Beef Grazing Project Winners Announced- The winners in the 2009 Louisiana 4-H Beef Grazing Project Contest were recently announced at the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association mid-year meeting in Dry Creek, La. The project members from Jeff Davis Parish placed very well.
Nick Bourgeois, of Lacassine, grazed the parish winning pen of heifers. Nick’s heifers gained 2.7 pounds per head per day or 630 pounds per acre while on the project. His pen placed fifth in the state competition. Nick also had the second place pen in parish and sixth in the state contest (2.68 pounds per head per day and 626 pounds per acre). Dylan Benoit, of Welsh, placed third in the parish contest with a pen of heifers that gained 2.3 pounds per head per day. Dylan also had the fourth place pen in parish and Nick rounded out the top five pens of heifers. Club members who grazed project pens gaining over 500 pounds per acre were Cody Verret, Taylor Trahan, Tyler Trahan, Dylan Benoit and Nick Bourgeois (4 pens). Jeff Davis 4-H project members placed four of the top 10 pens in the state competition.
For competition, a pen consists of four heifers grazed on 2.5 acres of ryegrass for 135-150 days. Grass, hay and minerals are the only feed sources utilized. Placings are based on pounds gained, increase in the value of the heifers and cost per pound of gain. A 4-H member may enter as many pens as he or she wishes. All parish entries are weighed-on, weighed-off and recorded at a central location on the same dates. Accurate records on costs must be kept and submitted at the termination of the project.
Jeff Davis 4-H members have been very active in the Beef Grazing Project for the past 17 years. There have been several state winners. Congratulations to Nick, Dylan, Taylor, Cody and Tyler for their outstanding efforts.
The 4-H Beef Grazing Contest is conducted by the LSU AgCenter and sponsored by the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association on the state level. The Jeff Davis Cattlemen’s Association sponsors the parish contest. Jeff Davis winners and all participants will be recognized and awarded at the Jeff Davis Cattlemen’s Annual Banquet in December.
Fall Bedding Plants- may be planted now through early December. These may be transplanted or direct-seeded into the soil. Transplants give the advantages of quick establishment and begin blooming in a short period of time. They are also more expensive to purchase than the seed. Several species such as alyssum, Johnny-jump-up, bluebonnets, calendula, annual phlox, and nasturtium are easy to grow from seed and can be planted directly into the bed with ease and little expense. Some plants do not survive transplant very well. These should be direct-seeded. They include sweet peas, larkspur and the poppies.
Before you plant either by transplanting or direct-seeding, decide on the site and prepare the plant bed thoroughly. Proper soil preparation will make a huge difference in the performance of the bed. Stiff, cloddy soil will not provide a good site for the roots to gain purchase. Like all plants, the foundation of a bedding plant is its roots. Thoroughly pulverize the soil and remove any old roots, sticks, debris or clumps of grass. Make sure that the site is well drained; winter is usually a rainy season. Most cool-season bedding plants require at least six hours of exposure to the sun per day. As a general rule, the more exposure to the sun, the greater the number and size of the blooms. Certain popular cool-season plants can tolerate some shade. These include pansies, viola, forget-me-nots, nicotiana, primrose, cyclamen and alyssum. But even these won’t grow in the dark. Try to provide a site where they will receive a few hours of morning sun.
When growing multiple species in a bed, remember the height factor. Plant low-growing species toward the front of the bed. Low height bedding species include sweet alyssum, lobelia, pansy, viola cyclamen, and petunia. Medium height plants that may be planted toward the middle or back of the bed include dwarf snapdragons, dwarf toadflax, candytuft, calendula, annual phlox, sweet William, ornamental kale and cabbage, and nicotiana. Taller plants for the back of the bed include Iceland, Shirley and peony-flowered poppies, toadflax, standard snapdragons, larkspur delphinium and hollyhock.
The pansies are one of the most popular cool-season bedding plants. They are available in a huge variety of colors and make a quite impressive display of massed color. Pansi[Image: Vegetables]es can tolerate some shade but will also grow well in full sun. There is sometimes a tendency to plant pansies too early in the fall. They don’t like hot weather. Even though every year varies, usually October is too hot for pansies to be comfortable. Best results are most often attained if you can wait to transplant them until November. Spend the time in October doing a good job of preparing the soil in the plant bed.
Vegetables to Plant-There are still time to plant certain vegetables for a winter garden. In late October we can plant cabbage, broccoli transplants, mustard seed, turnip seed, collards, parsley, shallot bulbs and sets, radishes, onions, Swiss chard, garlic and carrots. I hope that we have better weather for the winter gardens than we had for the summer gardens.