Though 2007 will go down as a great Texas wheat crop, continued rain had put harvest efforts behind schedule at the Fourth of July holiday break. When and if conditions "dry out" after the holiday week, producers should keep some things in mind, says a Texas Cooperative Extension wheat expert. Producers who in the past planted wheat primarily as a forage crop for livestock may have opted for cheaper seed. But purchasing or saving good quality seed will make a difference in both forage and...

A portion of the tainted pet food was used to produce farm animal feed and fish feed. Louis, said the food recall hasn't affected his shelter operation or its foster homes, since the Purina dry food products it uses were never on the recall list. The magazine has made a list of 19 pet food stores, animal hospitals, pet groomers and other places where people can drop off food. People are urged to help out or donate a can or bag of cat or dog food to help animals in need. All tainted pet...

Getting food for cattle is becoming a problem as well. Tazewell County s agriculture is approximately 80 percent feeder cattle production, Harris said. Profitability is impacted if farmers have to feed winter hay to their cattle now; this later forces them to buy feed. In what s a double whammy for them, they re starting to have to feed animals. Recent rains have some local farmers jumping for joy, but more is needed if they are to take advantage of what s now a good market for cattle. And...

Previous estimates predicted the planting would total about 90 million, enough to fuel the ethanol and livestock feed markets, but just barely. But economists see corn staying well above $3, and strong demand and high prices have pushed farmers to put their tractors into overdrive in unlikely places. Department of Agriculture reported farmers had planted almost 93 million acres of corn. With ethanol apparently here for a good while and the need for record corn crops to feed the ethanol...

Some droughts get so severe that selling cattle is the only practical means of reducing stocking rate so that livestock forage demand is put in balance with forage supply. Several recent Penn State trials have clearly shown that combining several adapted forage species in a mixture reduces year-to-year variability in pasture production as weather conditions change. Following are some of his tips for speeding pasture recovery and reducing future risks: Optimize use of soils and forage...