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AGRICULTURAL
NEWS LETTER
F E D E R A L
Vol. 11, No. 2

R E S E R V E

B A NK

DALLAS, T E X A S

OF

D A L L A S
F ebruary 15, 1956

IRRIGATED PASTURES FOR SOUTH TEXAS

Irrigated pastures offer good profits in
milk and beef production and are the bestknown method of soil improvement, accord­
ing to tests at the Texas A. & M. College
E x p erim en t S tations in the L ow er R io
Grande Valley and the Winter Garden area
by agronomists E. M. Trew and Carl S.
Hoveland.
When irrigated and managed properly,
adapted warm-season perennial grasses pro­
duce high yields of good-quality forage in
south Texas. The better grasses produce for­
age 8 to 10 months during the year and can
be depended upon to supply the bulk of the
forage in an irrigated pasture program. Coolseason perennial grasses appear to be im­
practical for south Texas, as they produce
only 4 to 5 months and usually must be irri­
gated to survive the summer.

supply of irrigation water is limited. Angleton — although not as high yielding as the
other varieties — appears best for heavy clay
soils. Although the latter grass is low in phos­
phoric acid and protein content, it is very
palatable, and cattle stay in good condition
while grazing it.
Late-fall and winter grazing can be ob­
tained best from high-producing small grains
alone or with a legume. Temporary pastures
of small grains alone or with a legume supply
green grazing in winter, when it is not avail­
able from cool-season grasses. Goliad barley
should be used in a winter grazing program
to provide early pastures, although most of
the acreage should be seeded to a highyielding oat variety to provide winter and
early spring grazing.

Stands of legumes usually cannot be main­
tained in vigorously growing, cool-season
Based on the tests, Coastal Bermuda, buf- perennial grasses under irrigation in south
fel (T-4464), Rhodes, Blue Panic, and possi­ Texas. The high-producing grasses appar­
bly guinea appear to be the better-producing ently provide too much competition for the
perennial grasses for irrigated pastures in legumes.
south Texas. Coastal Bermuda and buffel
are best suited for use on loamy to sandy soils.
Hubam sweet clover is the most widely
Rhodes may live only 2 years because of used legume for grazing in south Texas. How­
damage from Rhodes grass scale, but it does ever, Floranna sweet clover produces about
well in rotation with row crops or alfalfa.
the same yields as Hubam and provides graz­
ing a month earlier. Both varieties do well
From the standpoint of grazing, guinea is with oats for temporary pastures in the win­
difficult to manage because of its heavy, ter. The biennial sweet clovers produce less
dense stools, which get larger in diameter and grazing and are later than the annuals.
taller with age. Blue Panic produces less for­
Some stockmen — mainly dairymen —•
age than the other four grasses but withstands
drought better and is well adapted where the have grazed alfalfa in pure stands and, by

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

2

careful management, have avoided excessive
bloat in their livestock.
Although alfalfa produces less forage than
the best-adapted warm-season perennial
grasses, the forage is uniformly high in qual­
ity. Alfalfa provides some grazing during the
winter, when summer grasses are semidormant. Indian and African alfalfa make the
most growth during the winter and recover
more quickly after being clipped in hot
weather. Hairy Peruvian and Texas Common
alfalfa varieties are third and fourth choices,
respectively, for the south Texas area.
Irrigated pastures are excellent soil con­
ditioners but may be soil-depleting crops if
they are not properly fertilized. The manage­
ment an irrigated pasture receives after it is
established determines its productivity. In
addition to following good fertilization prac­
tices, other important management points
are: (1) proper irrigation and grazing, (2)
utilization of excess forage as hay or silage,
(3) clipping as needed, and (4) scattering
of the animal droppings.

