We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Walker is a farmer, rancher and all-around thorn-in-the-side with Land's Feed Warehouse in Grand Saline, Texas, who opines on current events affecting the cattle industry.
Some years ago, I was in Dallas for one of the charity events we
support, and a guy asked me what I “do.” I gave my usual, “I’m in
agriculture,” which always seems to lead to the inquiry of whether we
have a ranch and then to the rather personal follow up question of, “How
big is it?”
If you walked across my pastures, you wouldn’t believe there is a fertilizer shortage. Heck, even the smallest cattle yards have a devil of a time getting rid of all the manure our blessed beasts produce.
Apparently, surviving the Great Recession and a global pandemic isn’t enough. Our brothers and sisters out West are in a prolonged fight for their livelihoods and very lives.
Congratulations, you're still here!
Isn't that a little like how we all feel right now? We have hung on – maybe just by our fingertips – but we are still here.
It is a sea otter delicacy. I guess they like a salad as much as the next carnivore (yes, their main diet is sea urchins and crabs). But, what attraction does red seaweed, Asparagopsis taxiformis, have for humans and, more particularly, for beef and dairy cattle, you may ask?
I was asked a little while back, “Can cows catch COVID?” It sounds like an alliterative riddle, but the answer is “yes.” While cows can catch COVID, according to South Dakota State University, they only possess a “medium” chance of doing so (and while we are at it, horses only have a low chance of catching the virus).
Alarming news articles recently divided the country into “habitable” and “unlivable” zones, based on scientists’ climate change weather predictions. In essence, as the planet and country warm, the prime habitable zone in the U.S. moves north toward the Great Lakes region and the Canadian border. What used to be colder Northern regions (too cold for a long growing season) will now be prime production areas, and the present prime Southern and Midwest farm and ranch lands will become too hot and dry for sustained production or human habitation.
In the 1980s, there was a popular song on the radio with the title "Should I Stay, or Should I Go." A lot of producers today are asking themselves a form of that same question – should I stay the course and keep my cattle, hoping consumer demand and beef prices rise soon? Or, should I sell off a good share so I don’t incur the expense of feeding and maintaining excess numbers, not knowing when this crisis might end?
