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Soils and Crops
As I write this, it's cold outside – however spring will be on us before you know it. Start shopping around now for fertilizer prices and see if it is possible to "lock-in" your price. Prices may continue to go down, but this may provide a little insurance if the prices start rising again.
David Annis, 580.224.6458, dcannis@noble.org
Ag Economics
Each taxpayer is required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to send a Form 1099 by the end of January 2009; to any individual they paid $600 or more to in 2008 for rent or services rendered. Taxpayers do not have to send Corporations any Form 1099's. In the case of services rendered, be careful to properly differentiate between contract labor and employees. Employees should receive a W-2 and employers should pay one-half of the FICA requirements. The IRS is taking a much closer look at how business owners are classifying workers so be sure you classify them correctly.
Dan Childs, 580.224.6453, mdchilds@noble.org
Wildlife and Fisheries
January is a good time to make and install eastern bluebird boxes. The breeding season for bluebirds in northern Texas starts in March and continues through the summer, so it's a good idea to get them ready now. You can make one bluebird box out of one 1" x 6" x 52" piece of lumber. You can find directions for making and proper placement of a bluebird box at www.noble.org/Ag/Wildlife/EBluebirdNestBoxes/. The nest box should be about 4 feet off the ground on a post with a predator guard on it to increase the success of bluebird nests. Also, other desirable songbird species will use the bluebird box if it is not already occupied.
William Moseley, 580.224.6455, wamoseley@noble.org
Pasture and Range
Review Available Stockpile Forages – For those of you lucky enough to have accumulated stockpile forages for fall grazing, now may be the time to move from stockpile forage to hay feeding. There are two things you will need to check for: quantity of standing forage and the quality remaining. At this point you don't want to limit animal intake or quality especially for spring calving cows. Walk through standing forage to see what cattle are grazing. If leaves are removed and there is little there but stem both quantity and quality of forage available is an issue. If you have ample leaves and at least six inches of available forage, check for deterioration of the vegetative material. If there is a lot of deterioration then cattle will refuse consumption. Prior to switching over to hay feeding, have all hays tested to make sure that they meet the animal's nutritional requirements.
James Rogers, 580.224.6466, jkrogers@noble.org
Horticulture
Fruit and nut tree planting time is right around the corner. Mark the location of each tree well in advance of receiving the trees. This will allow you to change the order if needed. When digging the hole to plant the tree in, be sure to scar-up the sidewalls of the hole to increase drainage out of the hole. Always plant the trees at the same depth that they were planted at the nursery. Water trees after planting and continue to water weekly or bi-weekly to ensure that the root system does not dry out.
Charles Rohla, 580.224.6451, ctrohla@noble.org
Livestock
Calf scours can be caused by several different bacteria and viruses. Cold, wet and muddy conditions during calving can contribute to an outbreak. Prevention should be the primary focus.
- Develop an overall herd health program with your veterinarian. The cow's immune status directly affects the quality of the colostrum she passes on to her calf at birth. If scours is a recurring problem in your herd, your veterinarian may recommend vaccination of the dams against the most common scour-causing organisms prior to the calving season. This will need to be done well before calving begins, so plan ahead.
- Good nutrition and adequate body condition help maintain the dam's immunity level, which in turn maximizes colostrum quality. Shorting a pregnant cow nutritionally pre-calving increases the chances her calf will get sick or die. Cows should be in a body condition score of 5.5-6.0 and on a positive plane of nutrition at calving.
- Plan to calve in the driest, most protected area possible, to reduce stress of both the dam and her newborn. Calves can stand a lot of cold if they are dry and out of the wind. More space is preferable to less, mainly because the disease is so highly contagious. The smaller the calving area, the easier it is to spread. Move hay and supplement feeding locations to prevent a build up of mud and disease.
- Consider moving the new pairs or those that haven't calved yet to a different pasture periodically during calving.
Pre-plan a course of action with your veterinarian, and implement it immediately when the first case occurs.
Clay Wright, 580.224.6455, jcwright@noble.org
Young, Beginning, and Small
I always think about January as time to catch up on what is happening in agriculture. Pull out those agricultural magazines that I didn't have time to read this summer and see what is new and exciting. Take time to explore the Noble Foundation Web site and use a search engine to look at all the new fact sheets and publications from your land grant universities! Look for educational opportunities sponsored by the Noble Foundation or your AgriLife Extension Service (your county extension agents).
David Annis, dcannis@noble.org, 580-224-6458
Trying to log into AgExchange? You will need your cooperator code which can be found above your name on the address block of your Ag News and Views publication or by calling me, Sarah Alkire, 580-224-6450.
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Drilling Mud - Application to Pasture and Farmland
by David Annis
13 ratings: 
Lately it seems that those of us in the soils and crops discipline have received more questions about land application of drilling mud or "mud farming."
Cow-Calf Economics Have Changed
by Dan Childs
17 ratings:
People who study change and its causes have observed that change is often caused by a disturbance. Production agriculture is in a period of rapid change, with an economic environment that many have never experienced. If the agricultural industry is changing, what has been the disturbance?
Want to Learn How to Safely Burn?
by Will Moseley
5 ratings:
Prescribed burning is one of the most valuable and cost effective tools available to manage our rangelands. Fire was an integral part of the ecosystem in southern Oklahoma and northern Texas throughout history, and our plant communities are adapted to fire.
Take Care of Your Hay, It Has Value
by James Rogers
6 ratings: 
Not long ago, cheap commodity prices made it easy to look at hay as just filler. Nutritional deficiencies could be inexpensively corrected by feeding a supplement. Those days are gone, and quality hay has real value when compared to a commodity feed, but the value is in nutritional quality.
Small Acreage, Major Planning
by Charles Rohla
5 ratings:
Several questions must be addressed before a landowner can make the decision of what enterprise will be most profitable and best suited for their land. Both feasibility and owner preference must be determined before a plan can start to take shape.
Bareroot Planting Basics
by Charles Rohla
5 ratings:
When planting pecan orchards, producers have two options for orchard establishment: container trees or bareroot trees. A common trend is the use of bareroot trees when developing orchards.
Creep Feeding Before Weaning
by Clay Wright
5 ratings:
Historically, feeder calf prices decline as weight increases. That relationship of price to weight still exists, but it has narrowed considerably due to the high price of corn and feedlot cost of gain. Feedlots and the market are telling us to make calves heavier at home before selling them as feeder calves.
Adding value to the calf crop
by Clay Wright
7 ratings:
To many producers, adding value means implementing management practices to maximize the price received for their calves on sale day. Some practices simply avoid discounts: dehorning; castration; breeding-in adequate frame and muscling; and managing away from extremes of body condition at sale time.
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