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Hi all,
I hope your all enjoying family and friends this Christmas, even if the weather gods are causing some wide spread pain.
Things here are tight at the moment, the grass is very short and I am working cattle through tree lanes to keep them going. I have got lucerne hay in the shed but I am holding off using it but I think that will change next week.
I will indeed be at Canberra Diana. I put my name down to help out the committee, might have noticed Stuart Glover's name listed as a committee member this year. He won't have any cattle there but I have 2 steers entered. I am a little disappointed with how they are going but I have to persist with them now and hope they come up over the next 50 days. They are putting on weight ok, 1.5kg/day last time I checked but they are a bit rough and awkward looking.
My fingers, toes, legs and even my eyes are crossed praying for some significant wide spread rain for the sake of those that are hurting.
Best wishes
Emu
 
Sold 1/3 of our stock a month ago at a loss. Grass still not catching up. Its green but no length. Might have to sell more soon if we dont get any rain. Good lesson dont overstock no matter how cheap you think they are! One of them have a large sack hanging under his neck. Any ideas what this may be? I Ive applied pour on to him see how he goes hes still eating but in very poor condition. Hope everyone has a terrific New year and all the best for 2014!! Ps tried to put pics up but no luck i might have to do it through facebook?...
 
Bad luck having to sell your steers at a loss Havinago. When it doesn't rain regularly it is very easy to become overstocked. We are getting to that stage now and only big rains will fix the situation. Keep those legs crossed Emu (conjures up a funny mental picture..). Yes, saw where Stuart is on committee- get him to give me a good position in the cattle shed, pretty please.
Would be good if the cyclones off the NW of Oz managed to come east-don't think it happens very often though.
Happy New Year to all.
 
Thank Ken. Better off cutting our losses and try to fatten the others. Had a call this morning saying they are looking alot better already :) Did my facebook attachments work anybody?? Bring on the rain...
 
Yeh Havinago, they worked good. Like you say green but not much for them to eat there. They look like nice cattle and would put on a bit of weight fairly quickly if the feed situation improves. That swelling under the jaw sounds like oedema due to hypoproteinaemia (low protein) bottle jaw. Usually caused by poor nutrition and worms further sucking the protein out of them. I hope the feed starts growing faster than they can eat it.
Ken
 
Diana while I'm working on shed space for ya you better butter up your groom to do a job on my steers. I never really prepared cattle myself although I've shown sheep go to whoa. Not sure the clipping is all that similar though.... They could end up clipped bare yet!
And on the weather front, last I heard the cyclone was predicted to provide rain to SA, VIC and TAS, with Sydney possibly getting wet next week.
 
We had a storm the night before last. 20 mm and a very strong wind. We have lost virtually everythign that was wooden except the house. The wall that was left standing from the hay shed has gone. There is tin everywhere and even right down to the other end of the lucerne that is about 50 acres away.

Sigh they say bad luck comes in 3's.

1) My computer won't turn on, but I have my fingers crossed that the guy at Mum's Resort can fix it for me or I will have to buy another $16.00 computer from him!!!

2) The wind that brought everything down, but nothing was hurt and we can fix it all today as hubby has the day off with it being the New Year here today for us.

3) In an undercover car park with massives of cars looking for car parks I had just reversed out and my clutch cable snapped. What a nightmare!!! I tried to swap from reverse to first, but it went into neutral and I couldn't put it in gear to move the car.

I rang hubby on my mobile and he told me that if I turned the car off I could start it in first gear so I did that. Once outside I started it in 2nd gear and drove with my hazard lights on to Beaudesert. Hubby met me and took the vin number and told me to try and start it in 3rd so the trip to Boonah was a bit quicker but it still took me over 3 hours to get home rather than an hour which is normal. Hubby has ordered the part so I am without a car for a few days. Hopefully he will fix it by the time I need it next week.

BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!!!
 
We know all about your pain Havinago - hopefully there are better times ahead! That must've been a big blow Suzie!

