September, 2006 Table of Contents News & Views Archive Issues

Economics
Economic Programs Are Available For Drought Relief by Dan Childs
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has acknowledged these extremes - effective July 27, 2006, all 77 counties in Oklahoma were designated as natural disaster areas. In addition, several counties in Texas have received the same designation. What does this mean to a cattle producer living in one of these counties?

Forage
Manage In 'Segments' to Make It to Spring by James Rogers
Forage producers with grazing livestock have just come through two of the worst growing seasons most folks can remember. Let's break that down into manageable segments: September to frost, frost to March and March to May. There are management strategies for each segment that can help stretch forage and keep managers in control instead of just reacting to a limited forage situation.

Horticulture
Consider Pecan Trees' Water Needs During Drought by Charles Rohla
After returning from the Oklahoma and Texas pecan growers association meetings where water management was a topic of discussion, I felt the need to write about pecan water management.

Livestock
Have You Learned the Lessons of the 2006 Drought? by Clay Wright
The bottom line in this and every drought is to protect the forage resource and maintain the productivity of the cow herd. We can never cheat the basics. Many costly lessons are being learned during this drought.

Soils
Residual Nitrogen Could Lower Fertilizer Bills by Jeff Ball
Soil testing pays, and I am certain you've heard this statement from one of Noble's soil and crops specialists before. We already have begun seeing soil test results with high residual nitrogen. These levels have been high enough at times to cause us to not recommend nitrogen fertilization for fall/winter pasture forage production.

Wildlife
Upcoming Quail Season Stirs Thoughts of Management by Steven Smith
If you are like me, you are already planning for the upcoming quail season. The habitat available for this upcoming season is a result of current-year and past-year habitat management. Management practices affecting habitat include grazing, mowing or haying, prescribed fire or wildfire, and brush or weed management.