Recent content by canoetrpr

I raise Scottish Galloway cattle in southern Ontario. I have one field that can be rather wet until the middle of the summer and another dry one that I rent from a neighbour. I'd like to do some over-seeding to increase the density of the grasses. I'd like some advice on the best time to do...

Friends, this helps me quite a bit. I have a brand new bush hog that is just itching to be used on my nearly brand new tractor that I traded up last fall. A bush hogging we will go this weekend!

I apologize - I'm missing something on the phrase 'like tubs'? Can you help me understand what that means? Also, is there any downside to me shredding the stuff sitting now other than fuel and tractor time? It is quite high since it was not baled last fall. Not sure if they even got the firs...

Hello all: I am going to be borrowing my neighbours hay field to pasture my cattle. It has grown good hay in the past but was not hayed last year so the grasses right now are long, brown and dead while the rest of our pastures are starting to get green. I'd appreciate any thoughts on what I...

My neighbour and I have struck up a deal whereby I am doing some tractor work for her (spreading manure, bush-hogging) and I get to use one of her fields as pasture- about 6 acres or so. It used to be a hay field which they did not cut last year. It has always raised really nice hay. Spring...

I feed my cows hay in my barnyard and riding ring in the winter as I treat these as sacrifice areas so that my fields are not ruined. I'm told the soil under is sandy but with years of manure deposited there, they are retaining a lot of water. They also rut up bad in early spring and late...

These looked like a good ticket to cover my hay bales. I store them on pallets and/or on gravel and feed one or two bales at a time so I liked the single bale bonnets. Unfortunately shipping per box of 16 is like 100 bucks! Just wondering if any other folks from Canada is using a similar...

I usually pay $45 for 4 x 5 bales of second cut timothy/alfaalfa mix. Heck I have to get it trucked from a little bit away to pay even that! Local guys charge $50-55 for the same given the market here is all horse owners. The field across the road for me is all timothy and was just baled 4x5s...

Hey thats a great idea for cord reels! My fences run at 7k volts so there is enough voltage there. I think a single strand just isn't enough. The problem it creates is that the momma cows get all upset and mooing that their babies are not around :-). Plus I'm obsessive. I like to keep all...

My sub-paddocks only use step-in posts with the Gallahger turbo wire. Pasture is in great shape. There is definitely lots of grass where they are. It is typically only calves that get through so I think that the odd time the wire is set too high or too low for a calf and it finds a way...

I have two permanent paddocks which I subdivide into furthur sub-paddocks with a single strand of electric using step-in posts. It has usually worked well but occasionally (once a week or so) calves have been getting out of the sub-paddock. I'm wondering if others use the same kind of system...

I'm sorry I sold my Hobart Stickmate AC/DC. I sold it to buy a Millermate 210 mig welder which mostly sits around in the shop unused.

I'm pretty new at cattle and I find automatic the only way to go. Heck I have an impossible time catching the cows manually and mine are pretty darn tame. The only thing that seems to work for me is to get them in the chute, close the gate behind them and then coax them one way or the other to...

I only wish I could pay 3 times that for a farm around here! 50 acres is close to 1 million dollars where I live.

We went back and forth between Highlands and Galloways. As far as looks go, I don't think there are cooler looking cattle than Highlands - especially the calves. We ended up going with Galloways because: - Nearly the same amount of hardiness to winter - Finish faster for beef - Lack of horns...