a Tribute

[Sugar Creek]

A month ago I had some questions as our eight Red Poll 1st calf heifers were beginning to calve. Now we have seven on the ground despite cold winds chilling one and another getting stuck in a mud hole below a spring. One more is yet to have hers but looks close.

This Sunday morning we heard the dog bark. We live in a two story house at the head of a long hollow. We have a real good view of the lot across the hollow where we raise 4H market lambs and see the cattle on the ridge above. The hollow is filled with a Cedar thickett.

We looked out to see Ruby, a Collie/Border Collie cross female gathering the lambs into the barn, almost like a field trial. She then stood in the door barking. We then saw a large coyote at the edge of the cedars. By the time I got my rifle, only a 22, he was not to be seen. An hour later we heard Ruby barking again and the coyote was right in plain view just 10 yards from the barn door. I shot out our window and hit him, nearly 100 yards away, I had to hold over him. He took off as they are hard to kill with a 22 but left a blood trail.

This is a tribute to Ruby, a good dog.

 

[Crowderfarms]

Good Job, Ruby. Do yourself and your stock a favor... Get a bigger rifle,with a good scope.I layed out two the other day with a .243.Something you can "reach out and touch" them with.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Good dog Ruby! A dog like that is priceless.

Katherine

 

[Craig-TX]

Sounds like you deserve some bragging along with your dog. Way to go Sugar Creek on a nice shot. Sounds like you, being from Kentucky, are pretty good at holding over. My granddad always called that "Kentucky windage." I guess that old expression is a holdover from the muzzle loading days.

Craig-TX

 

[tapeworm]

Thats a real good story...Ruby sounds like shes a natural. Dont know about a "tribute" to her on the cattle boards though...that sounds pretty sweet but shell probably never see it or even hear about it.LOL Really, really sweet though..maybe she just deserves a great big hug!!!

 

[Farmhand]

Dogs like that are priceless. Hope you gave her an extra treat for her good work. Thanks for telling us about it.

 

[skyeagle]

Just have to enjoy it when your dog earns it's keep.

 

[TLCfromARK]

I agree with Crowderfarms, we keep a 22 mag. for coons, possums, & such and a .243 for the yotes, out where we can get to them easy. As a matter of fact the 22 mag. will take them out pretty far ( 150+ yds ), shot location is a little more important with it through.

Hope Ruby got a special treat that day.
;-)

 

[Sugar Creek]

Thanks for your replies. I seldom feel qualified to give advise but really enjoy reading these posts. It seems these Cattle today boards have an unusual number of special and helpful people.

In 1971 I was just out of high school and bought 80 acres and a herd of registered Angus cows. They were very fertile, ate almost nothing, milked good, but were short legged and most weighed under 800 lbs most of the year. The charolais craze hit here and I bred them to a white bull with pretty disaterous results. Over the next few years I ran up to 45 mixed mama cows and raised tobacco.

High interest rates in the early 80s caused me to start a career in the water treatment (drinking water) business but I hope to begin early retirement in a few weeks. I' m still here on 80 acres with a better house, a wife and two girls in grade school and middle school. I have 8 Red Poll heifers just now calving for the first time. Tobacco is gone as a viable crop for someone like me.

Any ideas on how to use 80 acres of fairly well watered and fenced hills and ridges in the cattle business profitably. I do'nt need to make a lot of money but do need to make some.

 

[Crowderfarms]

Sugar Creek,
If it's like it is here, 80 acres has probably gone up in value at least tripled, likely more, depending what part of KY. you are in. Of course when you bought it, I was in 6th grade, and good farms were a lot easier to come by.Sure your sitting on what was a sound investment as they no longer make land anymore.I would suggest upping your inventory of cattle if, you can. I know the Tobacco is mostly history around here too. Let us know how many acres of pasture you have,someone will jump in on the thread and help too.

 

[Sugar Creek]

I gave $280 an acre for it in partnership with an older gentleman, I was just a kid. The next year he let me buy him out at $300 an acre. Today it would bring $1000 an acre to farm, the level parts along the county road could easily bring $2500 to $3000 an acre in small tracts for houses.

