Land and Livestock Post

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDBRYAN, TX 77802PERMIT # 23

JAMES THOMPSONStraight from the horse's mouth.PAGE 3




July 2014— Issue 1

What’s buggingthe herd?Ways to combat lice on your cattlePAGE 10

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDBRYAN, TX 77802PERMIT # 23

SAY HAYLearning about a billion-dollar Texas crop.PAGE 3

WHEAT’S UP, DOC?AgriLife researchers seek to grow grain statewide.PAGE 4

SOMANY DECISIONSHow to make smart choices culling the herd.PAGE 8

BROWN IS NEWGREENJuniper budworms attacking Texas cedars.PAGE 15

July 2014— Issue 1

July 2014— Issue 1 The Land & Livestock Post2

NewsFrom theGeneralManager

Well it’s July again. July alwaysseems to brings hot weatherwith it. But it also bring

fireworks. I love fireworks, especiallywhen it’s safe to shoot them, becausethat means it’s rained enough that arogue Black Cat isn’tgoing to burn down thecountryside.

I love shooting fire-works, watching fire-works and I even lovethe smell of fireworks.

The reason I’m go-ing on and on aboutfireworks is because our cover story isabout lice. I’d much rather talk aboutfireworks.

Just hearing someone say the word“lice” is enough to make your head itcha little, and it’s not a pleasant subject.But, lice can be a serious problem incattle that should be addressed.

In our cover story we look at waysyou can prevent lice in your herd andcertain practices you can adapt to keepyour cattle lice-free.

We also have some non-vermin re-lated stories about horses, row cropsand beef cattle. Hope you find some-thing you like, and as always, thanksfor reading.

’Til next time,

• For more information about content oradvertising, contact Jesse Wright at [email protected].

JESSE WRIGHT

Hay Day educates producers onbooming billion-dollar crop

By Jordan [email protected]

MotherNature isacruelmistress forhayproducers in Texas.

If thedroughtdoesn’t getyourcrop, thenbugsmaycomecalling.Commercialherbi-cidescankeepcrittersaway fromyourhar-vest, but then an overly cool spring coulddelay or damage your reaping cycle.

It’s a fickle and sometimes extremelyprofitable business, according to the farm-ers and specialists attending the recentJune 5 Hay Day event at Britten Farms inBryan.

The workshop was hosted by Coufal-Prater Equipment, Producers Cooperativeand Britten Farms, and brought togetherequipmentexperts, a foragespecialist fromTexas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Serviceand other presenters offering an introduc-

Eagle photo by Jordan OverturfRalph Stevener of College Station tests the texture ofa hay bale during the Hay Day event hosted by Coufal-Prater Equipment Ltd. at Britten Farms in Bryan.See HAY DAY, Page 7

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NewsCanwheatbecomeacropgrownstatewide inTexas?

By Paul SchattenBergTexas A&MAgriLife Extension

Service

Texas A&M AgriLife expertsare hoping to grow greater in-terest inhavingagriculturalpro-ducersplantwheatinsomeof themore “non-traditional” areas ofthe state for thatparticular crop.

Whilewheat is thebiggestfieldcrop inTexas in termsof acreage— estimated at about 6 millionacres annually by the NationalAgricultural Statistics Service— it currently is grown mostlyin the High Plains and RollingPlains part of the state.

“There’s a lot of wheat in thePanhandle, Rolling Plains andSouthernHighPlains,butwheatis an underutilized crop in otherparts of the state, and many pro-ducers could benefit financiallyby having it as a primary or ro-tational crop,” said Mark Welch,Texas A&M AgriLife ExtensionService economist in CollegeStation.

Additionally, with the severe

drought and multiple freezes inthe Plains regions, many of thehigher yields this past year havecome from the Blacklands areaand from South Central Texas,Welch said.

Recently, wheat trials at theTexas A&M AgriLife Researchand Extension Center in Uvaldewerehighlightedat itsCombinedWheat and Vegetable Field Day,whichintroducedareaproducersto multiple varieties of springand winter wheat grown using

different irrigation rates.Andthereisalsogoodpotential

for wheat production in coastalareasof thestateandas farsouthas the Lower Rio Grande Valley,Welch noted.

Texas A&MAgriLife Research photoAmir Ibrahim, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research wheat breeder in College Station, isworking on field testing of different wheat varieties in the state..