Hubby is in Charters Towers picking up meal and blocks on the truck and having the tanker trailer filled with M8U. A b-double of M8U will be here this arve also to fill up again and then we think we've got Tru-Graze liquid feed coming early next week. A double of hay on January 9. Soon all the cows on our northern country will have to go onto hay too and we have another two roadtrains booked to go there next week. There is getting to be a more definite tail on the cows now, it will be hard to hold on for much longer. Our calving heifers on agistment are doing it tough and we're tankering liquid feed into them too at vast expense. As well we have about 150 early weaned calves in the yard again, with many more to come off. They're getting green wheaten big squares.

Three well-conditioned cows were dead around M8U tubs in different paddocks this week - maybe there has been some water mixed in the M8U before sale to make it go further? It seems very thin. So we went around and added extra salt to them all to slow them down. We've cut out the dry lick for the moment, just can't afford everything. One of the dead cows had a baby calf so added it to my other two. Havent put one on Tulip yet, I milked her for the house while the family was here, but when the heat abates a bit, I'll poddy one onto her. Forecast 46 degs tomorrow which will be 48 here, will be about 46 again today. I've done my paddock jobs and am going to work on the books - have been dreading that as I just don't want to total that fodder column and see just what we've spent!

Cowboy Ken is staying here a week - he tried to get out of his next work commitment in the Gulf but the best he could do was delay it a week. He wants to stay here, hardy soul, and keep looking after the cows. The heat doesnt bother him, he toils on regardless, never a whinge about all the trailers he hooks on and takes off during the day, all the haystring and net he pulls off bales, climbing around the molasses ladders, in and out of the tractor, opening and shutting gates etc. Just says its great exercise for him and he loves it. Feeding hay to the cows is getting dangerous and soon two ppl will have to go instead of one.

I had some great feedback about the dog painting commissions I did before christmas and consequently have had several new jobs come in already, both dogs and horses. So I'm off to have a shower now, will do one month of the books and then some painting. It's the bright spot in my day.
 
Jilleroo we are starting to hear cries of desperation from around close to here now. My neighbour Mario was down Glen Innes and a bit west to Emmaville this week and he said it was very dry down there, they don't seem to have had the storms that we have had and with the heat are starting to have to feed. Also on the news there are cries of desparation from not too far away now.
I was going to wait a few more weeks to buy some hay hoping that things will improve but I think I'll jump in now and pay what I have to and get it in the shed while it is still growing on the irrigation around the place.
It is a shame that Cowboy Ken can't stay a bit longer. He certainly sounds like a fantastic help.
I don't think I could bring myself to do those books Jilleroo. The bottom line certainly can't be pretty.
Ken
 
Thank Goodness Cowboy Ken could give you at least a week.

We had 3/4 of a mm last night. Hubby had cut our long paddock but 3/4's of a mm is really just a heavy dew. I will be going down to rake soon.

I rode Sim this morning. Let's hope he stays sound!!!

We picked all the tin up. Next door had thrown what had landed in their paddock over our fence so that made it a lot easier for us not having to go backwards and forwards through the electric fence.

There is still a tree on the boundary fence so the cattle are locked out of the creek and there is branches and leaf litter down over the whole of the country side not just our farm. I might take out some secateurs and bring them up and cut them smaller and lay them in the garden. Hubby said he will gather them together and have a bon fire.

It is way too hot for that at the moment of course. They are predicting a record for Queensland today. I have the ceiling fans on already that helps to keep the house cool.
 
Nope they are saying hotter today. It was 30.1 degrees when I finished riding this morning at 7.30am. I hosed him down, scarped him off and put him in the shade to eat his hay.

I will be heading down to rake soon. They are saying 43 for Ipswich today, but we usually get hotter than them in Summer and colder than them in Winter.

I would say with it being that hot that we will be able to bale tonight.
 
Certainly hot in Stanthorpe these days, and no rain in site. I spent the last 2 days working at the local produce store for my Cousin who went on a short holiday. It was sad to hear so many hard luck stories, no one has grass, they were all buying any lucerne and grass bails they could find, we sold out of many lines in just 3 days of trading this week, just had a bit of prime lucerne left. One guy moved his cattle onto agistment in Cottonvale area 3 months ago and now there is no feed there either, he is still paying the agistment and having to feed as well. These guys are small and have no margin to play with, most have 100 or less cattle. Another guy had 100 head at the Stanthorpe yards that he was moving to 2500 acres in Tenterfield area. It was story after Story, bit depressing after a while, my cousin while on holiday had to quickly order a bunch more hay for his store, I think 800 bails will arrive tomorrow morning, they won't last long.

