Australian Talk.

[wbvs58]

Yeh Jilleroo, I went to Ascot just watched the Angus go through and had a steak burger and some cakes and drink. I saw your hay in the paddock thought they were Charolais cows lying down in the distant. Only half of paddock was cut and baled . I guess the logistics of the sale put things on hold.
They sold a Dunoon Evident bull for $30000 but southern buyers were there especially for it. It was on one of the expensive Millah Murrah cows they bought early in the year and I think being free of the DD genetic defect of which the sire is a carrier attracted the attention as a possible AI replacement of that bull. Most of the bulls from the Millah Murrah cows sold around the 5-6000 mark. Most of their own bulls sold around the 3-4000 mark and about 5 passed in. Certainly the Millah Murrah bulls saved them and also bearing in mind there were only 30 Angus bulls catalogued, 1 scratching.
It is a nice place, a lot of money gone into it, beautifully gravelled and graded roads. They seem to have an unlimited budget on advertising and self promotion through buying at these top sales, though most of their own cows seem to be foundation APR with no previous pedigree recorded and now they are scrambling to buy well thought of cows from these top sales. Certainly no money is being spared.
They also seem to have friends in high places with the Qld Ag minister turning up to officially open the sale and the mayor of Southern Downs sitting in the wings. I wonder on this precedence if Barnaby Joyce will come roll up and open our sale next July.
Shame about that heifer Jilleroo sounds like just carrying one too many calves.
It threatened to rain tonight with thunder and lightning but not enough to wet my front steps so will be no need to check rain guage in the morning so it at least saves me a job.
Jilleroo, should be no issue with their roads , turn off the main road is good and internal roads superb, maybe problem getting them turned around inside but once the sale and catering marquees are pulled down I would think plenty of room, anyhow only half of it is cut so far.
ken

 

[Suzie Q]

5mm for us yesterday. LOL at the cows liking the grape. If it has that smell are they fermented a little? You might find them staggering on their legs. I saw a documentary on TV where all the animals come from miles around fro the fruit from a certain tree and they all get drunk. Drunk, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, you name it.... all staggering around.

Do you like my $3.00 dress? I wore it to a masqerade party and then to the Melboune Cup and no I don't have curly hair!!!

Masqerade Party



Melbourne Cup



Sim seems to be a lot better. I saw him trot much better yesterday. We are still thinking of taking both of them to a Chiropractor on Saturday.

 

[jilleroo]

Nice dress Suzie! You, Ken, Burglar, OME and Havinago might get some get some decent rain next day or so, hope so. Not as much on the radar tonight as I thought there would be though. We've got a roadtrain of little cattle on their way to a feeder at Dalby, they'll enjoy the moisture! All the heifers we were feeding have been killed, the second lot today, and we are very pleased with their weights.

 

[wbvs58]

We've had 50.5mm over the last 4 days so very appreciative. The fact that it has not been in one hit has been good. The grass is taking a bit of time to respond as it has taken a pretty big hit with the heat and not much protective cover but is getting there. The same again tonight would be good and is forecast but my suspicions are that things will be further east and north of here. It drives me up the wall sometimes with the forecast district being so large and we are at the southern extremity of it. Particularly bad when they give out thunderstorm warnings and include Stanthorpe and you know where they are really talking about is way north of us, a bit like the little boy that called wolf.
I've just about got the fence I've been working on finished, the afternoon storms have delayed things a bit. They are going have to be olympic high jumpers to get over it but then bulls still have a go but don't succeed in going over the top and tend to take the bar and second and third bar with them so the top will have a bit of power to it.
This morning I'm off to Braeside with Dale for a bit of bull recovery.
Ken

 

[townfarmer]

Ken

Did you get any storm damage out your way? I briefly caught a story on the news yesterday about damaging winds, roofs blown off etc. around stanthorpe. Good news about the rainfall. Our place was looking very dry and crunchy. the only green grass was around the trees. We've got a steer that we've kept and are planning on butchering. Just waiting for him to fatten a little. This rain should help.

Andrew

 

[Havinago]

Nice one Ken. Weve had ziltch. Our steers are looking poor and were looking at selling about 1/3-1/2 of the herd in the next few wks. Will lose $ on them but at least it gives the smaller guys more feed and a chance to fatten up. Heres preying for rain.. Havinago.

 

[wbvs58]

Andrew, it was only the motel over the road from showground and the knocked a few trees at the back of golf course.
It is threatening a bit again at the moment but so far only light rain.
Ken

 

[Havinago]

Getting some really good rain at ours atm Must have been all the roundbales i had delivered yest did the trick!

 

[Suzie Q]

30 mm for us Tuesday Night, 24 mm last night and a little hail this afternoon and 18 mm in about 10 - 15 minutes or so.

My rental at Greenbank I visited on Tuesday, they had storm damage to the trees. Only one tree left in the orchard that I planted about 20 years ago now. Luckily none of the tree that came down landed on the fences.