SeeWHEAT, Page 6


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Amir Ibrahim, Texas A&MAgriLife Research wheat breed-er in College Station, indicatedthat TexasA&MAgriLife springwheatbreedingeffortshavebeenrevamped to address the needsof South Texas, as well as theWinter Garden area west of SanAntonio.Ibrahim said the Uvalde area

provides a unique environmentfor testing both winter andspring wheat.“This area is characterized

not only by heat and droughtstresses, but also fungal diseasepressure, particularly leaf rust,where the disease inoculum cansurvive the winter,” he said.“Although winter wheat does

very well in this area, especiallyunder supplementary irrigationconditions when needed, springwheat can also provide an alter-native.”UnlikesomeothermajorTexas

field crops, wheat has the flex-

ibility of being used as either aforage or grain crop,Welch said.“And in many areas of the

state, there’sa lotof potential forrotating wheat with canola as awinter crop.Of course, choosingtoplantwheathasa lot todowiththe variety and the potential for

thatwheattoprovideagoodyieldand quality.”“There is much more wheat

planted around the Winter Gar-denareashowingthere isgreaterpotential for it in this region asan alternative crop and as partof a rotational crop for cropping

systems ,” said Daniel Leskovar,resident director for the center.“We hope center research

on wheat will help producersincrease profitability throughimproved cultivars that use lesswater, require fewer chemicalinputs, provide good yields andproduce a quality product.”He said investigatinggenetics,

along with environmental andcrop management-related fac-tors,providesaholisticapproach

tocroppingsystemmanagementfor water conservation and howto cope with environmentalstresses. Producing drought-tolerant crops, and developingbetter irrigation technology andpractices is key for producers intheWinter Garden region.During the field day, Rob Ho-

gan,AgriLifeExtensionregionaleconomist in Uvalde, said the

Wheat, from Page 4

Texas A&MAgriLife Research photo by Kay LedbetterThe Texas A&MWheat improvement Team develops and tests wheat varieties to deter-mine which will grow the bast in different parts of the state.

See STATEWIDE, Page 17


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tion to growing, cutting, balingand selling hay.Some of the attendees at the

HayDayworkshop came to get aContinuingEducationUnitcreditfor the laws and regulations forcommercial herbicide use. Butmost, like Randy Britten, ownerof BrittenFarms, said theycameto see the dozens of tractors andequipment demonstrations byCoufal-Prater.Britten has been producing

hay in theBrazosValley formorethan40years, croppingoutabout500 acres with anywhere from 21/4 to 21/2 tons per acre.“That’s about 2.5 million

pounds per harvest, which typi-cally starts the first day of Mayand is cut monthly through thefall.Hayproduction inTexasalone

is a billion-dollar industry, ac-cording to AgriLife. Some ex-perts, however, agree that prof-itability in the industry comesdown to quality production.“Not all hay is created equal,”

Mark McMath, agronomy man-agerwithProducersCooperative,said.Whether you produce or pur-

chase the hay, McMath said, themillion-dollarquestion is, “Whatquality is the product?”Currently, there is no regulat-

ingboardoverseeinghayproduc-tion.McMath said it’s not like go-

ing to the store and looking atthe nutritional facts on a label.Workshops like Thursday’s HayDayeventcouldhelp improvethe

market, which extends beyondthe Lone Star state, he said.“If you go up in theMidwest, a

bale of alfalfa will be sold basedon relative feed value. The rela-tive feedvalue for alfalfa is about140ontheindex,”hesaid.“That’show hay is sold to the dairymenin the Midwest. Here in Texas,hay is sold by the bale ... and itsleft up to the customer to decidewhether that’s a good value ornot.”Among the topics discussed

by AgriLife forage expert Van-essa Corriher-Olson during herpresentation were protein levelsin thehay, choosingbale sizeandhow tomaximize profit after thecrop is cut.“We have had some beneficial

rainfall this spring that has re-ally increased the hopes of a lotof producers, but there is stillobviously always the concern ofdrought inTexas,”saidtheforageexpert from the AgriLife exten-sion office in Overton.“Unfortunately, thedroughtof

2011hadan impactona lotof ourforages throughout the state.”Corriher-Olsonsaidwhilerain

isabigpartof theequation, thereisn’t one specific hurdle faced byhay producers each season.If the rain is good, then there

could be a challenge with fertil-izers.Otheryears, insectpopula-tions rise, leading grasshoppersto damage the crop.“It’sgonnabeonayear-to-year

basis,” she said, adding that “thebiggest challenge is producing aquality product that has nutri-tive value to meet the needs oflivestock.”

Eagle photo by Jordan OverturfHay Day event brings forage producers, purchasers together.

