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That is very tough Jilleroo. I know the disappointment when I missed out the other night but I am sitting pretty comfortable now with most of the cows in the tin mine. I just gotta get rid of 9 cows and 9 calves then I'll just have 7 yearling heifers on the place waiting to calve in June. It must be so frustrating for you. I feel so sorry for you and helpless.
I know you are very busy Jilleroo but I was wondering if you got the time to have a look at the thread on running down scrub bulls in Northern Australia viewtopic.php?f=8&t=89835 they show a video of running them down on bikes and running on top to hold them. There are quiet a few emotional replies to it and I was wondering if you could add any more from your knowledge to rationalise things a bit. You were proof reading cowboy Ken's writings and I thought maybe he covered throwing them by the tail. This just seems to me to be a modern day version of throwing the by the tail from horse back.
Ken
 
Well we finally had some rain, 40mm overnight and this morning so at least we've got something on the board.
There's been some isolated good storms around today and tonight but nothing near us. Our Winton place has not had any big totals either but its creeping along better than here. Channel 7 contacted us today, they'd heard we'd had little rain, and wanted to do a story for tonight's news in Brisbane. I said no, its bad enough getting so little rain without having to broadcast the fact everywhere as well! Some places E of here had 250mm overnight so they wanted some poor beggars to compare it with, both ends of the scale. Anyway hope there's still time for us to get some more. The cows had to do without today, hope they're okay as there's nothing to eat. We've filled them up as much as we can the last few days though. Our phone rings non-stop, so much so that we ignore it some of the time if we want to get anything done or meals eaten!
 
You sound like a cricketer Jilleroo, relieved to get some runs on the board and get off that duck. You just gotta work towards that half century now as the first goal. I hope something else is just around the corner.
We are having a classical green drought here. The bulk of the grass is just dead and has mulched down to nothing and with the few mm we have had over the last few days there are some shoots and it looks green from the distance but up close those shoots are well apart so very little for them to eat.
The cows I am keeping are in the tin mine and it is similar there even under all the trees however with 480 acres and only 22cows and 13 heifer calves I am hoping they find enough roughage to go with the cottonseed and Molaphos I'll be giving them. I think they will once they give up on the welfare mentality and get out and start foraging.
Ken
 
Well its hardly even a green drought here Ken. Some very sparse button grass has come up but the cows need tweezers to get it. Just roo pick. We've been advertising and ringing around for more agistment but haven't had any luck yet. Our Winton place ended up with very good rain but it remains to be seen how much grass it brings. In the meantime, we have to keep feeding the cows but we're almost out of hay, only enough for a few days left. We'll have to start thinking about shutting the place down soon, totally destocking whatever way possible. I really think that is what will end up happening. If you guys further south got some good rain it would greatly help with that process too! It will be a shame to see the girls go to sale but we've done our best and it wasnt enough, the way things look at present. Best wishes to everyone for a much better autumn than what they're forecasting.
 
So sorry to hear of your continued struggles Jilleroo. I have told many friends that as a small hobby farm type farm, my need for rain is nothing to worry about compared to the real farms that live and die by rain fall. Properties that rely on cattle to pay mortgages and daily bills. This is the true struggles that matter. I hope things improve soon Jilleroo, hang in there.

Burglar
 
I heard that this morning Jilleroo, certainly didn't sound too flash. I think they got their fingers burnt with their summer forecasts of average/above average rainfall with neutral conditions so are now erring on the side of caution.
I don't like what you are saying there Jilleroo. It would be tragic if you have to destock and can't find agistment and have to sell. Yes you have done a mighty job with them. I hope you can sort something out.
I sent 5 of my commercial cows to Warwick today. I have another 4 to go in a couple of weeks and they are the last of my commercial cows. They are pretty good cows, all well in calf and it is a real shame to have to sell them to the butchers. They brought 137.2/kg average weight 557kg and $764 which is a lot more than what they would bring if sold as PTIC and back to the paddock, just a shame.
Ken
 
So sorry Jilleroo that after everything you guys have been through you may have to destock. Life isn't fair. Trouble is, the costs far outweigh returns, even in good times.

