Horace McQueen – When Will We Ever Learn!
Both nominees for future President of the United States have plenty of skid marks on their records. Hillary Clinton continues to put on her charade of “working” to make our lives better. But her real quest is to squash all dissent from working Americans. Donald Trump can be a foul-mouthed fool—but he seems to be mostly all talk at the wrong time. And at least he is making folks sit up and think when he discusses hard and fast controls on Muslims who want to come to our country. He says we need to make sure the Muslims we admit are coming here to build a better life—not to tear down what our nation has achieved. Ms. Clinton calls for open doors, for one and all!
Those of us who depend on agriculture to pay the bills, educate our children and build for the future are facing problems. Prices paid for what is produced on our farms and ranches continues to drop—and for most farmer-ranchers, losses are mounting up. Many full-time farmers are finding it difficult to obtain the financing needed as they look forward to 2017. And land values in the major farming areas are showing a downward trend. But, life must go on. About all we can do is shoulder the load and pray for better days.
With colder weather coming up—and grass growing season winding down—it’s high time to evaluate winter feeding. Most cattle folks depend on hay for a major feed source. But when it comes to that baled commodity, it can be good—or awfully poor. A hay test is cheap and easy to do. Quality hay, that testing 10% protein or more—can solve much of the feeding program. But hay with less than 10% protein, and often 5% or less, means trips to the feed store for something that will keep the cattle in breeding, growing condition. Cheap hay is not just cheap. And good hay is worth the price paid.
Coming up next week, a great multi-county Cow Country Congress is taking place in Anderson County near Bradford. It will be Friday, October 21st at the Partin and Partin Heart Bar Ranch operated by Mike Partin and sons Carlton and Steve. The Carlton family moved from Florida to East Texas several years ago and brought along their purebred Brahman herd. The Heart Bar Brahmans are original—from a herd established by Mike’s grandfather Henry Partin in 1936. The Congress will include a tour of the ranch, weed control and cattle marketing discussions. Cost is
$20 a person and preferably those attending should call their local county Extension office to reserve a plate at mealtime. The program starts at 8:15 a.m. and offers a lot of information.
Folks in the Tyler-Smith County area are getting an expert horticulturist joining the Extension office. Greg Grant has built a reputation as a knowledgeable and articulate spokesperson for growing plants. He comes from SFA where he worked for a number of years. Before that, he was a horticulturist in San Antonio with the county agents office. Greg has written—and co-authored—several gardening books and speaks often to Master Gardeners and other groups in our part of Texas. Greg and I go back a long way—and I know he will bring a lot of effort to his new job in Smith County. And, yes, Greg is a Texas Aggie, through and through! That’s –30—[email protected]