Ag News and Views: June 2002

Standardized measurement of water clarity helps monitor changes that can affect production of fish and aquatic plants, and a Secchi disk is a simple, standard tool used to measure clarity.

The old adage "Boys will be boys" can be modified to apply to cattle: boys are influenced by their friends, and cattle are influenced by their herd mates; boys find the easiest way to do something, so do cattle. Understanding cattle behavior can benefit a grazing operation.

Since producers have little control over areas outside their ranches, focusing on management at the ranch level is essential and determining your ranch's cost of production is helpful in making management decisions.

In order to adequately serve the needs of land managers in our service area, we must constantly evaluate our services, the needs of land managers, services provided by others and the factors that impact land managers. We are already speculating about what the next agricultural census data will show and how we may need to respond.

Fertilizer, swathing, raking, baling and labor expenses can push the cost of haying bermudagrass up to $30/ton or more. With that kind of investment, it's important to implement proper management to assure a positive return.

The differences between growing native and improved pecan varieties are still causing confusion among growers.

Nutritionists and producers alike often take for granted the most important nutrient, the one required in the greatest amount by any class of livestock - water.