In most areas of the State, corn should be
planted about the time the last frost usually
occurs. If planted earlier, poor germination
and slow growth may result. In order to con­
serve the maximum amount of moisture, the
seedbed should be prepared early and should
be disturbed as little as possible until plant­
ing time. A deep, well-pulverized, weed-free
seedbed is necessary for high yields.
Corn plants which are properly spaced
provide the most satisfactory yields, accord­
ing to Mr. Spears. In east Texas and the
Blackland area, the plants should be spaced
18 to 24 inches apart; if subsoil moisture
conditions are poor, the 24-inch spacing is
preferable. In west Texas, 24-inch spacing
is also recommended; under irrigation or ex­
tremely favorable moisture conditions, a
closer spacing of 12 inches would produce
maximum yields.

Texas Corn Planting Tips

Approximately 150 pounds of nitrogen are
needed to produce 100 bushels of corn, and
the requirements for phosphoric acid and
potash — the other essential nutrients — are
equally high. It is recommended that the
farmer have the soil tested to determine ferti­
lizer needs.

Texas farmers should plant corn as soon
as the weather permits, so that the crop can
attain maximum growth before the summer’s
heat and dry weather set in, advises Ben R.
Spears, Extension agronomist with Texas
A. & M. College.

Only high-quality seeds of proven adapta­
bility should be planted. The hybrid corn
varieties (in the order of preference) rec­
ommended by Texas A. & M. College for
the corn-producing areas of the State are
shown in the box below.

H Y B R ID C O R N V A R IE T IE S F O R T E X A S
Area

Y ellow corn
varieties

White corn varieties

Southern part of east Texas and
the G ulf C oast........................ ...........Texas 30, 28, 26

Texas 15W, Asgrow 101W, Texas 17W

N orthern p art of east T exas......... ........... Texas 28, 30, 26

Texas 17W, T R F3, Texas 15W

South-central T exas......................... ........... Texas 28, 30, 26, 32

Asgrow 101W, Texas 17W, 15W

N orth-central Texas........................ ........... Texas 28, 26, 30

Texas 17W, T R F3, Asgrow 101W

W estern part of Texas, including
extreme south T exas............... ...........Texas 28, 26, 32

Asgrow 101W, Texas 17W, 15W

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

3

After the crop is growing well, it should tion for growing chicks, says Ben Wormeli,
be cultivated only when necessary to control Extension poultry husbandman of Texas
weeds, Mr. Spears advises. Excessive cultiva­ A. & M. College.
tion prunes the roots and reduces their ability
The poultryman should —
to use available moisture.

High Milk Output Stressed

1. Make sure that all windows, doors,
and ventilator sections of the brooder houses
are well fitted and work smoothly and that
the roofs do not leak.

Dairy farmers in
C ooke C o u n ty ,
Texas, are stressing
2. Clean brooder stoves and check therm­
high milk and butostat
apparatus to assure a dependable source
terfat production
of
heat.
per cow as a means
of reducing the squeeze on farm incomes
3. Provide adequate feeding and watering
resulting from lower prices and higher costs, facilities. The amount of space provided for
according to Claude Jones, Executive Vice the chicks should be increased as they grow
President of the First State Bank of Gaines­ older to insure uniform growth of the birds.
ville, Texas.
Making sure that the brooder house and
Most progressive dairy farmers in the area
equipment
are adequate and in good repair
are members of the Cooke County Dairy
will
pay
dividends
in the production of goodHerd Improvement Association and have
quality,
uniform
pullets for the following
their cows tested regularly for production
year’s
laying
flock.
performance. Supervisors Carl Kemplin and
Bob Fuhrman of the Cooke County associa­
Certified Seed Pays
tion recently released data showing that, in
November 1955, the cows tested produced
The use of certified planting seed — which
783 pounds of milk and 32 pounds of butterusually is the best seed available of a par­
fat per cow.
ticular variety— assures purity, higher germ­
Cooke County dairymen are making an ination, and increased crop yields, according
enviable record as compared with many other to a report from Texas A. & M. College.
dairy farmers in Texas. Information released Germination and yields depend, to a great
by the State Dairy Herd Improvement Asso­ extent, upon the availability of moisture, but
ciation shows that the average production of farmers cannot afford to gamble with seed
both milk and butterfat per cow in the Cooke of questionable quality. Certified seed may
County association in November 1955 was cost slightly more, but the added cost is good
larger than that for any of the other 21 asso­ insurance.
ciations reporting in the state association.
Cooke County herds averaged 770 pounds of
Certified seed comes from fields which are
milk and 31 pounds of butterfat per cow inspected during the growing season, is prop­
during that month. In the state association, erly handled at harvesting, and is cleaned
an average of 568 pounds of milk and 25 and tested for purity and germination. After
pounds of butterfat was produced.
seed has passed certain rigid standards, the
State Department of Agriculture issues a
“certified” tag for each bag.
Get Brooder Houses Ready
Careful attention should be given to clean­
ing and repairing brooder houses in prepara­

