Limited land resources are forcing us to either shift land uses to meet changing demands, or to manage the land to produce more than one kind of crop. Also, the high cost of land, higher taxes, and increased production costs are forcing land owners to consider methods for increasing net returns from their land. This is the impetus from which I have developed a program that incorporates pines, pastures, and cattle on my operation. The appropriate species of pine trees and grass had to be considered. Improved slash pines were chosen for their fast growth and suitability to northwest Florida.
Slash pines have fewer limbs and prune better than loblolly pines.
Due to fast growth, slash pine plantings may be stocked with cattle sooner than loblolly plantings. Pensacola bahiagrass was chosen because it is a highly drought-tolerant grass that persists under low fertilization and close grazing. Operation Description and Management Step 1. This enabled me to take advantage of increased hybrid vigor and foraging ability over straight English cross cows. In recent years the cow herd has been changed to mostly Longhorn cattle.