Search results for query: *

I have some Yellow Nutsedge (also called nutgrass) and Cupgrass (also called Hairy Cupgrass) in my pasture. Niether shows up on any of the nutrient tables I have. Are either or both of these a decent cattle grass? This pasture was wheat till spring and I am converting it to pasture. I am...

I just had a road put in up a steep hill. I am worried about the ditches and slopes on the sides of the road eroding bad. I am in S. IL where we generally get down to a frost temp at night and in the 45-55 range in the day this time of year. I am planning on going out this weekend and...

I bought a 2009 F250 about 2 months ago. Auto lock hubs stopped working (I could manually lock and it was fine). Dealer said it was the vacuum seal leaking that locks he hubs, they replaced it, I was good to go. Seemed to work fine for a while. Now 30 days later the auto hubs are not kicking...

The place I purchased in the spring was in winter wheat. I know he sprayed some ag chemicals on (not sure what thogh). Since it was thrashed it has been sitting fallow over the summer (almost 4 months now). Can I start doing soil tests now or would they still not be true due to chemical...

I am considering purchasing a used highlift for development of our place (see post on Beginner Board for more.) First I don't know a lot about highlifts, but my brother does as a union operator. My question is around what type to purchase. I originally was looking at CAT 953's and found a...

As many of you know I recently purcahsed 50 acres. It is a plateau on a hill and I have several things I need to do. Build a road up the hill, dig 2 ponds, level a spot to build a barn and another for a shed, and later dig a basement (in a year or so) for a house when I move there. And you...

I am looking to build a metal pole barn next March so starting to plan now. I am looking for a building around 35x50 to store tractor, truck and other implements and machinery in. I also want to use a corner for a work area. Two suppliers/installers I am looking at are Cleary Buildings and...

With everyione selling out right now (3 of my relatives are getting out this week), cattle prices are way down. I was in Patton, MO yesterday and you could get very nice 4-5 weights for $120/hundred. That is around 35%-40% less than they were in the spring. If you have pasture you can sure...

I don't know if you have seen the news, but a Dairy Cow in CA has been diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)). Below is a quote from the centers for disease control. Now here is a poll conducted by CNN-Money with the responses. I just thought it was...

I have heard a lot of posters talking about the damage to trees when I found this article below. It says up to 10% of the trees could be dead in Texas. WOW! My thoughts are with you all and I hope this summer is not like the last.

When I cross section my pasture into paddocks, two of the paddocks won't have any trees. I would like to plant a few to provide some shade for the cattle. If I plant small trees (2"-3" trunk so 6'-8' tall) will the cattle eat them and kill them? Not sure if I would plant Pine, Oak, or Maple...

I will be discussing a piece of property Monday. Unfortunatly the survey office in this area was closed this week and won't be open till Tuesday to get an estimate. Who pays for the survey may well come up in our discussion assuming we are close on a price. What kind of prices have you all...

I am getting ready to build a barn. I have attached the property layout (rough sketch anyway). The green is pasture. You can see where my house is and a pole barn. There is about 14 acres of pasture (place is 26 acres). I want to do some cross fencing but must first place the barn. Where...

I am in the process of purchasing about 15 acres of pasture that has been in the Illinois Crop Rotation Program for he past 3 years. Soybeans before that. As a result it is of course head high with weeds including Queen Annes lace, and a lot of goldenrod. I would want to prepare it for use as...

Right up front this is a beginner question. I was at the sale barn yesterday and saw a lot of 275-400# calves gong through. My question is regarding weaning. These calves seem too young to be weaned yet to old to be bottle fed. What care does a 300# calf need? Can they go straight on...

When purchasing Feeder Calves, how do you know the breed assuming they are not pure? Genetics would say so much regarding end result in size and frame, not to mention health. Unless you are purchasing from someone you know, do you simply review the calves stature and make assumptions based...

I am working towards purchasing feeder calves as my first venture into cattle ranching. Am I better off to purchase Weaned and castrated steers or to start with bottle calves? By the way, looking at 4-6 the first year to learn on. If Bottle calves what age do you suggest turning them into...

I am new and have not purchased cows yet. Still learning and preparing my place. But I have a questions regarding Bull vs AI. It seems to me that for 2-3 cows/heifers AI is the better option. It also seems that increasing the number of cows creates a point where it is more efficient (and...

When I was young my family raised Rabbits. I now work at a large financial services firm, and one day at lunch I was relaying this to a co-worker who is a fully citified attorney. As I was talking about raising rabbits he had a sunny look on his face. After a minute or two he suddenly...

Anyone own a Ford F150 with the new EcoBoost engine? V6 with 365 HP and pretty good gas mileage. I know it is not the heavy duty truck many of you need, but I only haul a small stock trailer and use it to haul misc. stuff of course. I drive 40 miles to work, so gas milage is important to me...