We were lucky last night and had 58mm and its still showering. Had 60mm at the second property which is where most of our cattle are now as we were almost out of dam water here at main place. It has been patchy though as 30km north of us has only had 25mm while to the east of us falls of up to 70mm have been recorded.

Exhibited cattle at Canberra Show last week and won Senior Champion Bull, Breeders Group and showmanship award for best presented team and public relations over duration of show (for all breeds).
Hope it influences someone to buy my bull at Sydney Royal.
 
Sorry I didn't see you before leaving Canberra Diana. Congrats on the awards especially the showmanship award. You guys put in a lot of effort and it is clear to see. I wish some of the steer people would lift their game a little and look after their beds half as well as you guys.
Thank you for organising the clipping for me. The end result was fantastic. My angus steer was 2nd place light domestic steer (live) and he was 1st place light dom carcase and my angus char cross was 3rd light carcase. The black guy was 4 points off the champion carcase and out scored some of the big players on the hook.
I used my last big bale of hay yesterday, I have more coming, one day... Wouldn't be suprised if it doesn't turn up for a few weeks yet. I'm going to have to get some small load as a stop gap but thems the breaks!
I've sold all but 7 heifer calves (replacements) and I'm trying to sell my steers. The pastures here have been run into the ground and it's going to take forever to recover. The cattle that are left will eat the grass quicker than it grows if I let them out on rotation.
We're finally getting a bit of useful rain today. I think we've had over 30mm in the last 24 hours which is the highest 24 hr reading this year. I think prior to this we were at 30 something for the year to date.
I hope you can find a way to keep going Jillaroo, you've worked so hard up to now and it would be more than a shame to see the cows go.
Every day is a day closer everyone, keep on keeping on!!!
 
Congrats on your steer results OME. An excellent result. We have had 84mm rain which is amazing. Even got water in most of dams. What a relief. We also have steers to sell so hope market kicks up a bit. Not sure how widespread the rain was in NSW. Bourke did well I believe.
 
Good to hear that a few people are getting some decent rain. The creek and back dam at our place are bone dry. Thankfully we have one dam that is fed by a spring or we'd be in trouble. We're going to use this opportunity to enlarge the back dam. Although I'm sure all the earth moving contractors are very busy at the moment.

Congratulations on your success at the Canberra show OME and Diana! I often wonder where people get the motivation and drive to exhibit cattle when times are tough. Diana what exactly is the showmanship award?

I enjoyed the AI course that I completed a few weeks ago. It was run by "All State Ag services" out of maitland. It was hosted by Vitulus lowline stud at Laidly. The course was good. We practised on the "Betsy" cow simulator and then on real cows. The guy who ran the course was a character who had plenty of great stories. I need to buy some equipment now. I'm not going to get a semen tank at this stage. United Cattle Breeding Service at Allora will store semen for 5c/straw/month and then hire a small tank for about $30 a week when you want to use your semen. I'm looking forward to getting started later in the year after the cows calve.

Andrew
 
Well the dry has finally reached the news. A female farmer almost down to tears and saying they had to put down some of their cows and now they are putting down their calves. They added to the report that most of Qld has now gone into Drought and that the Government is going to help them. They do say this most of the time, however if you then have someone working off the farm like we do you don't count as being a farmer, so you don't qualify.
 
Suzie, I wouldn't even dream of looking for government assistance. That is for real farmers. I tell them nothing and just continue to pay more than my fair share of taxes in the form of GST.
Congrats on the show successes Diana and OME and that AI course sounded good Andrew. I bet your champing at the bit now to put those new skills to work.
I am anxious to hear from you Jilleroo and to get an update on what is happening. I really hope you have been able to sort out some agistment or something. We are very concerned about you.
I am starting to look for and stockpile some hay. I went to Casino on Friday and brought back 5 ton of big silage wrapped bales of grassy soyabean hay at $60/bale. I keep scanning the papers and Gumtree and ebay for some leads. I would like to get some forage sorghum bales and am hoping that some will hit the market soon. Have you tried any of the stubble hay Jilleroo like barley, wheat and sorghum and am wondering if they will eat it. I am really just after roughage as I can easily get protein and energy into them with the custom mix grain mixes and I can't count on them getting anything from the paddocks when I bring them out of the tin mine. My plan is to put them in a small paddock around my big dam and feedlot them until some grass grows hopefully in spring or whenever. It's nothing that money can't fix.
Ken
 