Hay Day, from Page 3


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NewsProfit levels influencealteringcow-cullingpriorities

South Dakota State UniversityExtension

BROOKINGS, South Dakota— Unprecedented profit levelscreate a market climate that al-ters historic culling recommen-dationsgiventocattleproducers,said Jim Krantz, South DakotaStateUniversityExtensionCow/Calf field specialist.“Management decisions re-

lating to culling stock cows haveincreased dramatically in com-plexity under current marketconditions.TheJanuary1USDAinventoryof all cowsandheiferscalved is the lowest total since1941, indicating some potentialfor continued profitability in thecow/calf sector for severalyearsto come,” Krantz said.

When reviewing the factorsthat influence culling decisions,

Krantz said about 80 percent ofcows are culled because theyare open, have age or teeth con-cerns, or simply unproductive.The remaining 20 percent leavethe herd because they producedsmall calves, had dispositionproblems, were injured or hadudder problems and, in somecases, eye concerns.An alarming statistic from

the 2007-2008 National AnimalHealth Monitoring System sur-vey revealed that almost 32 per-cent of cull cows originate fromthe 5- to 9-year-old age group.“That timeframecorresponds towhat shouldbe themost produc-tiveyearsof thecow’s life cycle,”Krantz said.Culling decisions are part of

the reality of a cow/calf opera-tion and account for about 15 to20 percent of the income of that

operation. “Traditionally, cull-ing priorities have not changedmuch over the years. However,there may be little in the wayof ‘traditional’ in today’s cattleindustry. Unimaginable profitlevels and the potential for themtocontinue,makesitessential forcattlemen to re-think their cull-ing approach. Those decisionsneed to focusoneconomics rath-er than tradition,” Krantz said.

Second opinionCattlemen often look to South

Dakota State University or SD-SU Extension Beef specialistsfor guidance as they plan theirculling priorities for the year,explained Krantz.“Often, conditions out of their

control, suchasdroughtand lowprices dictate that they increasetheir culling rates (national av-

erage range is 15-20 percent)beyond normal levels and thatrequires some serious decision-makingconsiderations.Request-ing a second opinion just makessense,” he said.Those opinions for cull-rank-

ings are based on the most cur-rent production and marketinginformationavailableandKrantzsaid,unfortunately theyaregen-eralized for the entire industry,not individual operations. “Con-sistently, open cows rank firston that list as well they should.Ignoring that recommendationdefies economics as that individ-ual would need the profits frommorethanoneof hersubsequentcalves to pay the feed bill for hernon-contributing year,” he said.

Culling priorities differ afterthe open status but those withliabilities such as teeth, eye or

feetandlegconcernsarethenextbest candidates, Krantz said.“Some individuals recommendthat late-calving and older cowsmove ahead of those with physi-cal limitations,” he said.“Dispositionranksaboveboth

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ment, the rank-order may de-serve some review and furtherconsideration, Krantz said.“It would seem that the lead-

factor, open cows, remains un-changed. Even under current

See CULL, Page 16


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257

News

Lousy little bugsManaging liceonbeef cattle

By RoBeRt FeaRsSpecial to The Post

Licemay be tiny, but they causegreat harm to beef cattle. Asingle cow can havemorethan amillion lice.“Lice are an important pest

because they cause anemia, lowermilkproduction and inhibit feed efficiencyandweight gain,” said Sonja Swiger dur-ing the 2013 Texas A&MAgriLife Exten-sion Service Beef Cattle Short Course.“Lice also lower the animal’s resis-

tance and increase secondary diseasesandmortality.“Symptoms include lameness, derma-

titis, hair loss, allergic responses andskin crusting or scabbing.”Livestock entomologists atMissis-

sippi State University said that we oftenfail to recognize a lice problem becausethey are a cool weather pest andmostof us forget about insects when coolweather arrives. A lice problem starts inthe fall, builds through the cold winterand peaks in late winter or early spring.Even though lice are generally a fall andwinter problem it is not too early to startdeveloping amonitoring schedule anda treatment program in the event it isnecessary.“Crowding or bunching cattle during

the cool months of the year providesopportunities for lice tomove from ani-mal to animal,” said Lee Townsend ofthe University of Kentucky College ofAgriculture Entfact-512. “Reduced lightintensity appears to play a significantrole in louse numbers on animals; butnutrition, general health, immune sys-tem response, and weather are impor-tant factors.”Texas cattle are subject to attack by

one species of biting louse and four spe-

cies of sucking lice. Swiger said, “Thecattle biting louse (Bovicola bovis) feedson hair and skin cells. It prefers the topline of the animal’s back, especially thewithers. The louse can spread to otherparts in heavy infestations.”

