The Kerens Tribune (Kerens, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 24, 2006 Page: 5 of 8
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The Kerens Tribune • August 24, 2006 • Page 5
Agriculture/Lawn and Garden
E-Mail kteditor@earthlink.net
Extension Notes
Notes of a Garden Watcher
>
V
By Mike Gage
Navarro County Extension Agent
As area livestock producers
face ongoing and worsening
drought conditions, many
ranchers face immediate
destocking and supplemental
feeding decisions. For many
destocking has already oc-
curred due to lack of water
supplies, shortage of grazing
and/or no hay supplies. Al-
most all ranchers have expe-
rienced some culling due to
drought conditions.
The following culling strate-
gies should be considered:
Cull dry. open cows first,
Secondly, cull young re-
placement females since they
will have the highest nutrient re-
quirements and will take longer
to produce a calf and an eco-
nomic return,
Sell short-bred cows next,
Sell older females with
offspring but with worn
teeth,
Sell thin cows with offspring,
The last cows to cull would
be 5-8 year old cows with
calves. These would be the most
productive cows with the most
potential for economic return.
Producers should consider
limit feeding their high qual-
ity hay and supplementing
protein and energy supple-
ments to meet deficiencies of
low quality hays that can pro-
vide needed fiber and some
energy requirements. Prima-
rily the corn and grain sor-
ghum stalks fit this category.
While they can fill the need
for fiber, their crude protein
can be expected in the 3-6%
range and their total digestive
nutrient value will be in the
range of 42-46%.
When feeding com or grain
sorghum stalks dry, pregnant
cows can generally make it if
they are supplemented with 1-
2 lbs of cottonseed meal, six
pounds of alfalfa hay or free
choice liquid supplements that
contain at least 50% crude pro-
tein from a natural protein
source and no more than 50%
from urea based protein. These
liquid supplements are nor-
mally in the 20-28% crude pro-
tein range.
Lactating cows will have al-
most a 60% greater nutrient re-
quirement and must receive
both protein and energy supple-
ments. Normally they should
be supplemented with 3-5 lbs
per head per day. This means
supplements such as whole cot-
tonseed, 20% range cubes with
low fiber, salt:meal:grain mixes,
10-12 pounds of alfalfa hay or
liquid supplements free choice.
These supplements need to be
fed daily to maintain herd per-
formance.
Sorting cattle into perfor-
mance groups based on stage
of production will make
supplemental feeding more
efficient and economical.
Without sorting based on nu-
tritional requirements, it will
be impossible to feed animals
efficiently. Dry cows will be
overfed while lactating and
developing animals will be
underfed, lose body condition
and not rebreed.
Producers should feed a
good mineral supplement to
maintain forage intake and ef-
ficient utilization. A complete
mineral supplement contain-
ing 10 to 20% salt, 12% cal-
cium, 12% phosphorus, 5%
magnesium, 0.9% zinc, and
0.2% copper has worked
well in most situations.
u
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Wednesday, August 31st
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By Sally Keenan
Master Gardener
In the seventeenth century
Henry Wicker, a farmer in
the town of Epsom, En-
gland, led his cattle to the
watering hole on the com-
mons. The cows refused to
drink the bitter water even
though the area was in se-
vere drought. It turned out
that the water contained high
levels of magnesium sulfate.
The salt came to be called
Epsom salts. Not long after
Wicker’s experience it was
observed that people who
soaked in waters containing
Epsom salts felt better. Ever
since then people with sore
muscles or rough skin have
found relief from bathing in
the soothing solution.
It turns out that not only
are Epsom salts good for the
body, they are also benefi-
cial for plants. Home gar-
deners have applied Epsom
salts to tomatoes and pep-
pers in the hope of greener
plants and higher yields.
Others have applied it to
their roses for increased
flower production.
Is there a good scientific
mm
Epsom Salts
basis for this or are the claims
the result of old wives’ tales?
Charlie Nardozzi who works
for National Gardening
magazine asked some of their
garden testers to research the
issue. They applied Epsom
salts to peppers and roses to
determine if it effects plant
growth and vigor.
It is well known in the
agricultural community that
magnesium is an important
trace element in the soil.
The element is important in
seed germination and for the
production of chlorophyll,
fruit and nuts. Magnesium
strengthens the walls of
plant cells and improves the
plants ability to take up other
important nutrients.
Okay so what did the
testers find out? Peppers
and roses that were sprayed
with a solution of Epsom
salts were more productive
and stronger. Just sprinkling
the dry salts on the ground
around the plants did not re-
sult in as clear an improve-
ment. The foliar spray
seems to improve the uptake
of magnesium.
However, simply, adding
Epsom salts to the soil is not
a replacement for overall
soil testing and balance. The
best way to ensure soil
health is to have a test done
every third year by the Texas
A&M Extension Service
and to rebalance the garden’s
pH according to their recom-
mendations. This is an in-
expensive and valuable re-
source to Texas residents.
Doing specialized treatment
for particular crops then be-
comes more valuable when
the overall health of the soil
is well managed.
In the interim spraying
plants, especially roses, to-
matoes and peppers with a
solution made with one or
two tablespoons of Epsom
salts in a gallon of water can
be beneficial. Once the
plants have been tended to,
a lovely soak in the tub twice
a week with two cups of
Epsom salts and a few drops
of eucalyptus oil is most re-
freshing. An alternative is
to massage handfuls of Ep-
som salts over wet skin to
exfoliate the body. It works
well and is much cheaper
than a trip to the spa.
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Williams, Neal. The Kerens Tribune (Kerens, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 24, 2006, newspaper, August 24, 2006; Kerens, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth591582/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Kerens Public Library.