 

[jilleroo]

Good for you Havinago - did you end up with a decent fall? Plenty more to come I think, for you guys anyway, not so sure about us! Great you and Ken got some good rain too Suzie. Havent heard from Burglar lately, wonder how he is going?

I've got my first bucket calf for this summer. Tulip should calve fairly soon though, she's been hanging off for ages - then I can put it on her. The mother of the calf, an older cow in very good condition, prolapsed totally, don't know why as he's a fairly small calf.

Have also had to de-chock a couple of cows of CS last few days. The very occasional one gets its mouth and neck packed solid with dry grass and CS - you can identify them by their poorer condition, giant squirrel cheeks and foul smell....I get them to the yards if possible, then put a poly stockstick through their mouth and tie it up like a bridle before jamming my hand in and raking everything out. Absolutely putrid and good for lots of dry retching. They really need carting home and feeding something other than CS as it will only happen again but we havent got any crates on at present.

 

[Suzie Q]

Thanks for the description Jilleroo, I haven't come across that yet, but now I will know what to do if I do.

 

[Havinago]

Hey jilleroo, we got 30mm. Not too bad, some more over the next few nights would be great! We really need to start spelling paddocks properly. The internal fencewire is pretty sad needs attention. Always something to do thats for sure!

 

[Old_man_emu]

We had a total of 49 mm for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 30 of it fell on Monday night in a storm, it was short, sharp and to the point! We had water come in around a window frame where we think the water filled up over the veranda and found a way into the roof. luckily we found it as it happen otherwise the floor boards would have been damaged.
Less than a 1 km away the hail was like snow on the ground the next morning, I am sure we had hail but it didn't settle, probably just caught the edge of it thankfully.
If I can batch my cows together next week it might give the grass a chance to get in front. It's hand to mouth at the moment, though I'm not feeding, some hay will get used and I will hold most of the cattle in one paddock until some growth happens.
It's supposed to be rain now but it isn't and doesn't look like it will either. We are in a similar boat to you Ken with the forecast area except that ours probably isn't near as big but it is centered around Wollongong and sometime the difference is chalk and cheese! The radar paints a pretty clear picture 9 times out of 10.
Best be off, I was offered 2 free tickets to dinner at a local winery tonight and I never say no to a free meal

Brad

 

[jilleroo]

Congrats on that good rain Havinago and OME! Maybe our turn is not too far away, they are starting to talk about the monsoon now which is good. The condition of our cattle, for the state of our grass, is a credit to hubby (and our diminishing bank account!) Hubby doesnt get depressed or dramatic, he just plans how to deal with the situation. Whether we eventually come out on the right side of things or not, we'll still know we did our best, broke though we might be!
A B-double of M8U is just pulling in and the last 25t of CS is due after lunch. The rain through the Central Highlands/Alpha/Jericho area has freed up a bit of lick supply but hasnt had much effect on molasses products that I know of.
The agistor where our heifers are rang this morning to say he did a run around and there's quite a lot of calves on the ground okay which is good to hear. They are by senegus, senebrah and pure senepol bulls. Only have about 30 heifers to calve here and the first of those calves have arrived too. Can't help but notice that the early weaners with senepol blood are, generally, fatter and shinier, tough little beggars. We'd never put them over our main cow herd but they're good for the heifers and the progeny sell well.

 

[Havinago]

Solid effort jilleroo, that is a big credit to your hubby he should be proud. Noone has spoken about the reopening of live cattle export but i think that will help heaps in the near future, stop the northerners bringing there stock down our way Can i ask how often do you guys give your cattle mollasas?? Is it only a real benifit in dry times? We should have some green pickin soon and was going to get some more mollasas as ran out a few mths ago but wondering is it the right practice with green grass?? Cheers..

 

[jilleroo]

Havinago the live export is kicking along okay at present, some reasonable prices out of Cloncurry for brahman steers and heifers, also killable cows and bulls are sought after. There's a shortage of suitable stock now of course.
We only feed molasses when we have to, certainly not when there's any sort of green feed around. But in drought times like this, its gold, we really cant do without it. We've got fairly good holding facilities at both places and keep them full so that we're always ready to start when it gets dry.
The M8U trailers have unloaded and gone, the CS transport is just crawling up the drive now. Once he's unloaded, we'll be fairly well stocked again. Feeding the grape waste off first because it won't keep as well as CS once it starts getting showers on it.

 

[burglar]

I'm still around Jilleroo, only just though. We are leaving tomorrow for mexico for a weeks holiday and then off to Nashville for some business. Things are going well on the cattle front. The weaners I picked up in July have put on around 90kgs of weight and we have 30 calves growing nicely at the Breaside property. These calves will probably wean at about 220kgs as the grass down that way isn't that great and the lack of rain hasn't helped. We had 61mm this week in Stanthorpe so things are looking better and the cattle should be nicely feed while we are away.

Hope things improve for you Jilleroo, rain is such a simply commodity but so crucial and valuable. I admire the way you handle things.

