Got to the top of the hill

[Dave]

The temperature was finally low enough and the humidity high enough to run the quads up to the back of the property without starting a fire. The road (using the term very loosely) was sure steep and rough. Not one to take a pickup up on. I did see a big flock of Blue Grouse on the way up the hill. So add another species of wildlife to my list. I took a couple pictures from the top looking down on the place. The barn roof is the only thing that shows well. The trees in the yard block the view of the house. The picture doesn't do justice to just how steep it is. If you were to trip where was when taking the pictures you wouldn't quit rolling for a week.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Heaven on earth!

Congrats!

 

[Nesikep]

lovely! Looks like about the same climate we have.. sagebrush and bunchgrass.. only thing green is what's irrigated

 

[JMJ Farms]

Awesome scenery Dave. Those irrigated fields really add a lot to the pic. Guess you didn't run into any cougars :lol2:

 

[Dave]

lovely! Looks like about the same climate we have.. sagebrush and bunchgrass.. only thing green is what's irrigated

It is about a 10 inch rainfall area. Yep, we grow sage brush, bunch grass, and rocks. We grow some really big rocks. This is a picture of the wife checking the water trough at a location all the locals call "Big Rock". That rock is about 5 times taller than what is in the picture.

 

[Nesikep]

a dry year here is about 7", a wet one is 17" I think.. hard to say because of microclimates in the area.. the town gets MUCH more rain than we do.. I look to the north and it's often black and raining up there but it never gets to us. Unlike the town, our rain comes from the east because of the high mountain to our west.. the clouds bunch up against it.. however, if you look east of us, there's no place for rain to come from so it's pretty rare to get a real good soaking rain.. You'll get just enough to wet your hay, not enough to be able to take a break from irrigating

 

[ALACOWMAN]

A lot of difference in country, we can get y'alls 7" in a day..

 

[cfpinz]

On the non-irrigated country, is it grazed year round or during a particular season? How many acres do you figure per cow on that type of ground? I'm going to toss out a guess of 40 acres/cow just for grins.

 

[Dave]

On the non-irrigated country, is it grazed year round or during a particular season? How many acres do you figure per cow on that type of ground? I'm going to toss out a guess of 40 acres/cow just for grins.

No year round grazing here. It is generally mid April to the end of October. That is what it is according to the permit on the BLM ground. And even on private ground there isn't any grass until mid April. By the end of October a person better get them headed for lower elevations. The top of that hill is close to 4,700 feet. The cows per acre? Probably somewhere around 100 acres per cow. It really varies depending on distance to water, the grass, how rugged the ground is, and a lot of other factors.

 

[1982vett]

A lot of difference in country, we can get y'alls 7" in a day..

Or it can take 7 months....

 

[Kingfisher]

That is a really cool place you have there. Thanks for the post

 

[Nesikep]

what's the soil like on the irrigated areas? gravel and rock or is there some good sandy loam?

 

[Dave]

what's the soil like on the irrigated areas? gravel and rock or is there some good sandy loam?

It varies a lot. Some good soil and some gravel bars deposited by the river. Certainly all gravel down a couple feet. Most of it grows good grass/clover with some alfalfa left over that was planted years ago. One good thing is I am the first place on both ditches so I have lots of water. And the water is cheap. A touch over $7.00 an acre with no pumping cost.

 

[jltrent]

Doesn't look like a whole lot of timber or firewood there. At least a slim chance of hitting a tree with the quads.

 

[Nesikep]

what's the soil like on the irrigated areas? gravel and rock or is there some good sandy loam?

It varies a lot. Some good soil and some gravel bars deposited by the river. Certainly all gravel down a couple feet. Most of it grows good grass/clover with some alfalfa left over that was planted years ago. One good thing is I am the first place on both ditches so I have lots of water. And the water is cheap. A touch over $7.00 an acre with no pumping cost.

no pumping is a BIG one.. Same kinda soil we have here pretty much I think.. some gravel bars and some spots of really nice dirt

 

[ALACOWMAN]

On the non-irrigated country, is it grazed year round or during a particular season? How many acres do you figure per cow on that type of ground? I'm going to toss out a guess of 40 acres/cow just for grins.

No year round grazing here. It is generally mid April to the end of October. That is what it is according to the permit on the BLM ground. And even on private ground there isn't any grass until mid April. By the end of October a person better get them headed for lower elevations. The top of that hill is close to 4,700 feet. The cows per acre? Probably somewhere around 100 acres per cow. It really varies depending on distance to water, the grass, how rugged the ground is, and a lot of other factors.

Probably a great place for rangy crossbreds..productive years probably cut short on a lot of em..feet,legs, teeth....

 

[Dave]

Doesn't look like a whole lot of timber or firewood there. At least a slim chance of hitting a tree with the quads.

There is lots of timber around just not on my place or to the east. A BLM firewood permit is $5.00 a cord. And I have a lot of juniper that has been down for a while. It is suppose to be decent firewood although a splitter is a must because of all the limbs.

 

[cfpinz]

On the non-irrigated country, is it grazed year round or during a particular season? How many acres do you figure per cow on that type of ground? I'm going to toss out a guess of 40 acres/cow just for grins.

No year round grazing here. It is generally mid April to the end of October. That is what it is according to the permit on the BLM ground. And even on private ground there isn't any grass until mid April. By the end of October a person better get them headed for lower elevations. The top of that hill is close to 4,700 feet. The cows per acre? Probably somewhere around 100 acres per cow. It really varies depending on distance to water, the grass, how rugged the ground is, and a lot of other factors.

Probably a great place for rangy crossbreds..productive years probably cut short on a lot of em..feet,legs, teeth....

Interesting to see the different types of cattle in varying climates. My little short, fat cows probably don't have enough leg under them to travel in Dave's country -about like a beagle chasing a deer.

 

[Dave]

No year round grazing here. It is generally mid April to the end of October. That is what it is according to the permit on the BLM ground. And even on private ground there isn't any grass until mid April. By the end of October a person better get them headed for lower elevations. The top of that hill is close to 4,700 feet. The cows per acre? Probably somewhere around 100 acres per cow. It really varies depending on distance to water, the grass, how rugged the ground is, and a lot of other factors.

Probably a great place for rangy crossbreds..productive years probably cut short on a lot of em..feet,legs, teeth....

Interesting to see the different types of cattle in varying climates. My little short, fat cows probably don't have enough leg under them to travel in Dave's country -about like a beagle chasing a deer.

The vast majority of the cows around here are Angus, Herefords, Charolais, red Angus, or crosses of those breeds. More black hided cows than anything else. Some are pretty fleshy and others are pretty rangy. There is one outfit a little North of here that one one side of the road there is around 2,000 black and baldie cows all with black baldie calves. The other side of the road there is about 100 horned Hereford bulls. I think the main thing is that they are raised in this type of country.

 

[Bestoutwest]

The vast majority of the cows around here are Angus, Herefords, Charolais, red Angus, or crosses of those breeds. More black hided cows than anything else. Some are pretty fleshy and others are pretty rangy. There is one outfit a little North of here that one one side of the road there is around 2,000 black and baldie cows all with black baldie calves. The other side of the road there is about 100 horned Hereford bulls. I think the main thing is that they are raised in this type of country.

If Beefmasters weren't so rare up here, I think they'd do well on your type of land. I know that over here near Boise, if you're selling at the barn it better be black or BWF/RWF or you're going to eat it hard.