Farmers are advised to buy planting seed
now for their 1956 crops. Last-minute shop-

4

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

pers may find local stocks depleted and may
be forced to plant whatever seed is available.
If planting seed has not been chemically
treated for seed-borne and seedling diseases,
farmers find that such a practice is profitable
and also is added insurance against poor
stands and plant losses during early growth.

Agricultural Experiment Station at State Col­
lege, Mississippi. Attention was focused upon
the study of rumen microorganisms as a pos­
sible factor in the cause of bloat, and it was
decided to investigate whether any of the
antibiotics would be helpful in the preven­
tion of bloat in cattle when grazed upon pure
stands of Ladino clover.

Information on seed treating and variety
recommendations can be obtained from local
county agricultural agents.

The antibiotics tested in the study included
aureomycin, terramycin, bacitracin, strepto­
mycin, and penicillin. In 2 years of tests, pen­
icillin in extremely small amounts prevented
bloat of yearling steers. A quantity of this
Assure Steady Hog Supply
drug — about one-fourth the size of an as­
pirin
tablet — provided complete protection
A steady supply of hogs
up
to
3 days for steers grazing on clover.
for market throughout the
It
is
estimated
that about 15 cents worth
year is the goal of the Na­
of
the
actual
drug
should protect an animal
tio n a l Swine G row ers
through
an
average
spring clover season in
Council in recommending
Mississippi.
that farmers develop a mul­
tiple farrowing program of
A practical way of administering penicillin
hog production.
to cattle has not yet been perfected. However,
The council suggests that many farmers discovery that the drug will prevent bloat
will find it convenient to farrow two groups opens a promising solution to a problem
of sows twice a year, with farrowing dates which has distressed cattlemen for several
spaced 90 days apart. The primary advan­ years.
tage of the system would be the more or­
The Mississippi Experiment Station is now
derly selling of hogs, with less of the sea­
working
with drug manufacturers on the best
sonal price fluctuation which usually results
method
of
preparing the penicillin for cattle.
from extremely heavy marketings. The prac­
Satisfactory
methods of administering the
tice also would stabilize the market for
drug
in
mixtures
with feed and salt are now
sows, as supplies vary from 5 percent to
being
explored.
50 percent of total hog receipts, according
to the season.
Multiple farrowing of hogs will result in
production advantages, since smaller groups
of sows farrowing at intervals will make
more efficient use of farrowing and feeding
equipment and the hogs produced for mar­
ket will be more uniform in size. The time
and labor needed to care for the hogs also
will be distributed more evenly.

Undesirable hardwood trees take water
and plant food from the soil which could be
used in producing forage for livestock. These
trees often grow on the most productive land
or in fence rows and reduce the yields of cul­
tivated crops and pastures. W inter is an
excellent time to apply chemicals for con­
trolling hardwoods.

Is Bloat Licked?
An intensive study of cattle bloat has been
under way for several years at the Mississippi

The Agricultural News Letter is prepared in
the Research Department under the direction
of J. Z. R owe, Agricultural Economist.