Cheers
Dale

 

[jilleroo]

Hope Burglar is having a nice hol in Mexico - I wonder what part of it they've gone to, will be keen to hear.

I doubt we're going to get any rain after all....the waiting is killing everyone.....I think it might all be to the N of us.
The latest run of maps is backing this idea up now....oh dear.

 

[diana55]

Hi all. Thought I'd better check in instead of just lurking. Surely you must cop a stray monsoon soon Jilleroo. I admire the efforts and tenacity of your family in keeping the cattle fed. To me, the stress of drought on graziers is as bad as the dollar cost. I really feel for you. Glad to hear your heifers weighed well. I can't imagine the current tension with Indonesia bodes well for the live trade.

We did get 20mm rain over two days about a week ago but just keep missing out on a decent fall-it all goes south or east of us. Grrrrrrrrrr. There is a green tinge in pastures and still have some dry rye grass so not feeding any cattle but 2 mobs bulls. (the ewes and lambs are getting pea hay-spoilt girls). Haven't started feeding females for the show team yet but have to start soon as only 3 months to Canberra Royal. My 2 young potential show cows calved in last week so will need to wop the feed into them. They look good but a calf soon drags them down. Pulling CIDRs from recips tomorrow and they will be implanted with frozen embryos on December 1. I'm trying to clean out one of the nitrogen tanks.
36C here today so work is on hold until 6pm. Wind and dust is a pain in the neck. Had bad wind storm 2 weeks ago, with branches ripped off big trees and a frangipani down in house yard just missing the internet satellite dish.
Thank you for all the condolences on the loss of my Dad. We gave him a good send off and we shall scatter his ashes on the ridge of the family farm which his ancestors settled in 1876. He always said that way he could have a great view down the valley. Mum seems to be coping well so far and we 3 "kids" try to be there for her as needed. She likes her granny flat and I would have to say my brother is one of the best sons (and brother) one could wish for.
OME-glad your family had a good trip to BH and back. You would have driven past one portion of Dad's farm on the Obley Road, about 13 or 14 miles south of Dubbo. Its pretty country, unlike here where the heatwaves shimmer and its so flat you can see tomorrow coming ...well, at least in 3 directions, there is a range to the east. Bad luck about the pesti in your cattle. I thought it may have been the problem with your calves, but Ken beat me to the punch. I have just boostered all the females and sale bulls and given 7 in 1 as well. Apparently lepto is fairly widespread in NSW so I don't like taking any chances, with the cows or with us. My husband says I keep Landmark in business with my vaccine and multimin purchases.
Still haven't sold the cull cows. Sent them to the other property and threw the bull in with them. They seem to fatten better and slick off any rough hair faster when pregnant, and we'll sell them in a couple months, hopefully it will have rained by then. Fingers crossed.
Going to our first Christmas party this Saturday- can't believe its almost Christmas again. How time flies when you are having fun...or working flat out.
Burglar's holiday in Mexico sounds good. There are some wonderful resorts there. Oh well, I'll see them on Getaway- a bit of armchair travelling.

 

[wbvs58]

Yeh we are waiting for our next lot of storms, we had a lot of small cells go south and then north of us, I think we did jag one that gave 5mm but boy it dries out quick.
I have been putting up a bull fence around at my first block along the road, only have one paddock done but was 350m. I used 1800mm steel pickets for a bit of extra height, 5 strands barb wire then a hot wire along the top to discourage them from going over and visiting the girls over the road however they should be all back in calf now. I will be using that block as my bull unit, sounds flash doesn't it but with the road along the front and my western neighbour just running goats and a big hill and scrub behind and on the eastern side the local agent runs his cows there and he thinks he can do a cow to the acre and of course won't spend a cent on feed so they are too skinny to cycle. Anyhow it will only be my weaner bull calves up that way and the electric fence should discourage them from visiting for a while.
This set up should make things a lot easier out here not having to juggle bulls and cows and I should be able to keep a few more of the bull calves.
I sold another bull this week. He was an AM carrier 15mths old and it did not matter to this fellow having Xbred cows. He is a very nice bull, probably the pick of last years calves and was with the cows over the road and was a very vigorous worker. I only asked $2500 for him but good to unload him as a yearling.
I am doing a bit of work on the excavator now, dug out a dam up the back block so hopefully having a reliable source of water up there they won't be coming down the bottom for water and then bellowing at me all day long to let them in the next paddock. I started another waterhole down my SW corner and the same reasoning if they have water down there they won't be up at the trough all day long bellowing at me and make better use of the paddock. Unfortunately this hole I am digging is not looking too promising, mostly sandy loam, I am just starting to hit a bit of clay now down about 6 ft. It does have a good catchment and does get wet there when a lot of rain so might be lucky to get it to hold a puddle in the bottom during the dry. If not I'll just fill her in again.
I sort of get the feeling we are going to be scratching for that next drop of rain all summer. I think you will be cool Jilleroo, the monsoon will get you but it tends to push the storms away from us. Anyway one thing you can count on is that no two years are the same.
ken