Ag News and Views: September 2014

Stocker cattle production is a major component of the cattle business in Oklahoma and Texas. Stockers are weaned calves that are typically grazed on pasture to add 200 to 400 pounds of body weight and are then sold as a "feeder" to someone who puts the calf on feed in a feed yard.

Cow-calf producers with calves to market in the fall of 2014 are going to have some interesting decisions to make. With calf market prices at all-time highs and feed prices lower than the past three years, are the calves going to be sold at weaning or are they going to be kept until a later date to make additional income?

Harvesting a deer yields a significantly larger quantity of meat, and putting meat in the freezer is important for many hunters. Yet most deer hunters take their deer to a processor and miss out on an opportunity to extend their hunting experience.

A few of the benefits of sod-seeding small grain winter pasture include providing high quality forage during the winter months, providing additional forage production during the warm-season grass's dormant season and potentially reducing the need for winter supplementation.

Agricultural workers are at a higher risk for skin cancer due to working long hours outdoors. With the pressures of haying, harvesting and working with livestock, many ranchers and farmers don't place much, if any, importance on preventing skin cancer.