Ag News and Views: October 1999

Bermudagrass is widely adapted and serves as the primary forage base for many livestock producers in southern Oklahoma and north Texas. Evaluation of its varieties has been an integral part of the Noble Research Institute's forage testing program since 1967.

One problem every rancher faces is that steers' average daily gain is often higher than that of heifers, yet most ranchers charge a flat rate for gain. If you look at this situation from an economic standpoint, the rancher is not realizing as much revenue from heifers and therefore not achieving his maximum profit.

Every time hunters pull the trigger or decide not to, they are making a management decision affecting the future of the herd they are hunting. In deer management circles, "passing the buck" has a positive, rather than a negative, connotation.

The drought of 1998 forced many graziers to consider available water supplies. A water deficiency reduces animal performance, such as milk production, more quickly and severely than feed or mineral...