Dr. Shane McLellanCounty Extension Agent-AgMcLennan CountyIssue 21

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FROM THE TOP RAIL 420 North 6th St. Waco, TX 76701 254-757-5180 June 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS i Stocker Cattle Program, West TX i Beef Cattle Management Program, Groesbeck i Beef Cattle Shortcourse i Sugarcane Aphid Update i 7th Annual CenTex Beef Cattle Symposium i Summer Beef Cattle Protein i Fire Ants i Calendar i On a Personal Note......

Stocker Cattle Program, West

On July 8th, the West Auction will be the host of aStocker Cattle Program. Topics and speakers willinclude: Stocker Cattle Health by Dr. John Davidsonof Boehringer-Ingelheim; Stocker Calf Value,Premium and Discounts by Brian Uptmore-WestAuction; Challenges for Auction Barns to RemainComplaint by Jesse Carver, Livestock MarketingAssociation; and Stocker Cattle Feed and MineralSupplementation with Kyle Latham, Mid ContinentLivestock Supplements.

Registration will begin at 8 am. 2 general CEUs willbe offered toward TDA pesticide applicator license. Lone Star Ag Credit will provide breakfast. Lunchwill be sponsored by Mid Continent LivestockSupplements and Boehringer-Ingelheim.

There will be a $10 registration feed payable at thedoor. All persons interested in attending shouldRSVP by calling the McLennan County Extensionoffice at (254) 757-5180 prior to July 2nd.

This program is brought to you by county Extensionoffices in McLennan, Hill, Bell, Coryell, Bosque andLimestone counties.

Beef Cattle Management Program

Groesbeck

On July 7th, there will be a beef cattle program atthe Groesbeck Sale Barn. Registration will begin at7:45 am. Program topics include: FSA update fromMatt Wilson; Pregnancy Testing and ImprovingHerd Reproduction by Dr. Jason Cleere; HayKnowledge from Dr. Larry Redmon; Cattle MarketUpdate with Dr. Jason Johnson; and LegislationAffecting Landowners by Jason Skaggs, TSCRA.

2 CEU credits will be offered. There is a $10.00registration fee. Please RSVP by July 2nd to (254)757-5180. Breakfast is provided by Lone Star AgCredit, and lunch is courtesy of Purina AnimalNutrition.

Beef Cattle Shortcourse

The 2015 Texas A&M Beef Cattle Shortcourse willbe held at College Station August 3-5. TheCattleman’s College features over 20 concurrentsessions. Topics include: Animal Health, Nutrition,Reproduction, Breeding, Genetics, Selection,Research, Marketing and Handling. Managementsessions will cover business, forage, range andpurebred cattle. There are educational sessions forthe most experienced cattlemen to the newlandowners, something for everyone. You canregister online or with the attached registrationform.

PLEASE REMEMBER!!

When you sign in at a program...youHAVE to use your TDA number. They nolonger accept Socials or Driver’s license

SugarCane Aphid Update

I have been scouting fields and keeping in touch with“private” industry scouts on sugarcane aphids in grainsorghum and in sorghum/sudan forages. Our weatherhas kept sugarcane aphid numbers well belowthreshhold until the week of June 15-19. At that time,SCA populations were nearing threshhold. Fields thatwere scouted today on June 22 were at or above theupdate economic threshhold level of 50-125 aphids ormore per leaf. There are producers in McLennanCounty applying insecticide for SCA control. As areminder, Sivanto (Bayer Crop Science) has a Section2 (ee) label and Transform WG (Dow Agro Sciences)is labeled under a Section 18 Emergency Exemptionfor control of SCA in sorghum.

Producers are recommended to scout fields at leastonce a week and as population near 50-125 aphids perleaf; begin scouting twice-a-week to monitor if aphiddensity exceeds the economic threshhold. Uptodateinformation is available at:http://txscan.blogspot.com

7th Annual CenTex Beef Cattle Symposium

The 2015 edition of the Multi-County CenTexSymposium will be held September 24th at the FamousThigpen Livestock Company, Falls County. Extensionoffices of Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hamilton, Hill,Limestone and McLennan counties host this eventwith the location rotating from county to county eachyear. There will be a variety of Ag Support Industryreps onsite with vendor booths. If you are interested inpurchasing booth space, please contact the McLennanCounty Extension office.