The four species of lice that suckblood from cattle:• Shortnosed cattle louse (Haemato-

pinus eurysternus) is more common onmature cattle. It is found primarily onthe top of the neck, dewlap and brisket.

• Longnosed cattle louse (Linogna-thus vituli) occurs in greater numberson calves thanmature cattle. It can befound all over the body but prefers the

Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo by Robert BurnsCrowding or bunching cattle during the cool months of the year provides opportunities for lice to move from animal to animal.

See LICE, Page 12


NewsU.S. beef industry pushesfor strong exportmarkets

Special to The Post

The United States beef indus-try supports a strong exportmarket. National Cattlemen’sBeef Association President andVictoria cattleman Bob McCantestified before of the U.S. HouseWaysandMeansCommitteeJune11, expressing the benefits of ex-panding agricultural trade andeliminating barriers to U.S. ex-ports.McCan is also a past presi-dentof theTexasandSouthwest-ern Cattle Raisers Association.

“The elimination of tariff andnon-tariff trade barriers is a toppriority for theU.S.beef industry,and I strongly encourage you toworkwith theAdministration tocraft current and future tradeagreements based on free mar-ket, science-based principles,”McCan said.Beef demand continues to in-

crease around theworld. In 2013,foreignconsumerspurchased1.17millionmetric tonsof U.S.beef atatotalof $6.1billion.AccordingtoCattleFax, a global leader inbeefindustry research, analysis andinformation, exports accountedfor $307 per head of fed cattle in2013.“With96percentof theworld’s

consumers living outside of theU.S., access to foreign marketsis vital for the future success ofU.S. beef producers and ruralAmerica,”McCansaid. “For [Na-tional Cattlemen’s Beef Associa-tion], theeliminationof tariffandnon-tariff trade barriers is a toppriority for theU.S.beef industry.

If there is one industry that haswitnessed both the benefits andtragedies of U.S. trade policy it isthe U.S. beef industry.”Free-tradeagreementshaveled

to increasedprofitability for pro-ducers and the National Cattle-men’sBeef Associationsupportsscience-basedandmarket-driventrade opportunities.

In 1993, U.S. beef exports toMexico were valued at $116 mil-lion.Asaresultof theNorthAmeri-

canFreeTradeAgreement,Mex-icoeliminated its15percent tariffonlivecattleslaughter, the20per-cent tariffonchilledbeef and the25 percent tariff on frozen beef.In 2013, Mexico is now our thirdlargest export market, valued atnearly $1 billion.TheTrans-PacificPartnership

isanewagreement that includes:Australia, Brunei Darussalam,Canada, Chile, Japan, Malay-sia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S.National Cattlemen’s Beef Asso-ciation believes partnership hasthepotential toopenanumberofexport opportunities for the U.S.beef industry, but is currentlylimited by Japan.“Japan’s unwillingness to

abide by the principles of freetrade threatens the entire pro-cess,” saidMcCan.

“We encourage [theU.S. TradeRepresentative] to remain vigi-lant and to continue to push theJapanese toward tariff elimina-tion on beef.”


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Newsshoulders, back, neck and dew-lap.• Little blue cattle louse (Sole-

noptes capillatus) is the small-est of the lice and gets its namefrom its color at maturity. It isa common species on cattle andclusters on the face. These licealso infest the top of the neck,the dewlap and brisket. Duringheavy infestations, they can befound from the horns tothe tail.• Cattle tail

louse (Haemato-pinus quadriper-tusus) numberspeak duringthe summer.Adults typical-ly are confinedto the tail region.Nymphs arefound on the face, neck,vulva and anus.

Townsend described liceas small, flat-bodied insectswith legs modified for graspinghairs. They cannot survive offof the animal for more thana few days. Sucking lice, withtheir narrow, pointed heads,are blood feeders. Biting licefeed by scraping material fromthe skin and base of the hairs.

Eggs (nits) of both types oflice are glued singly to hairsand hatch in about two weeks.Nymphs (immature stages)resemble the adults, but aresmaller. They mature in aboutthree weeks. Adults live two tothree weeks and females lay

about one egg per day.“Heavily infested animals

can be diagnosed easily,”Townsend reported. “The mostobvious signs are rubbing andclumps of hair falling out.There can be raw spots fromconstant attempts to groom orscratch areas where lice areabundant.