Thanks Andrew and Ken for the show results congrats. I understand the showmanship award was for presentation of cattle (and handlers dress etc) and our area of cattle shed , cleanliness of bedding and interaction with public. Judged over 3 days of show. I guess we try to get along with everyone, don't cause many waves and try to help others if requested. It was a great honour and means we'll have to keep up the high standards now.

Andrew, I gave a bit of thought about your query on motivation of showing. No doubt others have their own reasons but for me its a combination of advertising our stud, socialising with people who like their cattle as I do and the hope of winning. If I was beaten all the time, I would 'pull the pin' very quickly. I breed the type of cattle I prefer and show the 'prettiest' ones. Thankfully enough judges agree with me so I get some winners. It is addictive however-each new calf may be the 'next great one' (takes 18 months or so to know the truth) and each mating is eagerly anticipated. Angus showing is very competitive so its never easy, even at local shows. Does make one work a bit harder at feeding, preparation, parading etc. Prior to cattle I had show horses in the 80's and merino flock show ewes (picked a show team from the commercials) in the 90's. Just like to get out there and talk livestock with other producers. Even when we go overseas we often go to cattle shows (Denver, Farmfair in Edmonton) and visit cattle ranches in Canada. Cattle producers the world over have a lot in common. We always learn something new wherever we go. Trouble is, I seem to forget a lot of it- information overload...or just getting older. Showing is very expensive so I guess when its not fun anymore, we'll give it away and find a new hobby. Breeding poodles or something...nah, don't think so.
 
That was well put Diana. I guess my motivation for doing what I do is similar, I anticipate the new calves being born and then enjoy rearing them watching the heifers develop into young ladies and am now eagerly awaiting their first calves and then at the end of the month I start feeding the bulls for their sale at the end of July and that is sort of my big show. I like to give them every opportunity to impress the judges which in my case is the buyers. It all pins me down a bit especially with the current dry conditions but I have no desire to do anything else.
Ken
 
Thanks for your concern Ken and others...things are still much the same. We trucked 100 cows plus calves across to our northern place last week. They were in fairly ordinary condition with a lot of newborn calves but we didnt lose anything. We went over there today to see how the feed has responded to the rain - it was good on the southern side of the place but, despite having good rain, the northern half is very light indeed, just some weed and button grass, the mitchell grass is still in black dead clumps, so its mainly all blow-away stuff. The cows and calves on the southern side are looking good but, without more rain, that will soon dry off too. We can't really truck anything else from here across as we're anticipating getting kicked off one lot of agistment soon and will need to put those good young cows there. Hubby also went up to our main agistment property a couple of days ago but was pretty pleased with what he saw there. We'll have to lighten off the first calf heifers very soon - despite being vet PTIC, about 70 havent calved! So off to market they'll go, they've had their chance.
We're not feeding M8U any more - there's no roughage to go with it. The cows are all running around on the sparse green pick at the moment and won't touch the hay. What is our plan, I hear you ask?? We'd like to know! Give us one!! People are starting to dump cattle on the market again left right and centre and we've got plenty that need to go too, all the weaners we have in hand on both places is a good place to start! The problem is they're not worth a lot, the steers will sell ok but the heifers are unwanted.
Ken, we fed a lot of the frosted wheaten hay that was around and it was okay. Those big squares are pretty hard to handle in a paddock situation as opposed to the round bales. We paid about $200 a tonne in NSW or southern Qld and had it brought out at $7 km for three trailers. It was pretty green and ours gobbled it up. They don't eat the rhodes grass as enthusiastically which isnt a bad thing sometimes. I don't know what your girls would think of it if they've got a green pick. They'd probably waste a lot of it for you.
Congrats from us too Diana on your great show wins! And congrats to you too OME!
 
