could have used the rest of October to finish up, and some warmer temperatures too, but we don’t always get what we want.”

Yet early yield reports have been very good.

“I have heard of some very good yields coming out of the better-irrigated cotton,” Kelley said. “Some producers south of Lubbock actually made the one-ton club, or harvested four bales of cotton per acre. I heard another producer making two and one-half bales per acre, and that wasn’t on his better stuff.

His better stuff is yet to be harvested.

“We were fortunate enough that after we got through all the bad weather, and the issues get-

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earlier this month farther north, but around Lubbock we just recently had 32 degrees for a little bit the other night,” he said. “This means any boll

maturation is done, so we’re just waiting for harvest aides to go out and dry those plants down to get them ready for stripper harvest.”

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The Land & Livestock Post 

November 2013 — Issue 1

27

The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

News LIVESTOCK MARKET REPORT Brazos Valley

Results of the Brazos Valley Livestock Commission’s Oct. 15 sale: Head: 553 Steers: 200-300 lbs., $205$255; 300-400 lbs., $185-$235; 400-500 lbs., $173-$210; 500600 lbs., $150-$186; 600-700 lbs., $140-$174; 700-800 lbs., $145-$154.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $180$202, 300-400 lbs., $170-$195; 400-500 lbs., $153-$175; 500600 lbs., $142-$162; 600-700 lbs., $129-$144; 700-800 lbs., $127-$137.

Slaughter bulls: $85-$100.

Slaughter cows: $66-$86.50.

Bred cows: $975-$1,400.

Cow/calf pairs: 1,150-1,575

Buffalo

Results of the Buffalo Livestock Marketing’s Oct. 12 sale: Head: 1,442 Steers: 150-200 lbs., $200$265; 200-300 lbs., $195-$250; 300-400 lbs., $175-$245; 400500 lbs.,$170-$222; 500-600 lbs., $155-$190; 600-700 lbs., $140-

$166; 700-800 lbs., $135-$153.

Heifers: 150-200 lbs., $180$215; 200-300 lbs., $175-$210; 300-400 lbs., $165-$220; 400500 lbs.,$145-$190; 500-600 lbs., $137-$175; 600-700 lbs., $130$156; 700-800 lbs., $120-$144.

Slaughter bulls: $82-$95.

Slaughter cows: $55-$84.

Bred cows: $975-$1,475.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,000-$1,475

Caldwell

Results of the Caldwell Livestock Commission’s Oct. 16 sale: Head: 253 Steers: 200-300 lbs., $205$230; 300-400 lbs., $200-$225; 400-500 lbs., $180-$220; 500600 lbs., $170-$185; 600-700 lbs., $145-$163; 700-800 lbs., $130-$145.

Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $160$185; 300-400 lbs., $160-$210; 400-500 lbs., $160-$190; 500600 lbs.,$150-$180; 600-700 lbs., $140-$155.

Slaughter bulls: $92-$102.

Slaughter cows: $73-$88.

Stocker cows: $925-$1,500.

Groesbeck

Results of the Groesbeck Auction and Livestock Exchange’s Oct. 17 sale: Head: 544.

Steers: 300-400 lbs., $200$250; 400-500 lbs., $180-$220; 500-600 lbs.,$165-$185; 600-700 lbs., $150-$175.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $185$220; 400-500 lbs., $168-$186; 500-600 lbs.,$150-$168; 600-700 lbs., $140-$165.

Slaughter bulls: $94-$100.

Slaughter cows: $63-$87.

Stocker cows: $850-$1,300.

Cow/calf pairs: $900-$1,625.

Jordan

Results of the Jordan Cattle Auction Market Aug. 8 sale: Head: 1,296 Steers: 300-400 lbs., $190$240; 400-500 lbs., $185-$210; 500-600 lbs.,$150-$172; 600-700 lbs., $145-$165.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $170$200; 400-500 lbs., $165-$190; 500-600 lbs.,$145-$160; 600-700 lbs., $135-$155.

Slaughter bulls: $96-$106.

Slaughter cows: $70-$92.

Stocker cows: $850-$1,400

Milano

Results of the Milano Livestock Exchange’s Oct. 12 and 15 sale: Head: 958.

Steers: 300-400 lbs., $132$243; 400-500 lbs., $120-$199; 500-600 lbs.,$125-$179; 600-700 lbs., $110-$155.

Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $130$205; 400-500 lbs., $125-$185; 500-600 lbs.,$117-$177; 600-700 lbs., $111-$149.