I preg tested a few cows during the week. Being new to cattle, I used the BioPRYN system, where you draw a sample of blood from the tail and send it to that lab. It worked well and very affordable. Just $4 a cow. With no call out fee or minimum number to test it worked a treat for me. Ken you'll be happy to know that all cows tested came in at 100% pregnant, so you have another great Bull here.

Like everyone else, I'll be dropping bails and Molavos this week, waiting for an inch or 2 of rain, and watching prices at the sale yards.

Cheers
Dale
 
Hubby make 43 round bales yesterday. They are just grass. We usually square bale the lucerne and round bale the grass.

He is out washing the round baler now. He says it dries to quick if he leaves it until it is hot. I had a look and they are saying a high of 30 degrees today.

A report on Facebook that Bats were dropping dead out of the sky with the heat yesterday, what they were doing in the sky during the day I don't know as they usually only fly at night and it is cooler with the sun down.

I think I may have lost a lot of compost worms with the heat as well. I hope at least some survived.

I lunged hubby on Sim this morning and that exercise went very well indeed.
 
It's been extremely hot here surprise surprise....Today is slightly better, 44 degs on the deck. I've been busy trying to keep animals alive. Ppl's dairy cows have been dying and I've been flat out keeping Tulip alive in the extreme heat. And she is acclimatized to it. Keeping her in shade all the time, hosing her down, putting feed in front of her but she's still barely making it. I think she has an infection in her mouth from wheat beards so have needled her for that. Folk who bought new dairy cows last year to feed poddy calves have mostly lost them. When our cat is in the shower recess by 7am, we know there's a stinker of a day coming. And its so cold over in the US and Canada!! Hard to believe.
We ended up with about seven well-conditioned cows dead in the last week, very stressful after all the work and feed we're putting into them. Maybe its botulism, not all are done for it, and not the M8U like we thought. Not to mention about 100 degree celsius out there in the sun.
First thing this morning, I thought there was a monstrous toad in the swimming pool and was suitably freaked out. Closer inspection revealed it was a rabbit. Everytime I caught it in the net, it would bounce back out into the pool. Finally managed to send it on its way. The other smelly revelation, brought to my attention by my nose, was a large dead roo with its head caught in the tennis court fence. Would you believe its still there - we're still arguing about who's removing it! Looks like its me and the four wheeler have drawn the short straw. I think the little Jack Russell contributed to both situations somehow.

There should be some good rain for somebody later this coming week but not sure who. The south west might get a good drink, don't know if we'll squeak into it. The monsoon is then gathering momentum and might make a mistake and come down over us.
 
Dale, don't tell me you had a regular job for a couple of days there. Must have been a bit of a novelty.
Without actually speaking to any one just the vibes around the place suggest that things are starting to get a bit tough around here. It was disappointing this arvo, you could see the thunderheads building up east of here and then headed off to the coast. They usually build up west of here and then pass over us.
Dale does your cousin sell the Molafos? If not where are you getting it?
Jilleroo I was putting my boots on after lunch yesterday and feeling a bit hot I looked at the thermometer and it was 35C. I thought of you, I reckon I could have added another 10C to it to get to your temp. Gee it must be hard to get going.
I think the botulism vaccination has to be fairly recent too to have a reliable effect.
Ken
 
Novelty indeed Ken, It was dam busy over there too. I need to join a union lol. I get the molafos from CRT next to howard and sons. You have to pay for it over at their main shop and then they will fill your tank or drum at the other depot. It is about 60c a litre, but will go fast. I went through 220 litres in 4 days. I plan to do it once a month through until weaning. Off to Killarney co op tomorrow to pick up some grain to complement lucerne bails over the coming weeks as we wait for some rain. Might grab some cottonseed too, if I can find it.

Cheers
Dale
 

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