Hi guys, hard work this cattle bussiness. We sold some more steers at a loss again. Halved our stock so hopefully it helps. We overstocked but will only do it once. Problem we have is some of our steers are cracking teeth so they call it. Becoming 4 tooths. Feedlots are the only ones buying in our area and they are only keen on 2 toothers. What to do with the 4 toothers?? Fatten them 2 bullocks or sell the lot and restock with fresh weaners?? Any advice much appreciated. Havinago..
 
Hi Havinago, yeh things are tough. At this time of the year if you haven't got much grass I would be inclined to get rid of them and just let the grass grow ready to restock again. It is amazing how much the grass grows in tough times when there are zero cattle grazing it. Maybe if you have a handful that are not saleable keep them on and take them through to bullocks but I think I would destock completely and let the place recover.
I'm off to Brisbane on Saturday for a few days, I have to put a new kitchen in Pam's unit. A lot of preparation getting going organising the feeding of my cattle.
Ken
 
Yes Ken, real farmers up until the last year or so when Labour went and stuffed the electricity by taking off the tariff for farmers. We usually cut and make hay every 3 weeks, if the weather is perfect I can cut every week if I do the paddocks at different times, however now we can't afford to irrigate so we haven't irrigated, it hasn't rained and we are in danger of losing our crop. We have cut once and did get some round bales and some square bales. Enough for us. No one else. So we have knocked our Customers off and told them we are not supplying this year and it has already started with neighbours and people who know you asking if they can have hay and it isn't even Winter yet. It looks like it is going to be a bad Winter.

Hubby took a car back to a guy and he said he was irrigating 15 acres, hubby asked how and was onto Origing for 3 hours. They not only changed our tariff but also without telling us offpeak went from being 9pm to 7 am to being 4.30pm to 8.30 pm so we were irrigating in Peak hour without knowing and the rate was higher than domestic. Talking to someone in Beaudesert yesterday we have heard the same story over and over again. We stopped irrigating. Others didn't and are getting bills of $7,000.00 and $12,000.00.

It turns out now that if you were on Tariff 62 before you can go back on it again, however we have to wait for up to 20 days for them to come out to change the meters. That was after days on the phone with Origin just to find that out so now we have to wait 20 days while it is hot enough that if we irrigated now we might be able to grow a crop. If it is cool again by the time the meters are changed, then the lucerne won't grow. However we will be able to plant oats and have a crop for the cattle that we can't sell.

I took hubby into Beauie yesterday to get something cut off his back, we came back to a wet road, puddles and water actually trying to flow down the driveway. 8 mm just like that in the middle of the day. It is so dry we will take every drop we can get.

I have virtually said goodbye to my garden and will have to start it again when the rains finally come.

Hubby rang about getting some Weaner sold. This is what he said so I don't know if he is totally right. He rang Highchesters and there is a glut at the moment. They usually process 45 a week and at the moment are processing 200 a week. There was a sale at Beaudesert last Saturday and another one there, a show and a sale today.

So our cattle are still not worth anything. Luckily we did downsize and didn't have a bull last year. Our girls are pregnant now and should start dropping around May, so finger's crossed we get some rain and there has been a change by then.
 
wbvs58":1q32fu33 said:
Hi Havinago, yeh things are tough. At this time of the year if you haven't got much grass I would be inclined to get rid of them and just let the grass grow ready to restock again. It is amazing how much the grass grows in tough times when there are zero cattle grazing it. Maybe if you have a handful that are not saleable keep them on and take them through to bullocks but I think I would destock completely and let the place recover.
I'm off to Brisbane on Saturday for a few days, I have to put a new kitchen in Pam's unit. A lot of preparation getting going organising the feeding of my cattle.
Ken
Click to expand...
Hi Ken, thanks for the input it makes sense. Im very tempted to sell the lot & start again.Some of the bigger ones have horns which knocks the resale price around a bit too ive found out too. Heading down south for a few weeks so might reasses when i return home. Our problems are only minor compared to others on here. Sorry for whinging about my minor problem just unsure how to move on from this. We really need to fix some internal fences as its very hard to round the buggers up! Anyway ill be understocked next season try the other extreme and see how we go. Thanks again and best of luck to all. Havinago
 

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