Slaughter bulls: $87-$94.50.

Slaughter cows: $60-$89.

Stocker cows: $1,450-$1,925.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,950-2,500.

Navasota

Results of the Navasota Livestock Auction Co.’s Oct. 12 sale: Head: 1,903.

Steers: 150-300 lbs., $150$250; 300-400 lbs., $150-$250; 400-500 lbs.,$125-$225; 500-600 lbs., $120-$192.50; 600-700 lbs., $115-$165.

Heifers: 150-300 lbs., $135$230; 300-400 lbs., $130-$195; 400-500 lbs., $120-$180; 500600 lbs.,$115-$170; 600-700 lbs., $115-$152.50.

Slaughter bulls: $75-$103.

Slaughter cows: $60-$86.

Stocker cows: $750-$1,600.

Cow/calf pairs: $1,200-$1,450 — Special to The Eagle

Tittle name Brazos agriculture agent Dusty Tittle has been named the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for agriculture and natural resources in Brazos County, according to district AgriLife Extension administrator Dale A. Fritz and the Brazos County Commissioners Court.

Tittle earned a bachelor’s in agricultural economics and a master’s in agronomy, both from Texas A&M University.

For the past 11 years, Tittle has served as AgriLife Extension agent in Burleson County.

Sale. Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, TX.

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Nov. 14 - Advertising Deadline for the

Events Calendar November Nov. 1-2 – Beefmaster Breeders United 53rd Annual Convention. Ft. Worth, TX.

Nov. 3-5 - Texas Cattle Feeders

Association Annual Convention. Ft. Worth, TX.

Nov. 7 - Special Bull Offerings, Jordan Cattle Auction. San Saba, TX.

Nov. 9 - Cattleman’s Top Cut

Replacement Female Sale. Navasota, TX. 817-291-5121

Land & Livestock Post

Nov. 23 – Collier Farms Beefmasters

Performance Bull Sale. Brenham, TX. 979251-4175

Nov. 23 - Cox Ranches Inaugural Sale.

Weatherford, TX.

Nov. 27 - Advertising Deadline for the Land & Livestock Post December

Dec. 6 - Lone Star Angus Alliance Bull Sale. Hallettsville, TX.

Dec. 7 - Special Replacement Female

Sale. Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, TX.

Nov. 9 – Double Creek Farms 2013 Fall

Production Bull Sale. Meridian. TX. 254435-2988

Nov. 9 - Heart of Texas Beefmaster Sale.

Groesbeck, TX.

28

facebook.com/texasllp Nov. 13 - Barber Ranch Annual Bull

Do you have a sale or event you’d like listed?

Call Jesse Wright at (979) 731-4721 or email jesse.wright@theeagle.com

The Land & Livestock Post 

November 2013 — Issue 1

29

The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

30

News Cotton, from Page 26 ting started, we had some pretty decent cotton-growing weather and were able to stick a lot of the early season fruit and take it to the gin.”

Dryland cotton could have used another rain toward the end of the season, around the first part of August, he said. But in areas where the farmers got some decent rains, Kelley said he had heard reports of 500 to 550 pounds per acre.

“That’s on some really good dryland,” he said. “On the rest of it, I’m hearing 250 pounds — a half bale per acre.”

Early reports on quality have been good, too, Kelley said. But when some of the latest planted cotton is harvested, it may have low micronaire values, a measure of fiber characteristics that’s important for cotton classers and spinners, he said.

More information on the current Texas drought and wildfire alerts can be found on the AgriLife Extension Agricultural Drought Task Force website at agrilife.tamu.edu/drought/ .

AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summaries: Southeast — Producers were cutting hay and planting winter annuals. Soil moisture remained marginal in some areas; good in others. Rangeland and pasture were in fair-to-excellent condition across the region. Moderate temperatures continued, and forage growth slowed down.

Central — Cooler temperatures and recent rains benefited crops. Armyworms were reported in some early winter grains and greened up pastures. Rains replenished stock tanks. Hay producers hoped to squeeze out another cutting this year.

Coastal Bend — Pastures continued to improve with recent rains. Ponds were full in many areas, but some remained low. The harvest of early maturing pecan varieties continued with reports of low insect and disease damage.

However, some pecan growers reported little or no crop due to the impact of squirrels and crows on what was already a low-nut load. Armyworm activity in some winter pastures was reported and producers continued to spray for armyworms to reduce forage losses. Some producers planted winter pastures before rain. Some producers expected to be able to take another hay cutting after fields dry out.

