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Web Sites Don't Catch Fire During Droughts

© Robin Blackburn Jerkins

I nearly neglected my column this month because my "day job" has been keeping me busy nonstop. Why? Beacause I work for a newspaper. And newspapers cover grass fires. And there have been so many grass fires in Guadalupe County, Texas, during the past month that our photographer -- who covers these fires -- started smelling like hot dogs on almost a daily basis.

When the weather is dry for an extended period of time, a fire official will issue a burn ban. Please listen to them. And don't think that an inch or two of rain means it's OK for you to burn brush. The ground soaks up water quickly, and winds dry grasses out quickly, so call your local fire marshal and ask if there's a burn ban in effect. If there is, have mercy on your local fire department (and your local newspaper's photographer) and wait until it's safe to burn.

That said, I'm all fired up about this month's finds on the Web. I noticed that my list of links is lacking in the "Cattle in General" category, so I went in search of more cattle sites, and I was pleased with my find. The two best sites I came across this month are The Farmer's Guide to the Internet and Restoration Farms.

The Farmer's Guide to the Internet, at http://www.rural.org/Farmers_Guide/, is a great site for those of you who are still "greenhorns" in terms of the Net. There are more than 2,000 links on this site, and while not all of them are agriculture-related, a great number of them are. If you're looking for a broader variety of links than those listed on this here page, check out the Farmer's Guide (but don't abandon Suite101!).

Restoration Farms at http://www.restorationfarms.com/ completely blew me away. It's a site for a Kansas-based commercial ranching operation specializing in Santa Gertrudis, Santa Cruz and Angus cattle, but they also offer Web site design, advice on bovine breeding, a list of links and much, much more. I just can't say enough about this site; even if you don't use the resources there, use Restoration Farms as a model of what a commercial ranching operation's Web site should offer.

Well, space and time are both running short, so until next month, may your pastures get the right mixture of rain and sunshine.

The copyright of the article Web Sites Don't Catch Fire During Droughts in Ranching is owned by Robin Blackburn Jerkins. Permission to republish Web Sites Don't Catch Fire During Droughts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.