I probably have 40 acres of fairly level ridge land and 5 acres of woods with the balance being hillsides of varying steepness. Years ago i mowed these hillsides with mules. Today I hire them bushhogged about every 2 to 3 years. It is quite productive for the most part with lots of white clover, and what we call jap clover in 50% bluegrass and fescue sod.

For the last two years I have commuted to work and about quit farming with the exception of a fairly proifitable farmer's market we are part of and running a few Suffolk market type sheep for the kids to show in 4H.

I have lost track of developments in the cattle industry and have gotten enthused reading on this board ( And reading the high prices in the paper). Just thought some of you might have an idea on a good way to go now that that I may have more time again. I really like the maternal side of these Red Polls. They are registered (They were cheap for registered cattle). We also bought a registered Red Poll bull from another breeder, there are several here in Kentucky. The calves look good but are rather small but at least no calving problems. Crossbreeding may be the way to go. A top quality angus my daughter won in an essay contest and a Gelbviah cross heifer I kept as the only remnant of my old herd had larger more beefy looking calves by the red poll bull.

Sorry to get so long winded.

 

[Crowderfarms]

I may get kicked on this one, but I'd put a max of 35 head on it if grazing season was at it's best, just to keep grass in good shape for next year. If your heart is in cattle, go for it, if you don't want to up your inventory, you could rent out your pasture, always people looking, to someone that would keep the place up. I've just seen too many places lately loaded with cattle, and not enough grass coming on yet. It's getting hard to buy anything here for under 3000.00 an acre, in a larger tract. saw 3 acres down the road from our place and asking price is 17K an acre. (level lots) for house use.People keep invading every hill and holler from just about anyplace immaginable. No none of our places are for sale. In it for the longhaul.

 

[Sugar Creek]

Crowder farms
Thanks for the reply, I've never run over 20 head of cows( plus their calves and a bull) here for any length of time, just too hard on the ground. We are only about 30 miles south of a booming Lexington housing market but your high prices for land have not got here yet. It is not the same county I grew up in. Like you say, houses and trailers are beginning to line every road and ascend every holler. We are in danger of becoming the low cost alternative for housing in the bluegrass.

If it were not so much like home and I were younger I would dream of selling out and starting out somewhere like it used to be here.

Is there any place like that left?

 

[Sugar Creek]

When I ran 45 head I was renting a neighbor's farm also.

 

[Crowderfarms]

Problem here is if an Old Timer passes away, his/her kids see $ signs, they usaully live in town or another city. state, wherever and have no interest in preserving the lifestyle. So they chop it up, tract it out, auction it off, sub divide, into lots, or mini-farms. In come the trailers,(DON'T GET ME WRONG EVERYONE HAS TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING) I understand that the folks inheriting these places want to get the most bang for there bucks, BUT all areas need restrictions. It's causing sprawl in the country. My family has been here for over 250 years. (TN). I have no intention of leaving. My Brother lives in Montana, sisters live elsewhere, my parents both live here. I'm sure that there are some places better, I know there's a lot worse. But if I were to go, I would not know where to start looking. No Hi -rise on the beach, no golf course condo. I could go on for hours about what has happened to our Country communities, small towns, farms dissapearing but who wants to hear me gripe?

 

[Sugar Creek]

Crowderfarms,

250 years is a long time. My family has been in this area since 1775, they only stayed after 1779 permanent for it was too dangerous earlier.
I agree with you about what's happening and do not blame the people, it just makes you sad to drive down the road and remember.

 

[skyeagle]

Can't stand for any gripeing, but yes I agree with you Crowder.

 

[Victoria]

Good for Ruby!! Sounds like a great dog, I am sure you all appreciate her.

 

[MY]

Sugar Creek,

I just watched a program last night on RFD TV "The Cattle Show" about an old boy in your neck of the woods who was also forced out of the tobacco growing business and had turned to an effective cattle management program to make up for the lost tobacco income. He had about 250 acres of terrain that sounds very similar to your 80. Anyhow it was interesting viewing and may give you an idea or two about what to do with the place if you can catch that episode. I believe RFD TV has a website that you can reference for replay times. Great dog you have there by the way.