The Goldthwaite Eagle (Goldthwaite, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 44, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1958 Page: 20 of 20
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Pig, | TOT CJOLDTHWAITK EAGLE—MULLTH E3TKKPRI31
Ooldthvratto, Tnu, Thureday, May I, 1888
Up^rfani Flood Prevention Dams a Must
For Satisfactory Land 'fre.iuntnr Program
Alt £•'
' HUGH**
r
4 1
r
i
By K. J.
Up-stream flifcd -pre^aSton
dams are tied In with a Soil
Conservation land treatment
program tor atoatooce of satis-
factory performance. Retarda-
tion of flood water behind dams
U .the spectacular part of the
program, whereas- %he treat-
ment »f land above each struc-
ture with a sound soil, water
and plant conservation pro-
gram provldea the greatest oen-
eflU for each dollar cost ac-
cording “to Anson Oden, Chair-
man of the Brown-Mills Soil
*-i—--
MILLS COUNTY AGENT George Reese is pictured here In hi?
office in the courthouse Shown with Mr. Reese, on the wall In the
background, are a few of the many banners, ribbons and award
inning championship pictures of 4-H club projects In Mills ^
County during the past several years. (ASC Photo),
Range Management!
By GEORGE G. REESE
County Agent
Grass is our basic heritage.
It is Texas’ greatest and most
neglected resource. Good forage
plants are essential for econom-
ical livestock production but
many Texas operators with
highly bred animals do not have
top pastures. Kinds of grasses
differ as much as types of cat-
tle, sheep or goats. As In live-
stock, some plants are pure-
breds, others good doers and
some scrubs or culls.
It takes a combination of
well-bred animals on the best
kind oL forage man and nature
will let_grow on a native pas-
ture to net the' me.~t returns.
Livestock depend on native
range vegetation for 75 to 90
per cent of their feed Thus, it
is time that all operators know
what kind of a grass crop they
are growing on their pastures.
ft will require a knowledge of
the plants, growth characteris-
tics and best seasons of grazing
to manage them properly
The basic resources of range-
land are soli, w*ter and gc&d
vegetation. Conservation of soil
and water depends upon keep-
ing a good plant cover. Origin-
ally, the vegetation on our
rangelands was mostly grass,
but today on thousands of acres
there are many plants of low
forage value such as brush and
weeds.
The main -reasons for the de-
terioration , of rangeland In
Texas has been overstocking,
poor distribution of livestock
on the pastures, lack of water
facilities and poor management
plans. These causes have been
made more serious by droutb,
but they point the way to Im-
proved range conditions through
proper management "
. Range Practices: Grasses are
the foundation -of the livestock
Industry. Take half and leave
half of the current year’s for-
age growth is a good rule to re-
member. On a properly grazed
pasture, as long as It has 50
per cent of current growth re-
maining at all times of the year,
It is properly used. Cropland
conservation District Board of tha authorised watershed pro-
rvlsJrT complete water- gttftlfc ltol. but Boll Cohderva-
r:
Dlgtricts hav* mcenjljr
need for »n assured sn-
stfrltedHblUaeJW tectokto totolne for carrying out
• —■ ———- their responsibility of opera-
„„ Involve*. JocaJ
farmers,’ "tanchere and * elvlc
acres should be planned Into
‘the ranching operation to have
summer and temporary .pas-
tures.
It is, essential that livestock
have green grazing during late
winter and early spring. Tem-
porary" pastures are necessary
for deferring native pastures
and relieving the grazing pres-
sures on native grasses during
critical growing periods.
One management practice
that will pay is to salt away
from water, to obtain proper
use on the entire pasture. Live-
stock do not require sMt and
water at the same time. As
much as 8 hours may elapse be-
tween eating salt and taking
water. Salt should be placed
one-half to one mile from wat-
er. Salt boxes should be located
on knolls, benches, openings In
timber or brush and gentle
slopes on underused sites. Gran-
luated salt gives best results.
Minerals and salt should be fed
free choice. Cattle wi^at about
two pounds and^Bp^ and
goats about one-lunRpound of
salt per month.
Balancing the livestock num-
bers with the forage available
is the key to successful manage-
ment 'on any ranch. Stocking
at one-half to three-fourths
the normal stocking capacity Is
advisable. And remember the
time to prepare for the next
drouth is during favorable
years.
people, through local sponsor
lng organizations, must do
much to get reedy for building
flood detention dams, Odea
further states.
Preparing a watershed for
participation In the tfcpertment
of Agriculture's Flood Preven-
tion Program pin points the
necessity fbr local Interest and
leadership. Local people mupt
now want the program and
must take positive action for
constructing flood prevention
participation, Anson Oeden re-
minds. Soil Conservation dis-
tricts represent ''Iboal people
through which the Soil Conser-
vation works In planning and
constructing flood prevention
measures needed In watershed
treatment. ..
Local people, through* their
local sponsoring organization,
a Soli Conservation or other
type of district, must provide
necessary construction and Im-
pounding Casements and rights
of way for all dams, spillways
and stream channel work qf
Improvement The local spon-
soring organization, to which
easements are given, must de-
velop and agree to carry out a
plan for operation and main-
tenance before federal funds
are made .available for building
flood prevention measures. At
least 50 per cent of the drainage
area above each dam should
have a basic Soil Conservation
plan with the SCD and a goodly
amount of all needed measures
must be currently on the land
for assurance of satisfactory
functioning of structural meas-
ures. It Is gjfter these conditions
are met tbst the watershed Is
considered ’(ready for available
federal funds to be budgeted
for construction of flood pre-
vention measures.
