Hamilton Co. TX

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kickinbull

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Does anyone live near that area? Seems to be a lot of dairy farms for sale on DR. Did they lose thier market for milk? Realestate cameras paint a nice pic. lol.
 
kickinbull":kt9csl8b said:
Does anyone live near that area? Seems to be a lot of dairy farms for sale on DR. Did they lose thier market for milk? Realestate cameras paint a nice pic. lol.

Just down the road from me. The dairy business is dieing in Texas. Probably produce less than half the milk we produced 15 years ago. Don't let the pictures fool you. Hamilton County is is pretty bland and doesn't have a lot to offer period.
 
I have my steers processed there. It is close. I like the area but not as much as I do where I am at.

The nice thing about that area is the folks living there. Genuine people.
 
TennesseeTuxedo":1hxijoc9 said:
jasonleonard":1hxijoc9 said:
TB....What caused the downfall of the Texas dairy business, cheap milk, the drought?

Silly man, haven't you heard by now? It's Bush's fault.

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: Yeah probably. A combination of things. Milk prices are high now but haven't been good overall. Feed prices are almost triple what they were in the 90's...add to that increases in cost of labor, equipment, fuel and often time "poor management" and you have it. East and Central Texas have never really been good dairy climate anyway. Too much heat and humidity. More and more dairies are moving west to places like Pampa in the Texas Panhandle and Muleshoe near the NM border as well as Pecos. Low humidity helps and you don't have nearly as much expense complying with the TNRCC requirements for waste and waste water.
 
TexasBred":aq1lc05b said:
and you don't have nearly as much expense complying with the TNRCC requirements for waste and waste water.
My understanding of it(a lot of the CA dairymen and the TX dairymen are the same people) is that in TX the regulation is the same but it's cut and dry as in if you conform the first time around then you're set for awhile whereas here in CA they'll change the rules while you're halfway through some huge project to comply with yesterday's rules.
The panhandle was supposed to be the new jersey haven of the US with the opening of the new Hilmar cheese plant in Dalhart a few years back but the price of jersey cows, drought in Texas, milk prices, and feed costs have scared a lot of guys out of expansion. Instead milk is being shipped in from CA to the plant in Dalhart to fill the void.
 
i know a guy in muleshoe that bought a 2nd dairy therebecause everything was to his liking on the dairy.an he really wasnt looking to buy anotherv dairy at that time.
 
I still go through Hamilton County from time to time. There are still 5 or 6 operating dairies there, one is an all Jersey dairy right outside of Hico. I think at one time when the county was #6 in the state there was around 40 dairies operating. I bought a lot of bottle calves back in the late 90's around there. Most of them ran Brahma bulls with their cows, which was right up my alley. Its sad because nearly all of the old facilities are still standing, just a forlorn reminder of better times. :(
 
BrahmaHolsteinCross":3smrc3h3 said:
I still go through Hamilton County from time to time. There are still 5 or 6 operating dairies there, one is an all Jersey dairy right outside of Hico. I think at one time when the county was #6 in the state there was around 40 dairies operating. I bought a lot of bottle calves back in the late 90's around there. Most of them ran Brahma bulls with their cows, which was right up my alley. Its sad because nearly all of the old facilities are still standing, just a forlorn reminder of better times. :(

Yessir, plenty of that just about everywhere there was once a thriving dairy industry. Johnson County is the same way....East Texas even worse. A lot of empty operations in Stephenville as well and increasing every week.
 
TexasBred":33ss8co1 said:
BrahmaHolsteinCross":33ss8co1 said:
I still go through Hamilton County from time to time. There are still 5 or 6 operating dairies there, one is an all Jersey dairy right outside of Hico. I think at one time when the county was #6 in the state there was around 40 dairies operating. I bought a lot of bottle calves back in the late 90's around there. Most of them ran Brahma bulls with their cows, which was right up my alley. Its sad because nearly all of the old facilities are still standing, just a forlorn reminder of better times. :(

Yessir, plenty of that just about everywhere there was once a thriving dairy industry. Johnson County is the same way....East Texas even worse. A lot of empty operations in Stephenville as well and increasing every week.

I frequented the Stephenville dairy sale as well and I still go there every now and then too. You are right, the numbers just aren't there anymore either. The usual run nowadays at the sale out on 281 is 100 or so babies, 20 or so weaned steer calves, 3 or 4 bred heifers and 50 or so slaughter cows. I remember the other sale out on 377 when there would be 300+ baby calves alone. Back when a Holstein heifer baby would bring 400 dollars. Those were the times. Now that sale aint even worth the drive. Im going up that way in a week or two to pick me up a bred Holstein heifer if there happens to be one there at the time. Its a shame the way things have turned out. I really miss it a lot.
 

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