“Cattle, heavily infested withthe shortnosed louse have a‘greasy’ appearance, due tocrushed lice and their feces as

well as blood and serumfrom wounds. Feeding

by biting lice pro-duces a skin reac-

tion in whichthe hair

becomesloose.

“Eggsof thebitinglouseare laidon fine

hairs andthe coattakes ona matted

appearance. While other fac-tors can cause restlessness andscratching, the presence of licecan easily be confirmed andeliminated relatively quickly,”Townsend said.

In severe infestations, suck-ing lice are packed densely,creating characteristic quarter-sized black or blue-brownspots. They are less likely tomove or be disturbed by skinsearches. Biting lice apparently

do not like to be crowded, sothey usually are not found intightly packed clusters. Theyare active and will move readilyif disturbed.

MonitoringMonitor louse populations by

identifying the species presentand record the numbers persquare inch on each infestedsite. Mixed species infestationson animals are common. Meannumbers per square inch canbe categorized as:• Less than 5 – very slight.• 5 t0 10 - slight.• 10 to 20 – moderate.• 20 to 50 – severe.• More than 50 – very severe.Lice usually are suppressed

in herds that are treated rou-tinely for horn flies, face flies orticks. Entire animals sprayedto runoff can provide excellentcontrol of active lice, but nits

will not be killed. Lice popula-tions can continue to thrive iffollow-up sprays are not madeat proper intervals. Ear tags orother self-application devicesdo not provide the coverage ofsprays and may be less effec-tive.

A residual louse populationmay survive in protected areason some animals. It is prudentto inspect animals for lice in the

fall and treat them if necessary.

Control methodsDuring her presentation,

Swiger listed the following licecontrol methods:• Spot treatments• Quarantine of infested indi-

viduals• Dust

Short-nosed cattle louse.

Lice, from Page 10

See CONTROL, Page 13


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• Powders• Sprays• Dips• Ear tags• Boluses• Pour-ons• Lotions• InjectablesAfter selection of the control

method, contact your countyagricultural extension agent,a knowledgeable personwiththe local farm and ranch retailoutlet or your veterinarian forrecommendations onwhichproduct to use for treatment.“Systemic pour-ons, inject-

ables and oral products areeffective and popular treat-ments,” Swiger said.“Do not use systemic prod-

ucts on grub-infested animalsin winter, because reactions can

be lethal.“ Heavily infested cattle are a

major source of re-infestationfor a herd. Cull these animalsto protect the rest of the herd,”Swiger said.“Coverage on the animal

may not be thoroughwith low-volume treatments but shouldbe sufficient to knock downheavy infestations and greatlyreduce stress on the animals,”Townsend said..“Residual populations of lice

may remain on animals forsome time after treatment. Livelittle blue cattle lice around theeyesmay survive, as well as afew longnosed cattle lice on thebrisket, back legs, hock joints,especially if insecticidal eartags are used for louse control.”Regardless of the product

selected for lice control, alwaysread and follow label directions.

Control, from Page 12

Earlypreventionshowspromise for jointpain inhorsesBy Blair Fannin

Texas A&MAgriLife ExtensionService

Aseriesof studiesbyresearch-ers in the department of animalscienceatTexasA&MUniversitysuggest prevention is the bestsolution for arthritis in youngquarter horses.Josie Coverdale, associate

professor in equine science, andJessica Lucia, a former gradu-ate studentunderCoverdaleandnowa professor at SamHoustonState University, found use ofanti-inflammatory aids mixedwith daily rations can help de-crease joint inflammation inyoung horses.“Arthritis is one of the most

common reasonswe retire hors-es, and this studyshows thatpre-vention of joint damage in earlytrainingmaybepossible throughdiet,” Coverdale said.“It’s pretty clear the damage

comes during early training andthatdamageoftenleadstoarthri-tis later in life. A lot of pharma-ceuticals are given to treat pain,

but few actually help repairthe cartilage. We went with thepremise that prevention is thebestapproachrather thantryingto treat an existing condition.”Coverdale said they used the

horse production herd at TexasA&M to develop the model andtest several diet additives. Luciareadthroughnumerous journalsand a study that used LPS (lipo-polysaccharide) injected into thejoint for induction of localizedinflammation in horses.“We came across LPS, which

hasbeenusedinolderhorses,butnot younger horses,” she said.“LPS is the inflammatory partof E. coli, which can be injectedusing a sterile solution.“The beauty of thatmethod is

you inject it in theknee and in 24hoursyougetprettyquickswell-ing that is associated with carti-lage turnover and related pain.”This allowed researchers to