The criteria for watershed
readlnefcs has not changed ma-
terially since the beginning of
without flooding. Prolonged stream flow and down iti
tlon Is the objective of flood water retarding dams.
Brown-Mills Soil Survey To
Made And Published For
tlon and maintenance accord-
ing to Oden Up to this date,
qdVs have assumed. legal re-
sponsibility for dqjng the Job
of operation and maintenance
but have had no assured an-
nual income pith which to do
the Job. Outside the authorized
Middle Colorado and Trinity of
Texiaa tfce U u"d*r * Flood water being detained Is released through open,
recently enacted law passed by spllj^ay Release Is based upon capacity pf stream , 1
the 83rd Congress, known as ^JthOut " " * -
The National Watershed Act of
Public Law 588. t A V ■ m!
One of the first steps requir-
ed of local people for participa-
tion under Public Law 568 is to
show financial ability to carry
out normal operation and
maintenance responsibilities re-
quired of local sponsoring or-
ganizations. In - as - much - as
BCD’s do not have taxing pow-
er or other sources of assured'
annual Income, most watershed
people are beginning to think
about ways and meaps of cre-
ating special Interest districts
that have power to levy suffi-
cient taxes for maintenance
work.
Maintenance of flood preven-
tion dams is considered by
many to be negligible in terms
of ctfsh requirements but must
be done in the interest of pub-
lic welfare, Oden states Based
upon recent experience In oper-
ation and maintenance of the
approximate thirty detention
dams in the Middle Colorado,
SCD’s are thinging In terms of
need for being able to raise
about $200 per year for each de-
tention d^m if needed. Local
participation in maintenance
Jobs by landowners giving ease-
ments for the dams will in
many cases keep cash require-
ments at a bare minimum.
Most Sell Conservation District
Supervisors will tell you they
believe present landowners will
in most cases protect the dams
By DICK COFFEE
Soil Sc lento*
A standard soil survey U be-
ing made of the Brown-Mills
soil Conservation District. The
survey Is being done according
to the national standards %nd
will be published on a county
basis. This work Is a port of the
national program o|pha United
States Department of Agricul-
ture, and has been given to the
Soil Conservation 8ervlce to
carry out.
At present, the surveys are
being concentrated in Mills
County. No completion date has
been set for the survey, but It
U believed that Mills County
will be completed within the
next ten (10) years. Soil Scien-
tist Lee Botts of Brown wood is
In charge of the survey. He Is
from being damaged from graz-
ing or other general lack of
care, but as time passes on and
present operators are replaced
by following generations, main-
tenance could become too big a
Job for any organization to
carry out without assured fin-
ancial ability, Oden states.
under the direct |
Ml Office ot the 8e(|
vs tlon Service at
The soil survey
many uses when
published In booklet [
present, these sumjti
used for con
by the Soil Co
trlet. They are being (j
some Bounties by
dais for tax eva
ace. used to locate i
building materials,
officials are using 1
to locate subdiv
valuable land Banks I
firms are using 1081
a basis^foMbans.
usee may be found I
Brown-Mills Soil
District is complete! <
Farmers who
complete eonser
planned on their \
last six (6)
County have or wil I
photo of their farm
standard soil survey l
serration measures i
on the basis of
each kind of soil'
greatest need for l]
soil survey
Raise
Conservation
on Our Ranch
Shows -
The
-a
Following
PLOT ONE
With Very Little Cover
1. Low Vigor and Growth in
Plaint*
2. Slow Water Intake
3. High Evaporation Rate
4. Soil Froaen to depth of 4
inches in Winter
5. Air Temperature M2*
Soil Temperature 110*
6. Le»* than 600 lba. of
gras* yield per acre.
PLOT TWO
With Good Cover
1. Good Vigor and growth
in Plants
2. High Water Intake
3. Low Evaporation Rate
4. Soil Not Froaen In Winter
5. Air Temperature 92*
Soil Temperature 84*
8. More than 3.000 lb*, of
*. gram yield per
We heartily approve of a sound Range Conservation pro*
fanners and ranchers.
i
Ones* Broths** “
A SOUND INVESTMEN
Root Plowing and Sanding Rangeland Plus Deferred Grazing M.uu
DOLLARS IN THE BANK
BEST IN EQUIPMENT
8 NEW D-7 CATERPILLAR CATS. FLECO BOOT BAKE.
8-FT. BOOT PLOW. 1*.MS-POUND CHAIN.
SKILLED WORKMEN
EXPERIENCED DOZER OPERATORS ^
BEADY TO GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.
HIGHEST INTEGRITY
YOe GET Til MOST FOB YOUR DOZER-DOLLAR
. WHKN YOU OBFKNB OH DS!
BULLDOZING
. . . By The Modern Chain M«
TANK NfORK
. . . With Latest Equipment
PLOWING
a . . With Latest Model
Caterpillar Plow
■
SA<T THE SOIL
By Proper Conaervntion M«
We'll Gladly Give Yo«
FREE ESTIMATES
Oil Work Y*l Need Dote
JUST GIVE mk CALL
*
Cbeperator with Brown-Mills Soil
District
Range Conservation pay. off — Brings Mere Grata Better
Mere Pound, of IUef and Mutton Per AerT
Dollars. Let Us Improve Your Land! Free Estimates
t-d. L. ALDRIDG
: NNWiptaovwwtai Contractor SM/ '
f_ J . DEMOCRAT, TEXAS
Mnfling Addreaa: Rt 1, Mullin, Tana _ i
‘3
w
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Koleber, Victor E. The Goldthwaite Eagle (Goldthwaite, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 44, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1958, newspaper, May 8, 1958; Goldthwaite, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1090499/m1/20/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Jennie Trent Dew Library.