Today in East Texas— with Horace McQueen

At least we are one day closer to a good rain —that’s the response from a neighbor when I complain about the lack of wet stuff. It is getting awfully dry in much of East Texas — with the spring rains just a recollection of the past. The hay crop so far looks to be way short of winter needs — and if you are buying hay, now is the time to put your order in.

Just like in years past, lots of junk being baled and called “good hay”. Unfertilized, weedy plants rolled up in a big or small bale won’t offer much when feeding time comes around. Know what you are buying when purchasing hay —you buy feed with a tag guaranteeing the ingredients and feeding value. Let’s treat hay purchases — and sales — the same way for benefit of buyer and seller.

Here’s another “wise” use of taxpayer dollars. Seems the giveaway artists in Washington, D.C. are concerned that many of the wild horses that have been captured on western ranges are not getting adopted. So, they have come up with a $700 a head guarantee to horse trainers for each wild horse they ready for a rider. We, the taxpayers, foot the bill! Makes more sense — to me — to leave the wild horses alone that are running on Federal lands (lands owned by our citizens) and let them roam.

A bill is before the U.S. Senate that would have severe repercussions for farmers, ranchers and other landowners if enacted. Basically, part of the bill would give the government bureaucrats control over all waters in the U.S. This includes stock tanks and ponds, intermittent streams that start and stop on your property, gullies that carry water when it rains. Also, if the bill passes as it is presently written, nearly every agricultural operation — from timber harvest to plowing — could require landowners getting a permit from a government office before you could start. Agricultural organizations across the nation are united in opposition to the Senate bill. Our problem as agricultural operators is that the so called “farm vote” is not of much importance to most Senators — except at election time.

The folks serving us in the U.S. Congress are living proof that term limits for local, state and national offices is way past due. Once an office holder — be he or she a county, state or national elected official — stays in office over more than two terms, they start to exert their “ownership” of that office and start taking advantage of every perk that comes their way. From health plans to retirement those who are elected to serve us too often take advantage of their positions to feather their own nests. For instance, members of the U.S. Congress set their own salaries, have travel and entertainment allowances few businesses can afford and offer a retirement program second to none. And too many office holders from local to state to national take advantage of getting lower interest rates on their loans or buying stock in a company just before a surge in price.

A number of these “public servants” have bought into tracts of vacant land, but tomorrow the centerpiece of a new shopping center or freeway.

While we are talking about government nonsense, the regulators in Texas are doing their best to eradicate those dairymen who have spent lots of dollars to build facilities to bottle raw milk to be sold to customers. These dairymen — most small in size — have been able to both sell their product at the farm and also deliver it to the customers home. This has worked well —but now the Texas Department of Health know-it-alls want all home deliveries stopped. If the regulators get their way, these dairymen would be able to sell their Grade A raw milk to customers only at the farm! Such a law change would stop those dairy producers from making their rounds in refrigerated trucks to homes that want the product.

Over the last couple weeks we have eaten out at several different places — and some of those we wrote about in prior issues. But we tried at least two new ones — the first a restaurant that for years advertised their beef for hamburgers was ground fresh daily. I tried one of the burgers that looked so enticing in the menu. When it came from the kitchen, the beef patty looked to have been run over by a ten-ton truck wheel. It probably weighed two ounces and was shoe leather-tough.

The other disaster was a Mexican restaurant that was about as bad as it could get. Fake, runny, ill-tasting cheese on the enchilada plate plus ground beef inside that was long past its prime. Coupled with service from a waitress who wanted nothing more that to go home early capped the visit. No more for that one — we had stopped at the restaurant on the recommendation of a friend. When I see him, will certainly give him my view!

Lots of cows are spending more time swatting flies than eating now days. Not much reason for this to continue if your cattle are covered up with the bloodsuckers. Several products are on the market that work — and are not that costly. You can feed a good mineral mix that contains a fly control product. This product, called an insect growth regulator, goes into the system of the cow and is expelled in the manure. The IGR in the manure prevents fly eggs, laid in the manure, from maturing. IGR is also available in molasses based feed blocks and tubs — whatever route you choose, your cattle will benefit.

While hot and dry weather continues, and pastures and hay meadow forages shrivel, this might be a good time to think about some rotational grazing. Brian Cummins, county agent at Canton in Van Zandt County, is a believer in having more than one pasture for the cattle herd whether large or small. Brian says that with single pasture grazing we get 30 to 35% efficiency in forage use. By going to two or more pastures and keeping the cattle moving, grazing efficiency jumps to 75%. With forage getting shorter and shorter, this could save the day for some cattle producers. A basic rotational grazing program can consist of just two pastures — rotating cattle from one to the other as needed.

We were in Athens and Tyler the other day — on a mission of necessity. Had to visit the folks at Echo Hills Blueberry Farm south of Murchison. We picked up a ten pound bag of fresh blueberries to go in the freezer. (When we got home, my wife made 12 packages, each containing two cups of the berries.) Then we made a stop at Rozell peach orchards near the Tyler airport. We bought some just-harvested golden beauties and they will go in the freezer. Darren Rozell and his father Orvice, are long time East Texas peach growers. Darren has an abundant fruit crop this summer —coming from over one hundred acres in peaches and lots of acres in blackberries.

And finally, coming back home, stopped in to see Harry Friedlander at his farm near Noonday on Highway 155 south of Tyler. Harry has a big patch of purple hull peas and we picked a bushel that we shelled that night, also for the freezer. Harry was the produce expert for Brookshire Grocery Company for over 35-years. He is a pleasure to visit with, and he has lots of insight into the business of raising food. Anyway, we will be eating well this winter —even though my garden burnt up early, but at least we know some folks who made a crop! And I am making plans for a fall garden — and praying for rain!

For this time, that’s ---30---. horace@valornet.com

Text Only