Columns

Creep Feeding Beef Calves, Is It Worth It?

Proactive beef cattle producers are always on the watch for means to earn a larger profit when it is time to market their calves. One of these means is the process of creep feeding. Creep feeding provides supplemental feed in the form of forage and/or grain to nursing calves. This can be accomplished with the use of creep feeders or creep gates which allows calves of certain sizes to access the feed or forage while keeping mature cattle out.

Those of you that have read this column through the years know my first love in history is for DeSoto Parish but other things are also interesting. History can take many forms and today’s article relates to the January 1946 Roosevelt Dime. Before 1946 the dime carried the image of a female figure wearing a winged cap representing Lady Liberty and mistakenly called a Mercury Dime.

DeSoto Parish has produced many outstanding ladies through the years — some of whom I’ve written about. The lady in this article, Kate Tomkies Beard, is one of those that should be remembered down through the generations.

Kate was the wife of the battle of Mansfield hero, Col. James H. Beard. She was born July 4, 1835 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, the 4th child of John F. and Margaret Hoyle Tomkies. Like many other families the Tomkies started out in Virginia, moved to N. Carolina, then to Alabama and Mississippi and then on to DeSoto Parish. The family arrived in Kingston, La. in the late 1840’s. Mrs. Tomkies was related to C.E. Edwards, one of the wealthiest men in DeSoto Parish.

I’m a planner, that’s my happy place. I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I make a list and check it off. I majored in Accounting at Baylor University, stayed the course, and graduated with a degree exactly four years later. I checked off all my boxes.

Then I had children, and that’s when I discovered I could make as many lists as I wanted. But that didn’t mean my kids would check all the boxes as complete.

I wanted the boys to think and pray about their future careers and make plans for them. Doesn’t every parent? Let’s face it — when you’re the child of a planner you have no choice. My kids would make plans for their future.

Be Patient When it Comes to Dealing with Freeze-Damaged Plants

The snow has come and gone — and so has the excitement that came with such a meteorological rarity in Louisiana. Now, some gardeners are looking outside at a far less enjoyable sight: plants that turned gray, brown and perhaps even mushy in this week’s frigid temperatures.

Tropical and subtropical plants were especially affected by the bitterly cold air that hit the state. Damage may even be visible on azaleas and other woody ornamental plants that are normally hardy.

Don’t panic. While they may not look their prettiest, most plants will do better in the long run if they’re left alone for now, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg.

Let’s get Shakin’ Hope everyone is enjoying those Grand Bal’s, and parades. That’s right it’s Mardi Gras Season here in the south. Over the last few weeks since the twelfth night I have been sharing some of my favorite Mardi Gras Season recipes and this week is a treat for sure.

Love cornbread, of course, you do. Love crab cakes, who doesn’t? Stick with me here and let’s “mix it up” we are going to do them together for an awesome twist on the traditional crab cakes.

Cornbread Crab Cakes Ingredients 1 (8-oz.) container sour cream 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 2/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper 1/2 cup sliced green onions 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1/3 cup mayonnaise (prefer Dukes) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

It is int e r e s ting to take a few minutes and peruse through the old Mansfield Enterprise Newspapers at the Mansfield Female College Museum. Newspapers from the 1930’s to the 1960’s are available for your inspection. The 1951 issues reveal some items that many of you probably have forgotten. The DeSoto Hospital Fund Drive to add to the original facility was kicked off for the $100,000 expansion in 1950 with J.C. McLauren, Sr. and J.W. Caraway as Co-Chairman and Mrs. B.W. Goss, Vice Chairperson. Roger H. Silver, General Gifts Chairman, built an organization of 77 to serve as Division Chairman. The Big Gifts group was headed up by Oliver H.P. Sample, Claude Roberts, P.E.Dixon and Marshall Calhoun. Team Captains were H.L.Wiggins, Raymond Powell, Ned W. Jenkins and Riemer Calhoun, Sr. Special Gifts group consisted of Hartwell Smith, Floyd Knott, R.U. Johnson, A. N. Latham and Sam Murray.

Long lived and easy to care for, camellia japonicas offer rare winter color in shady spots

Trying to find plants that bloom profusely in the shade during the dreary wintertime can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Your options are few and far between: Most flowers need lots of sunlight, and many plants simply do not bloom in the colder months.

But camellia japonicas step up to the plate year after year, brightening shady spots with white, pink, red and multicolored flowers from December to February — and sometimes even later — in Louisiana. They do double duty as an evergreen landscape shrub, keeping their glossy green leaves year-round. And, once established, they’re easy to care for and will live for many years.

“They’re the ultimate low-maintenance shrub,” said Michael Polozola, of the LSU Ag-Center. “And winter is the perfect time to plant them.”

Some one recently asked how the topics were chosen that I write about each week. It took a few moments of thought to give an answer — even after giving an answer it wasn’t necessarily a correct and certainly not a complete one.

Several years ago John Blanchard, then the editor of the Mansfield Enterprise, knowing my interest in history, encouraged me to write about the history of Mansfield and DeSoto Parish. This has always been my main focus - “Preservation of the history of our area.” Mansfield and DeSoto Parish didn’t just happen — it was the result of brave men and women working to make it the good place that it is. We also have a great nation and the same thing that made DeSoto Parish great made our nation great.

During the last few months, I’ve spent many weekends with family and friends. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve hugged, and we’ve laughed some more. One constant practice in our visits is retelling our favorite memories. Some good and some bad, but it doesn’t matter. Those shared moments always come up in conversation.

I’ve thought about the memories we hashed out over the holidays, and I’ve cherished the new ones made. For our family, we added a daughter-in-law, Kat. She and our other daughter-in-law, Gracie, attended their first Goar family reunion. It takes place the weekend after Thanksgiving, and this year we had twenty-seven people. It was a weekend of performing music, eating food, playing games, and competing in the annual side dish contest (complete with a trophy.)