Got Cactus? Cut Your Winter Feed Bill In Half!

With El Niño predicted to bring rain this fall and winter to the southern portion of the United States, you can’t ask for better conditions for burning cactus. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to lower your feed bill and improve pastures? Burning the thorns off cactus will give cattle something green to eat with more protein than dried grass and a lot cheaper than feeding only hay. When grass is in short supply during the winter months, cactus can go a long way towards putting something in their stomachs. Next to cubes, I don’t think there is anything they like eating more! Cattle will fight each other and line up at the fence waiting for you to come burn each morning. Burning cactus can reduce grazing pressure on pastures during the winter months and increase herd carrying capacity. So take advantage of El Niño, get your torch out and get after it. The most important thing to remember before burning cactus is to check the weather conditions. I have several websites that I have fine-tuned to give local conditions hour-by-hour and weekly. The two critical things to look at are wind speed/direction and rain. The most ideal condition for burning is after a rain when the grass is wet. You can burn cactus in drizzle, snow or even sleet. When the ground is wet, many times the cattle will pull the cactus out roots and all. Always remember if you are in doubt or the conditions aren’t right, don’t do it; there will be other days when you can burn.   Also re