Ways to Contact Us:

‚ Phone: 254-757-5180‚ Fax: 254-757-5097Website: http://mclennan.agrilife.orgEmail: mclennan-tx@tamu.edu

TO BE ON THE AG ALERT LIST, PLEASEEMAIL NEVA @.....ncdobbins@ag.tamu.edu

Summer Beef Cattle ProteinSupplementation

by Ted McCollum, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist

Stocker cattle producers and cow/calf operatorsmight consider protein supplementation as amanagement tool from July to marketing in latesummer and early fall with abundant rainfallresulting in good to excellent forage production. With these conditions, the greater tonnage ofproduction will be expected to have a lower proteinconcentration and lower energy value. A low rateof protein supplementation from now untilmarketing in September/October can improvemarket weights of stocker cattle and weaningcalves.

For more information visit:http://mclennan.agrilife.org on the Ag page, clickon Stocker Cattle.

Fire Ants

With the extra moisture we have received, Fire antshave thrived. Fire ant mounds are popping up in theyard, in protected areas, you name it. There is notone secret ingredient for fire ant control. It takesmultiple methods to reduce the impact of fire ants. The “Two-Step” method involves broadcasting afire ant bait (go to fireant.tamu.edu and click on“The Latest Broadcast on Fire Ant Control” forrecommended products) twice a year (Spring/Fall) to reduce Fire ant colonies by 80-90%. Step 2 istreating individual mounds. There are many baitson the market. These baits vary on how fast theywork, how long they last, mode of action,application interval, etc. Always read the labelbefore you purchase and apply. I am often askedabout home remedies. Most home remedies do notwork and are harmful to the environment. Remember, an approved product has directions forfire ant control on the label.

Upcoming Events:July 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beef Program in GroesbeckJuly 8 . . . . . . . . . . Stocker Cattle Program in WestAug 3-5 . Beef Cattle Shortchourse at Texas A&MSeptember 24 . . . . . 7th Annual CenTex Beef Cattle

Frank Polansky called the other day and we were talking about Mark Wiethorns’ milo plot. Frankasked if I was able to take off and go home to help my dad plant cotton. I guiltily said that I was not able todo so. I wanted too but I did not have two consecutive days open to drive out to Avoca and spend somequality time with my dad. Its my own fault. I tried to leave some time with nothing scheduled on mycalendar but things come up. I could have told people no when asked to do something but I just havetrouble saying no. I still regret not being able to go home and help dad. I was looking forward to it and I amsure he was too. He was about to finish up yesterday and I should have been there.

As a County Agent we have resources and contacts for almost everything that comes up, if we don’tknow the answer, we know someone who does. All 254 counties in Texas have an Extension agent or agentsthat are available to provide assistance where needed. In McLennan County we have an Agriculture, FamilyConsumer Science, 4-H, Ag and Natural Resources agents as well as a CEP agent from Prairieview A&M. Our duties and responsibilities vary from health to youth development, from new landowners tohorticulture, all the way to agriculture production. The biggest problem all of us agents have is timemanagement. When you work with the public the person in front of you’s question/problem is priorityone. You work on providing them a solution, while you are trying to plan a program that’s coming up, ahomeowner is on hold with a bee problem, and you have a meeting, and your boss wants you to speak tonew employees, weekly crop reports are due, weekly sugarcane aphid scouting reports are due, radioprogram recorder is expecting your update, on and on and each day I am able to work as a County ExtensionAgent is a blessing. I absolutely love my job. No questions about it. You have to prioritize, manage yourtime and try to slip some personal time in their between the phone calls, meetings, validations, etc.

           I have always looked up to people in agriculture. My mom and dad, both of their parents.........everyone in my family has been a farmer or from a farming family. It is in my blood. I believe in youreveryday work. It sounds like a promotional line for a movie but your everyday efforts feed and clothe ourworld. You continue to grow and nurture crops and livestock and I’ll continue to say “yes” and help you asmuch as I can. Except for June 2016, my heart and my soul need to be on a tractor near Avoca Texasplanting cotton. You just can’t put a price on looking down a row and seeing a good stand of cotton that youplanted while you are helping your father. I took advantage of it growing up, and I want that feeling ofworth, of responsibility, of helping my hero again.

___________________________________Dr. Shane McLellanMcLennan County Extension Agent-Ags-mclellan@tamu.edu

Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&MUniversity System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating