Ag News and Views: August 2009

Many producers in the stocker business have said that the profit is made when the calf is purchased. If correct decisions are made when the calf is bought, then the rest of the job is much easier.

There has been a great deal of interest over the last several years in the novel or "friendly" endophyte-infected tall fescue varieties. These varieties have the potential to provide quality cool-season perennial forage without the negative attributes of the older toxic endophyte-infected tall fescues.

Cull cows represent between 15 and 30 percent of a cow-calf herd's revenue, but relatively little attention is given to cull cow marketing. Most cow-calf producers traditionally sort and sell cull cows in the fall when prices are at or near the seasonal low.

When I was attending the TCU Ranch Management Program in the 1970s, Mr. John Merrill referred to basic facts or truths about production biology as "hitching posts" because they don't change.

Succession is a relatively predictable process of change that occurs in plant communities and soils. It is an important concept when managing native plant communities for wildlife, livestock grazing, timber production or other goals.

When shopping for hay, a list of its features such as crude protein or pounds in a bale may or may not be available, making valuation of hay difficult, if not impossible. This can be easily remedied by asking for a hay analysis and a bale weight, or testing and weighing it yourself prior to purchase.