Hello I just bought 40 acres in west tx near sierra blanca ...now I know this is pretty much desert land but I've heard Bermuda grass grows quite well out there so I was wondering if anyone has any experiance in this region or advice that they could give me
planting bermuda pasture in west tx
- Thread starter tcam318
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
chippie
Well-known member
I would talk to your county Extension Agent. Do you have means to irrigate it?
cowboy43
Well-known member
If you are depending on nature for rainfall and with and average yearly rainfall of 12 inches I strongly do not recommend bermuda, bermuda requires fertilizer and water for good production. Sierra Blanca is close to El Paso in west Tx. I googled pictures of the area and it looks like an area where you would run a cow to 50 to 100 acres. I would improve the 40 acres with native grasses that grow in an arid area and stock accordingly.
cowboy43
Well-known member
Irrigation is very expensive and labor intensive , get with the local county agent or NRCS to get their recomendation for a good local area grass. If you could post pictures of yor place it would help with answers , the pictures I seen of the area , it appears arid and desert with limited grass.
cross_7
Well-known member
without irrigation i don't see you growing bermuda
we get 10" more rain than you do there and i can't grow enough to do any good.
do you live there or moving there ?
M5farm
Well-known member
Sorry i have no input on grass- I don't know how old the pics are on google maps but there are only a few Houses east of town. just a lot of roads like a subdivision. very strange looking.
chippie
Well-known member
You really need to talk to the county agricultural extension agent there. If it is near Sierra Blanca the county may be Hudspeth. The contact info for Hudspeth County is:
Phone: (915) 369-229
Is there any grass growing on the land you are getting?
Phone: (915) 369-229
Is there any grass growing on the land you are getting?
TexasBred
Well-known member
Check into Blue Gramma Grass. A lot of large ranches in West Texas depend on it.
chippie
Well-known member
: ) happy you got an answer.
does anyone know someone that farms the far west part of texas that i might be able to get pointers from...the county extension said i could plant a native grass mix and it might do pretty well with irigation if i was planted at the right time
cross_7
Well-known member
what are your plans for the 40 acres ?
cowboy43
Well-known member
The 38000 acre La Jolla Ranch is for sale in Hudspeth County which is the County you are in,It is 7 miles north of Sierra Blanca I googled the ranch and the carrying capacity for the 38000 acre ranch is 400 to 500 cows which is a cow to 75 to 95 arces , the water well on the ranch is 1200 ft deep. Google the ranch and bring up the pictures, do the pictures look like your 40 acres? I believe the County Agent gave you an evasive answer. I am not trying to be negative with you , but honest. I do not see where much can be produced from 40 acres in such an arid-desert area.
cross_7
Well-known member
tcam318":2197auw7 said:
how did you come to own this property ?
if i'm not being too rude i'd like to know what your price per acre, if so i apologize for asking.
the reason i ask is there are scams for land sales in that area where they sell land on ebay or the internet, small down , low interest, but at an inflated price for the area.
like cowboy43 said 40 acres in that country won't support much.
the water is deep and expensive to pump, that is part of the reason they don't farm the pecos area like they used to.
another thing you aint far from the mexican border and the problems others have had living close to the border.