study the inflammation andbreakdown of cartilage overtime andmimic the progression

of inflammation and cartilagechanges associated with intenseexercise.“This initial model study

showedus the pattern of inflam-mation and isolated appropriatemarkers to measure cartilagebreakdown using joint fluid re-moved from the knee at varioustime points,” Coverdale said.Once the LPS model was es-

tablished predictably to causejoint inflammation, Coverdalesaid, different dietary strategieswere used to try to decrease theamount of inflammation, whichincluded anti-inflammatory di-etary supplements such as glu-cosamine — commonly used byhumann runners to aid in build-ing back damaged cartilage.Coverdale said previous data

with glucosamine supplementa-tion was “hit or miss with adult

horses,” but they wanted tosee for themselves and test thetheory that prevention in younghorses was easier than treatingarthritis in the adult.“We found that it tended to in-

crease new cartilage productionand decrease the breakdown ofexisting cartilage, which wasgood,” she said.Thirty milligrams of glucos-

amine per kilogram of bodyweight was given to the studyhorses, Coverdale said.“We certainly got a positive

response, which was what wewanted,” she said.Another component of Cover-

dale’s research has been study-ing conjugated linoleic acid, orCLA, which “is fairly similar toglucosamine in that there aredocumented anti-inflammatoryeffects, whichmay be used to re-

mediate and repair cartilage injoints.”“Horses receiving supplemen-

talCLAtended toexhibitgreaterrepair of their cartilage wheninjected with LPS rather thanbreak it down,” she said. “Twopercent of the diet was given intheCLAandthatcanbeeconom-ically feasible forhorseowners.”The research group also has

evaluated horses at varyingages to determine the responseto LPS based on age. They con-cluded that young horses weremore likely to synthesize newcartilage in response to inflam-mation while older horses weremore likely to experience carti-lage degradation or damage.“This further illustrates that

dietary intervention providedJOSIE COVERDALE

See JOINTS, Page 14


Questions AboutCattle Health?

Ask the Vet!

P.O. Box 3000 Bryan, TX 77805or [email protected]

Submit your questions to:

Steve Wikse - Retired DVM Large Animal Clinical SciencesCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University

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to young horses in training toprevent joint damage may yieldthebest results,”Coverdale said.“Withall fourof theseprojects, itconfirmed that intervening dur-ing times of early growth andtraining with some of these di-etary additives is worth it.

“Waiting on down the line asthe horse ages is probably toolate. Most people are waiting un-til they see symptoms in theseadult horses and by then it is toolate.

“It’s more cost effective andbeneficial to do this early. Usingitasapreventionmethodismuchbetter.”

Coverdale also praised thecollaborative efforts of other re-searchersatTexasA&M, includ-ing Tom Welsh, a professor ofphysiology in the department ofanimal science, and Texas A&MCollege of Veterinary MedicineresearchersCarolineArnoldandRobin Dabareiner.

“These types of projects trulyrepresent what being an Aggieis all about — the function of a

group with varied interests todevelop research projects thatanswer real world questions andprovide high-quality trainingof students. Everyone broughtsomething to the table and con-tributed their expertise to thegroup.”

Coverdale said the researchprojects also helped Lucia wingraduate student competitionsat two different Equine ScienceSociety meetings.

“The initial project to developtheLPSmodelwas fundedby theH. Patricia Link Quasi-Endow-

ment funds in the departmentof animal science,” she said.

“This funding was pivotal infurthering the research effortsand helped generate interestfromother funding sources suchas Cargill Animal Nutrition andtheAmericanQuarterHorseAs-sociation.

“The whole premise of theLink funds is to help research-ers develop a model or providepreliminaryresearchdatatosup-port further fundingefforts.Thiswasaperfectexampleof howthiscan work.”

Joints, from Page 13

Brazos ValleyResults of the Brazos Valley Live-

stock Market’s June 10 sale:Head: 686Steers: 200-300 lbs., $270-

$355; 300-400 lbs., $265-$295;400-500 lbs.,$215-$270; 500-600lbs., $195-$232.50; 600-700 lbs.,$195-$216; 700-800 lbs., $175-$190.Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $239-

$300; 300-400 lbs., $214-$270;400-500 lbs., $199-$240; 500-600 lbs., $195-$213; 600-700lbs., $165-$186; 700-800 lbs.,$168-$175.Slaughter bulls: $106-$128.50.Slaughter cows: $85-$110.Bred cows: $1,500-$1,850.Cow/calf pairs: $1,250-$2,050.

