Every cow you see is the same, right? Actually, no!

There are different breeds, and each have certain characteristics. Their color patterns are different, too. In fact, no two cows have exactly the same spots or patterns, regardless of how close they might look alike.

So how do you tell the difference?

Beef Cattle

Beef cattle come in all colors. Red, black, white, grey, brown, yellow—and all shades in between! Some are solid colors and others have patterns and spots.

They’re also a stockier build. That’s because their energy is used to build muscle and store fat, which makes for tasty beef.

Beef cattle eat both grasses and grains, but primarily grass.

When it comes to milk production, beef cows produce only enough milk to feed their calves. That’s about 1 to 2 gallons per day, which is significantly less than dairy cows.

Beef cattle are all used to produce meat like hamburgers, steak, roasts, and other delicious cuts you can find at the meat counter in your grocery store.

The number 1 ag enterprise in Brown County is beef cattle sales with approximately $22 million generated a year.

Dairy Cattle

Holstein (like the cows pictured above) is the most common of the dairy breeds. They are known for their black-and-white spots.

But dairy cattle come in other colors, too. Brown, tan, silver, gold and white, and red and white are some of the colors. It all depends on the breed.

Many people often think dairy cattle look skinny or malnourished, but that’s just how they’re built. Their energy is used to produce milk rather than meat. That’s the most noticeable difference between dairy cows and beef cows.

But there’s more!

Dairy cattle also have very large udders. They can make an average of 7 to 9 gallons of milk per day.

Dairy cattle are fed a balanced diet of forages (aka grasses) and grains, and they are milked several times a day.

In the Lone Star State, an estimated 586,395 dairy cows produced more than 14.8 billion pounds of milk in 2020.

The average dairy herd in Texas has 1,487 cows, and each cow produces an average of 2,861 gallons of milk per year. That’s about 7.84 gallons per day.

The More You Know

Some basic terms to know about cattle include:

Bull: A bull is a male bovine that can reproduce. (He’s intact.)

Steer: A steer is a male bovine that cannot reproduce. (He’s been snipped.)

Cow: A cow is a female bovine that has given birth to a calf.

Heifer: A heifer is a female bovine that has not given birth to a calf.

Calf: A calf is a baby bovine—male or female.

And one important thing to remember about both dairy farmers and cattle ranchers—they dedicate their time and efforts to make sure their cattle are healthy and well cared for.

Milk production in Brown County is always in the top 5 in ag enterprises with annual sales of near $10 million.

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PEAR TREES IN OUR AREA

Pears are among the few fruits that can be grown in every region of Texas. As evidence of the longevity of some pear varieties in the state, old homesteads remain in which the house may be gone, the fireplace only a relic, but the pear trees in the yard are still alive and productive.

There are two distinct types of pears that originate from different parts of the world: European pears and Asian pears. European pears are characterized by their fragrance, melting flesh fruit, and a noticeable sugar/acid balance. Asian pears have crisp flesh, delicate floral aromas, and high sugar content with little or no acid balance in the taste.

Common varieties of true European pears, Pyrus communis, include ‘Bartlett’, ‘Bosc’, and ‘Anjou’. Their success in Texas is limited by the bacterial disease known as fire blight in all but arid Far West Texas.

Although Asian pears tolerate fire blight better than do European pears, in high rainfall areas or abnormally wet years it can infect many trees and cause substantial limb loss.

Climate

Asian and European hybrid pear cultivars typically have chilling requirements of 200 to 800 hours, making at least some varieties adaptable to most areas of Texas. Pear production in Texas is divided into three Zones with extremely low chilling in Zone 3 and high fire blight pressure in Zone 2. Zone 1 affords the lowest fire blight pressure with greater chill hour accumulation.

Soil

Although all fruit trees prefer extremely well-drained soils, pears tolerate heavy, wetter soils better than do many other fruit species. In high-pH soils, some pear rootstock varieties will exhibit substantial iron deficiency.

Varieties

However, Texas weather can change dramatically, and any variety may perform poorly in years with atypical weather and stresses.

European hybrid pears include many varieties that were bred to increase fire blight resistance. Varieties within this group, such as ‘Kieffer’ and ‘Moonglow’, range widely in their disease resistance and eating quality.

