Ozark Thoughts

[Anonymous]

In the South pasture, I just finished un-rolling onto the snow a large round bale of Alfalfa/clover mix for the cattle to eat and bed on. All of my noses made it through the -25 windchill last night. Even a one day old calf was up and walking. At 1:45pm here the outside thermomiter reads 4 degrees farenheit, and we have a 15 mph breeze on top of that. I just went to the weather underground main site. The map of the USA looks very cold. This big purple (their color for -30) thing is now extended down over Iowa, and still moving South!

I also checked to see what the weather was like one year ago here. Last year on 1/23 the high was 72 degrees and the low was a chilling 37 degrees.

I hope my propane holds out until I can take more money from a CD sometime after the 1st. Last month's buying of an extra $3 grand worth of hay to keep the cows especially safe was not a planned expense. It is impossible for beef prices to get high enough to offset the added expense the local ranchers are experiencing. This morning one young fella down at the feed store I know is spending an extra $800 a day for hay. (the $800 is not a typo!) He ran out of the hay his farm produced for the first time in the 8 years he has run it. It is an inherited family farm of about 900 acres and he says his grandparents can never remember running out of hay. He has over 300 head of 2nd and third trimester cows and no hay.

Yet beef cattle prices are down...

Eaglewerks



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[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

You're worse off then us, we were all they way up to 11. Granted this isn't a normal year, but neither was last year. The winter before was worse then this one, tahts how they come up with averages. The need for high priced hay is one of the reasons we spring calve. There are other reasons though. My wife would want all the calves brought into the house to keep warm, I damn near froze to death breeding cows for the neighbor in Oct. & Nov. year before last, etc. You folks had a lot more rain then we had this year but it obviously wasn't enough or was poorly timed. But, would you want to live somewhere else?

dun

> In the South pasture, I just
> finished un-rolling onto the snow
> a large round bale of
> Alfalfa/clover mix for the cattle
> to eat and bed on. All of my noses
> made it through the -25 windchill
> last night. Even a one day old
> calf was up and walking. At 1:45pm
> here the outside thermomiter reads
> 4 degrees farenheit, and we have a
> 15 mph breeze on top of that. I
> just went to the weather
> underground main site. The map of
> the USA looks very cold. This big
> purple (their color for -30) thing
> is now extended down over Iowa,
> and still moving South!

> I also checked to see what the
> weather was like one year ago
> here. Last year on 1/23 the high
> was 72 degrees and the low was a
> chilling 37 degrees.

> I hope my propane holds out until
> I can take more money from a CD
> sometime after the 1st. Last
> month's buying of an extra $3
> grand worth of hay to keep the
> cows especially safe was not a
> planned expense. It is impossible
> for beef prices to get high enough
> to offset the added expense the
> local ranchers are experiencing.
> This morning one young fella down
> at the feed store I know is
> spending an extra $800 a day for
> hay. (the $800 is not a typo!) He
> ran out of the hay his farm
> produced for the first time in the
> 8 years he has run it. It is an
> inherited family farm of about 900
> acres and he says his grandparents
> can never remember running out of
> hay. He has over 300 head of 2nd
> and third trimester cows and no
> hay.

> Yet beef cattle prices are down...

> Eaglewerks

 

[Anonymous]

I was thinking about moving south from Maine. Your weather is no better than ours. Everything around here is set up to handle the cold. The beef critters are adapted to the cold winters. I hope this artic cold snap breaks pretty soon.

pat

 

[Anonymous]

~~ But, would you want to live somewhere else? ~ dun

Nope Dun! I do really like it here compared to Northern California where I spent much of my life. Being here is like being where I was raised some 56 years ago, in the sticks North of Seattle.

Amd with my "Grandpa McCoy" overalls, I fit right in.

Eaglewerks



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[Anonymous]

This isn't really normal, but we do get a week or two each winter of really miserable cold weather. That's what makes it so noticable and why we whine so much. We get used to those 40 to 60 degree days, then along comes one of these things. But it will be back in the 40s and 50s this weekend. This week if you moved to FL you'ld still be miserable cold. Ah, mother nature and her tricks

dun

> I was thinking about moving south
> from Maine. Your weather is no
> better than ours. Everything
> around here is set up to handle
> the cold. The beef critters are
> adapted to the cold winters. I
> hope this artic cold snap breaks
> pretty soon.

> pat

 

[Anonymous]

Where in North Seattle? I was fortunet enough to leave there in the late 50's, then went back in the late 70's to Bremerton. Then just for a change of pace we moved to the Mojave Desert.

dun

> ~~ But, would you want to live
> somewhere else? ~ dun

> Nope Dun! I do really like it here
> compared to Northern California
> where I spent much of my life.
> Being here is like being where I
> was raised some 56 years ago, in
> the sticks North of Seattle.

> Amd with my "Grandpa
> McCoy" overalls, I fit right
> in.

> Eaglewerks

 

[Anonymous]

I grew up about half way between Kenmore (on lake Washington) and Alderwood Manor. The area was dotted with 5 to 20 acre dairy farms and homesteads, along with a heavy scandanavian heritage/influence. We had Cougars, bob cats and such in the woods on a regular basis, and 25 cent a gallon milk from a nearby bring-your-own-botle dairy. It's now all subdivided into a yuppieville area and has "destination spot" french restaurants.