East — Parts of the region received as much as 3 inches of rain, however some producers worried that pastures won’t

benefit from the rain due to the cooler temperatures. Other producers hoped to take one more cutting of hay. In some counties, many stock ponds were full. Winter pasture planting continued.

Livestock were in good shape.

Some livestock producers were already feeding hay. Cattle have started fall calving. More counties were reporting increased feral hog damage.

Southwest — Most counties received 0.5 inch to 4 inches of rain, which helped alleviate drought conditions. Days and nights became cooler. The moisture helped wheat, oats and rangeland. Fall corn neared maturity and looked great.

Far West — Scattered showers brought from 0.3 inch to 3.5 inches of rain. Daytime highs were in the 70s. Some cotton producers expected to start harvesting very soon. Grain sorghum was maturing and coloring.

Rangeland and pastures looked good, with grasses and vegetation rebounding. Livestock producers were working cattle and shipping calves to feedlots or wheat pasture.

North — The region received from 2 to 4 inches of rain, and

soil-moisture levels were adequate in most counties. Pastures were significantly improved, but there was not much runoff to replenish the stock-water ponds.

Most winter wheat was planted after short delays because of rain. Nighttime temperatures fell

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to the low 40s, which slowed the growth of warm-season grasses.

Livestock remained in good condition. There were reports of large populations of grasshopper and flies. High feral hog activity was noted in Titus County.

Panhandle — Temperatures

were near average most of the week. Soil-moisture levels continued to be mostly short. Most counties reported a hard freeze.

Dallam County reported the second killing freeze of the year on Oct. 17; the first one occurred on Oct. 4. One area reported the first snowfall of the year on Oct. 16. Cotton was mostly in fair condition, with producers applying harvest aides to many fields.

Growers continued to plant winter wheat, and many were irrigating the early plantings in hope of being able to graze stocker cattle on them soon. Rangeland and pastures were in very poor to good condition, with most counties reporting fair to poor. Fall calving and spring weaning wound down.

Some producers were gearing up for stocking wheat pasture as last month’s rains made that an option. However, availability and cost of calves will be the limiting factor.

Rolling Plains — Cooler weather dominated the region, with high temperatures in the 70s. The cooler weather halted cotton development. Cotton was from two to three weeks behind in maturity, but the crop actually looked promising in some areas.

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• High-Quality forage

The Largest offering of Red Cattle

• Excellent reseeding

• Impressive Young Cows • Well-Grown Heifers in Excellent Condition

• Tolerates continuous grazing

Schedule

10AM - Live Auction 4PM - Online Auction www. BovineBid.com for online auction bidding and sale catalog.

For more information CANAM SALES MANAGEMENT JASON LAMOREAUX • 616-822-0101 In conjunction with Goldenberg Consulting Inc., Nate Goldenberg • 254-717-7910 Robbie Clark • 254-749-6505 Texas Auctioneer License #12497v

• Fills the gap between crimson & summer grass FREE

SOURCE OF NITROGEN

• Grows in sandy loam to clay

979-575-0272 ballclover.com

Limited Quantity

Call Today to reserve your seed!

LEGENDARY EQUIPMENT

The Land & Livestock Post

Quality and Integrity at Prices You Can Afford.



• 140 hp^ John Deere engine • Superb front axle Triple Link Suspension • Variety of transmissions available

Gator™ XUV 825i

5045D Utility Tractor

• Speeds up to 44 mph • Biggest cargo box in its class • Excellent low-end torque for towing and hauling

• 45 hp^John Deere engine • 2WD and power steering • 8F/4R transmission, synchronized shifting

November 2013 — Issue 1

6104M Utility Tractor

Visit the newly redesigned

CPTRACTOR.COM

BRYAN, TX

979-822-7684 ^Manufacturer’s estimate of power (ISO) per 97/68/EC.

NAVASOTA, TX 936-825-6575

TEMPLE, TX

254-773-9916

CAMERON, TX 254-697-6551

TAYLOR, TX

512-352-5296 CFP5X1 %&( F

31

The Land & Livestock Post  November 2013 — Issue 1

When you need to get the most from your winter forages . . .

Let us help.

Overseeding ryegrass

Custom fertilization

Legume seed, inoculation and spreading

Expert agronomic assistance

On Texas Avenue in Bryan 979.778.6000 www.producerscooperative.com 32

EXPO

DEC. 7th