BuffaloResults of the Buffalo Livestock

Market’s June 6 sale:

Head: 1,213Steers: 150-200 lbs., $255-

$340; 200-300 lbs., $230-$320;300-400 lbs., $225-$290; 400-500 lbs.,$200-$252; 500-600 lbs.,$185-$235; 600-700 lbs., $170-$207; 700-800 lbs., $160-$190.Heifers: 150-200 lbs., $225-

$330; 200-300 lbs., $200-$275;300-400 lbs., $185-$255; 400-500 lbs.,$165-$235; 500-600 lbs.,$155-$220; 600-700 lbs., $150-$195; 700-800 lbs., $140-$175.Slaughter bulls: $100-$140.Slaughter cows: $65-$110.Bred cows: $975-$1,700.Cow/calf pairs: $1,100-$2,175.

CaldwellResults of the Caldwell Livestock

Commission’s June 11 sale:Head: 443Steers: 200-300 lbs., $300-

$355; 300-400 lbs., $250-$315;400-500 lbs., $230-$275; 500-

600 lbs., $210-$240; 600-700lbs., $190-$215; 700-800 lbs.,$180-$195.Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $270-

$300; 300-400 lbs., $240-$295;400-500 lbs., $220-$260; 500-600 lbs., $200-$235; 600-700lbs., $185-$198; 700-800 lbs.,$165-$185.Slaughter bulls: $114-$135.Slaughter cows: $114-$135.

GroesbeckResults of the Groesbeck Auction

and Livestock Exchange’s June 12sale:Head: 536Steers: 300-400 lbs., $240-

$315; 400-500 lbs., $225-$260;500-600 lbs.,$190-$220; 600-700lbs., $180-$210.Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $190-

$260; 400-500 lbs., $180-$235;500-600 lbs.,$170-$220; 600-700lbs., $170-$200.

Slaughter bulls: $118-$131.Slaughter cows: $76-$112.Stocker cows: $1,150-$2,350.Cow/calf pairs: $1,500-$2,400.

MilanoResults of the Milano Livestock

Exchange’s June 10 sale:Steers: 300-400 lbs., $225-

$273; 400-500 lbs., $200-$233;500-600 lbs.,$190-$219; 600-700lbs., $155-$201.Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $223-

$239; 400-500 lbs., $177-$225;500-600 lbs.,$179-$211; 600-700lbs., $151-$191.Slaughter bulls: $98-$125.Slaughter cows: $81-$105.Stocker cows: $1,050-$1,475.Cow/calf pairs: $1,550-$1,750.

NavasotaResults of theNavasota Livestock

Auction Co.’s June 7 sale:Head: 1,244Steers: 150-300 lbs., $175-

$350; 300-400 lbs., $160-$290;400-500 lbs.,$150-$255; 500-600lbs., $140-$215.50; 600-700 lbs.,$125-$197.50.Heifers: 150-300 lbs., $150-

$285; 300-400 lbs., $150-$260;400-500 lbs., $140-$242.50; 500-600 lbs., $135-$212.50; 600-700lbs., $125-$192.Slaughter bulls: $90-$127.Slaughter cows: $80-$112.Stocker cows: $1,000-$1,825.Cow/calf pairs: $1,450-$1,875.

— Special to The Post

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NEWS YOUCAN USERIGHTIN YOURMAILBOX

NewsBrowningofcedar trees inCentralTexas likelydue tobudworm

By Paul SchattenBergTexas A&MAgriLife Extension Service

AUSTIN — If you live in South Cen-tral Texas and have noticed cedar treesturning brown, it is likely due to a newinfestation of juniper budworms, said aTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Serviceentomologist.

Therehasbeenrecentoutbreakof juni-per budworms in Centrral Texas

“Many people in this area have noticedtheirAshe juniper trees, commonlycalledcedar, turningbrown,”saidWizzieBrown,AgriLife Extension integrated pest man-agement program specialist for TravisCounty. “This most likely is being causedby juniper budworms. There was an out-break of these insects in this area in 2002,and we have had another outbreak thisyear.”

The caterpillars feed on Ashe juniperfoliage and build silken tubes on thebranches of the trees, she said. The tubesare typically on the tips of branches and

are where the insect pupates.Brown said while there had been no

long-term damage to the trees resultingfrom the earlier outbreak, it is unknownwhat may happen to the trees due to thecurrent outbreak.