Eaglewerks

> Where in North Seattle? I was
> fortunet enough to leave there in
> the late 50's, then went back in
> the late 70's to Bremerton. Then
> just for a change of pace we moved
> to the Mojave Desert.

> dun

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[Anonymous]

I was raised just north (at that time) of Seattle. I remeber when they took the horse pasture from in front of our place and put in "little boxes" and the chicken farm behind us was done the same way. All the woods were turned in more of the same. All of our favorite spots became Walmart/Sears/ hitch a ride parking. Before we left in 80 I took my wife around to see some of the spots I knew as a kid. I couldn't find them, had a hell of a time finding the 10 acre piece I was raised on. Progress, it really sucks!

dun

> I grew up about half way between
> Kenmore (on lake Washington) and
> Alderwood Manor. The area was
> dotted with 5 to 20 acre dairy
> farms and homesteads, along with a
> heavy scandanavian
> heritage/influence. We had
> Cougars, bob cats and such in the
> woods on a regular basis, and 25
> cent a gallon milk from a nearby
> bring-your-own-botle dairy. It's
> now all subdivided into a
> yuppieville area and has
> "destination spot"
> french restaurants.

> Eaglewerks

 

[Anonymous]

We hit 50 on the plus side yesterday, beautiful day. Today it is 8, but still nice.

The fellow spending $800 a day for 300 cows should send them here. For that much I'd feed and calve them out and retire to Hawaii. $1.50/head a day is all it should cost him.

Jason

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[Anonymous]

Thanks you guys. Ya'll made me feel better about going out to feed in the 20 degree weather we had here in central Tx. Hang in there and stay warm.

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[Anonymous]

I failed to mention that he also has the requisite number of yearling steers and heffers. His problem is that the rains have not arrived at the proper times to make sufficient hay for the past two years. Much of the land here does not hold too much moisture, and traditionally the ranchers expect some rain every week or so. Eaglewerks

> We hit 50 on the plus side
> yesterday, beautiful day. Today it
> is 8, but still nice.

> The fellow spending $800 a day for
> 300 cows should send them here.
> For that much I'd feed and calve
> them out and retire to Hawaii.
> $1.50/head a day is all it should
> cost him.

> Jason

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[Anonymous]

Don't feel sorry for him if he has 300 cows and 300 steers/heifers. 300 feeders in this market will pay for many $800 days of feed.

Jason

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[Anonymous]

> Don't feel sorry for him if he has
> 300 cows and 300 steers/heifers.
> 300 feeders in this market will
> pay for many $800 days of feed.

> Jason Jason, I do feel for him, as it has taken a long time for him to get his herd up to tthis level of production since he did not inherit the herd from his relatives, that herd was sold by the relatives. He essentially bought the vaccant family farm. Then built up a new herd.

I suspect, knowing the local growing season and land fertility here, that he will be feeding until April and perhaps through April. That means he will be spending an aditional $72,000 from now until they will again be able to graze. He has already, because of last year's drought conditions, had to feed them hay since last August. I believe he has been buying hay since December. So he is out a good $100,000 that was not planned. Around here prices have been Down at the sales barns, because of many factors, including that no local ranches are buying stock to feed, which is normally done.

Last year, thought a drought year, the small lakes and ponds were full by this time. This year my pond is around 6 feet too low! I have less than 2 feet of water in it. The temperatures have been colder (causing more stress on the cattle and a need for increased feed) and we have had regular dustings of snow which have not produced any water for the soil.

So, just because he will have some money after selling his feeders, it is a great tragedy because of the added cost to get them to market, he will likely net zilch. (300 head x $300 dollars only = $90,000) I imagine those hoped for proceeds would have paid a mortgage?

Ichi

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[Anonymous]

You keep changing the rules, first he only has 300 cows then 300 feeders as well. Now you expect me to believe he has 300 feeders worth only $300 each, and they are costing $1.30 plus per day to feed? If they are his own calves from year 2002 they should have weaned at 400 pounds plus (minimum) plus the gain since then, at least 1 pound a day since say November, that's another 90 pounds. 490 pounders selling for 61 cents in an 80 cent fat market? Tell me where.

If he hasn't done that...what has he been doing?

With your numbers he will be broke by spring. There is always a market for feeders, even if he sold them for $300 his feed bill would be half, a $40,000 more than his feed bill rather than a $10,000 loss.

Usually there is more to a story than it appears at first.

Jason

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[Anonymous]

>Know this is an old thread, but haven't been here in awhile and was just commenting to the kids today while feeding "I surely do feel sorry for the animals, but how those folks in the Midwest do it, I'll never know!". Here, in Northern Virginia, we're getting used to single digit and below 0 wind chills...but we still don't like it. Just think of all the ticks and mosquitos that won't make it through the winter though; makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. BTW, husband in Fla. on business all this week and he says it's cold there too. Mother Nature is such a card.

Thanks you guys. Ya'll made me
> feel better about going out to
> feed in the 20 degree weather we
> had here in central Tx. Hang in
> there and stay warm.