Pear varieties for our area include:

European hybrids: ‘Ayers’, ‘Warren’, ‘LeConte’, ‘Magness’,’ Maxine’, ‘Moonglow’, Orient’, and ‘Kieffer’

Asian varieties: ‘Shinseiki’, ‘Nijisseiki’ (‘20th Century’), ‘Chojuro’, ‘Hosui’, ‘Shinko’, and ‘Shin Li’

Rootstocks

In sandy, acidic soils, Pyrus calleryana is the best rootstock. It has good nematode tolerance and fire blight resistance. However, it exhibits strong iron deficiency in alkaline soils. In heavier-textured, high-pH soils, Pyrus betulifolia is a more adapted rootstock, but nursery stock may be more difficult to obtain.

Site preparation

Although pears bloom later than some other fruit crops, in some years, spring frost will reduce the crop. Planting on an elevated site or hillside to allow air flow will minimize losses from spring frost. In the year before planting, remove existing vegetation to reduce weed competition.

Planting

Follow these steps to improve your chances of success:

1. Acquire the trees.

Pear trees are typically sold as bare-rooted, budded, or grafted trees that have been grown for 2 to 3 years in the nursery. Order plant material from a reliable nursery and choose trees that are 2 to 4 feet tall and have a trunk diameter of ½ to ¾ inch. Because pears are cross pollinated, you will need to order more than one variety with similar chilling requirements to serve as pollinators.

When the trees arrive, inspect them to make sure that they are not diseased or damaged.

2. Water the trees.

Keep the root system moist before planting, store them in a moist, cool location, and soak the root system in water for 30 minutes immediately before planting.

3. Plant the trees.

Pear trees are relatively upright in growth habit and can be placed as close as 16 feet between trees. Pollinizer varieties should be planted at least 40 feet from companion varieties.

Before planting, prune back only the roots that are damaged or diseased. Dig the hole to fit the root system instead of pruning the root system to fit the hole.

Plant the tree at the same depth that it was grown in the nursery. The bark will have a distinct change of color where the “nursery line” occurs. Make sure that the graft union is above ground.

Backfill the hole with soil. There is no need to incorporate compost or organic matter unless the soil is very poorly structured or highly calcareous. Do not put fertilizer in the hole at planting.

Water the trees well by hand.

Prune the trunks.

Cut back the trunk by about a third and paint the pruning wound with paint or sealant to help prevent fire blight infection.

Pruning/training

Pears are typically trained in one of two systems:

Third-year dormant pear tree, before pruning. The tree after pruning and after weights were added to help spread the limbs.

Many short lateral spurs that were encouraged by limb spreading.

• Central leader system: A single strong dominant trunk is selected, and scaffold limbs are developed every 3 to 4 feet.

• Modified central leader system: Three or four leaders are retained instead of only one. Scaffold limbs are developed as in the central leader system.

Cultivation

To enhance growth, control weeds and give the trees ample water and small, frequent amounts of nitrogen. To reduce the incidence of fire blight, allow the trees to grow with moderate vigor rather than trying to “push” them in the first few years of growth.

Diseases

The most prevalent and damaging disease of pears In Texas is fire blight. Other common diseases are cotton root rot and Fabraea leaf spot.

Fire blight: The bacteria that cause fire blight can invade all parts of the pear tree, including the roots, shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits, branches, trunk, and entire trees.

The symptoms include water-soaked blossoms; wilted, blackened leaves; dark, shriveled fruit; discolored bark; and dead branches. The shoot tips turn black and bend into the shape of a shepherd’s crook.

Gummy, amber-colored ooze seeps through cracks and pores. The ooze contains millions of bacteria, which are spread by insects or rain. Left alone, the infection may kill the tree.

The main line of defense against fire blight is to choose the correct varieties for your location.

When fire blight infection does occur, prune out diseased wood at least 8 to 12 inches below the last sign of infection. Remove infected wood and burn, bury, or haul it away from the orchard.

Pear trees are also susceptible to cotton root rot and leaf spot diseases.

Insects

In most years there are few if any major insect problems although there may be a bit of scarring from stink bugs from time to time. Typically, there is no need to spray.

Harvest

Asian pears begin bearing fruit as early as the fourth growing season, but some European hybrids may take as long as 8 to 10 years to produce their first crop. Encouraging lateral budbreak by bending scaffold limbs to a more horizontal position can aid in the formation of fruiting spurs and bring trees into production earlier.

Asian pears ripen in late summer; European hybrids ripen from late summer through mid-fall.