“Sofar, Ihavehadreports fromWimber-ley,Burnet,Austin,BeeCave,Blanco,OakHill,DrippingSpringsandthereabouts, sothis outbreak seems to be mostly situatedin the Hill Country area west of I-35,” shesaid.

Brown said Juniper budworms are ayellowish-green to green caterpillar witha brown head capsule.

Adult moths are a mottled brown colorand blend well with dead Ashe juniperfoliage.

“Adultsrestonthehostplantduringtheday and do not move unless disturbed,”shesaid. “Since theadultsaremoths, theycan fly to a new area if need be, but tendto remain around the same tree unless

Photo courtesy of Steve Darnell/Bee CaveA recent outbreak of juniper budworms has been causing cedar trees in South Central Texas to turn brown.See JUNIPER, Page 16


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something disturbs or threatensthem.”Droughtalsomayplayintoany

additional treedamage fromthisoutbreak, she noted.“The 2002 outbreak did not

have lasting effects to the trees,but I’ve also seen samples thathave had spider mites on them,which often pop up when condi-tions are dry.“Usually when we have out-

breaks of any insect it’s becausecertain environmental condi-tions favor the enlargement ofthat population. But if that maybe thecasewith this juniperbud-wormproliferation, I’munsure.”Brownsaid if a pesticide treat-

ment is desired, look for activeingredients such as Bacillusthuringiensis variety kurstaki,azadirachtin, also known as

neem, or spinosad. It also is pos-sible to removed infestedbranchtips by hand.Shesuggestedplacing infested

branches or tips into a bag anddisposing of them instead ofdropping them onto the groundwhere larvae and adults maycontinue to growand reproduce.“Products will work best on

smaller caterpillars,” she said,adding that when using pesti-cides it is important to read andfollow all label instructions.“In rural areas, it may not be

feasible to manage the juniperbudworms, especially on largeparcels of land.“Individual landowners may

choose to treat prized trees ontheir property.”For more information or

help with identification, con-tact Brown at 512-854-96oo [email protected].

Juniper, from Page 15

inventory levels and industryoptimism, feed costs alonemakeitdifficult to justifynotcullinganopen $1,200 cow,” he said. “How-ever, depending on how late the“late-calver” is, you might wantto give her another chance.”Reproductive technologies

such as controlled internal drugrelease methods, along with nu-tritional adjustments, make itpossible tomove this categoryofcowsmore in linewith therestof

thecowherd.Therecouldalsobean opportunity to market thesecows to operations that have alater calving season, especiallywhen bred cows are in demand.With the increasingly limited

grazing acres available, thosephysically-challenged and oldercowsmaybegreatcandidates forpartial or total drylot manage-ment programs.See more at igrow.org/news/

influences-altering-cow-culling-priorities/#sthash.CFNTi6VE.dpuf

Cull, from Page 8


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News

Climate Prediction Center haselevated the prediction of an ElNiño event to a 65 percent prob-ability, which makes for a favor-able forecast for Texas wheatproduction in 2015.

“It looks like near-term pros-pects are very good for Texaswheat, so producers here and inother parts of the state shouldprobably be putting a pencil toit and figuring out what kind ofmoney they might bank fromplanting wheat,” he said.

Wheat breeding efforts by theTexasA&MWheat ImprovementTeam, comprised of membersfromAgriLifeResearch,AgriLifeExtensionandtheTexasFounda-tion Seed Service, are ongoing inthe development improved vari-eties.

To determine which wheatvarieties will fare best in differ-ent parts of the state, AgriLifeResearch and AgriLife Exten-sion faculty and staff have been

conducting the multi-year Uni-formWheatVarietyTrial.Wheatmarketclasseswithinthesetrialsinclude hard red winter wheat,soft red winter wheat and hardred spring wheat.

“Typically, there are approxi-mately 30 wheat variety trialsconducted across the state eachyear, and most of these reflectdata from multiple years of tri-als,” said Clark Neely, AgriLifeExtension small grains and oil-seedspecialist inCollegeStation.

“The results of these uniformtrialsprovideunbiasedyielddataand disease and insect ratingsfor wheat producers across thestate.”

Using this information, Texaswheat producers can make aneducated decision concerningthe most appropriate variet-ies for their geographic region,Neely said.

To see more about wheat vari-ety testing throughout the state,go to varietytesting.tamu.edu/wheat.

Texas A&MAgriLife Research photo by Kay LedbetterWhile wheat has been more traditionally grown in the Panhandle, Rolling Plains andSouthern High Plains, more and more is also being grown in the Blacklands, SouthCentral Texas and other areas.

Statewide, from Page 6


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