Pic of old cow. What does she tell you?

[dun]

Thanks for all the replys! She has a bull calf on her now but if I got a heifer calf from her would ya'll think about keeping her, or is it sale barn time?

Walt

A cow her age and the udder and BCS while feeding a calf, it would sue put her heifer calves on the possibiles list. But he final decisions depends on how well the heifer grows out ad looks come weaning/selling time.

 

[rosebudbeef]

She looks good considering her age and calf. Great pair. She does look alittle dairy. Teets look good.

 

[Sir Loin]

Walt,
Re:

if I got a heifer calf from her would ya'll think about keeping her, or is it sale barn time?

Yes, but that's kind of a loaded question as I haven't seen the bull or the calf, so let me put it this way.

In my younger years I built a herd from buying someone else's cull cows.
Yes the risk is high but the cost is low.
Many people cull just because of age, looks or over stocked, so if I thought I could get one or more calves out of her I would buy her. When she made a turn for the worst I would sell her and keep the heifer calves.
IMHO, it's a good way for a beginner to get started with the least amount of investment.

SL

 

[Txwalt]

Why does she look a little dairy? Is it because of her hind quarters?

Walt

 

[Sir Loin]

Re:

Why does she look a little dairy? Is it because of her hind quarters?

It might just be the pics that make her look that way or it may be her breeding.
What I see that makes me agree she does look a "little" dairy is her large bag, a slight sway back and shorter legs.
And on a scale of 1-10, her muscle content and tone is around a 6 or 7 in the pics, compared to a full blood angus.

SL

 

[Caustic Burno]

Walt,
Dittos on everything everyone else said except the poor grass part.



SL

If you knew the grasses of the area you could tell by the pale color that is weak grass which will be low in nutrients.

 

[Sir Loin]

Re:
SL

Dittos on everything everyone else said except the poor grass part.
It looks to me that she has plenty to eat.

CB

If you knew the grasses of the area you could tell by the pale color that is weak grass which will be low in nutrients.

SO what? She still has plenty to eat.
Cows have been living on a lot less for thousands of years and have done just fine, so I'm sure she will make it also.
SL

 

[preston39]

Except for her age one could conclude she needs worming. She is probably a smooth mouth which limits her intake. Not bad for a 12 YO...nice calf.

Provide proper minerals and she looks like she is good for 2-3 more calves.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Re:
SL

Dittos on everything everyone else said except the poor grass part.
It looks to me that she has plenty to eat.

CB

If you knew the grasses of the area you could tell by the pale color that is weak grass which will be low in nutrients.

SO what? She still has plenty to eat.
Cows have been living on a lot less for thousands of years and have done just fine, so I'm sure she will make it also.
SL

Again and again you show your ignorance. Number one the grass is short soil base is primarly sand in East Texas so he is taking years off his cattles production life. You can easily get 18 to 20 years production out of a cow here versus 12-14 due to poor grass = poor teeth. Higher nutrient grass = feed = higher stocking rates without overstocking. This is how you maximize profit without replacing cows unessarily. Cheaper to carry a healthy fit cow on quality forage.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Why does she look a little dairy? Is it because of her hind quarters?

Walt

simmental were dual purpose cattle dairy/beef animal if she looks a little dairy there's a reason for it. its their make up

 

[Mongoose]

IMO that cow def. for her age looks great!

 

[Sir Loin]

CB,
Re:

This is how you maximize profit without replacing cows unessarily.

Don't even talk to me about profit until you start expensing your land cost at fair market value like the rest of us.
Re:

Number one the grass is short soil base is primarly sand in East Texas so he is taking years off his cattles production life.

If that's so, then fertilizing to force the grass to turn dark green is a waste of good money as most of your fertilizer is flushed down the river the first time it rains and is polluting the streams and rivers.
IMO too much fertilizer is worse then no fertilizer and is far more expensive then a cow's longevity.
IMO it's far better for the grass, the cows and economically speaking, to fertilize to only sustain your grass rather then to force it to grow. Particularly in sandy soils.
FYI:

Fertilizing
Over-fertilizing does not improve plant growth and can damage the roots of turf grasses and pasture grasses, as well as harm water quality. Nitrogen and phosphorus, components of fertilizer, are easily washed into ground and surface waters. Fertilizer washed into a wetland can literally choke it to death, because the increased nutrients will cause algae to flourish, depleting the oxygen needed by other organisms.

SL

 

[Dave]

Phosphorous does not move easily into the water. When it does it is generally cause by erosion and it is carried along with soil particals. This is generally not a problem in most pastures. Not saying that P can't wash out but for that to happen the soil has to be super saturated with P. It is very very rare for people to apply that much fertilizer P. What does occur is people applying manure and balancing for the N in the manure. This provides more P than is needed and it builds up over time.
Nitrate-nitrogen is water soluable and will move readily with water. But that is only one of the many forms that nitrogen is in. It is also the form which plants use most readily. With any care at all a person can apply N so the plants take it up before it is washed away. Grass will typically use between 30 to 60 pounds of N per ton of dry matter. It has the ability to use lots of N long before leaching or runoff become an issue. Timing of application goes a long ways toward addressing any non-point pollution issues from pastures.
Walt, I like the cow. She is in my way of thinking the best kind, one that has already made you money.

 

[Sir Loin]

AB,
Re:

Not all of us expense land,

I know that. I was just pulling CB's chain a little.
But still, the purse may be the dictating factor as to how much fertilizer is used, If any, not a soil test or the local ag folks.

Us old timers look at it this way.
Grass has been growing for thousands of years without mans intervention and will continue to do so long after we are gone.
Now when we fence off a portion of it and run cows on it, it may need a little help sustaining itself. And that is what you should do; give it a little help to sustain it as close to natural as possible.
IMO you should let the grass work for you, not you work for the grass, just like your cattle should work for you and not the other way around.

IMO there is a delicate balance between what grows above the ground and what grows below the ground and any time you fool with that balance you may be asking for trouble and an added expense you don't really need.
Now I don't have a lot of book learnen on it, but it seems to me that sudden bursts of nitrogen to the roots below and/or the stalks above are as harmful to grass as "over grazing" or drought.

Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a little fertilizer or lime but if you are trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, I'm again it.

IMO if you learn to play the cards you are dealt, you will have a much better chance of coming out a winner and that goes for your pasture lands too.
SL

 

[Txwalt]

Angus/Brangus. I'll put the soil sample on my ever growing list of chores. I still have lots of fence to build. My goal is to have something like this in 3 or 4 years.

If the fert and 2-4d start biting my pocket book to much it may not happen.

Walt

 

[backhoeboogie]

Us old timers look at it this way.
Grass has been growing for thousands of years without mans intervention and will continue to do so long after we are gone.
SL

Improved pasture is not native grasses. The prairies and open range are long gone in Texas. The Armadillo migrated in with vegetation that migrated in. If the pastures are not taken care of, they will revert to weeds and forest. All you have to do is watch what happens when the farm is let go - and we have all seen it. It is easier to maintain a good pasture than it is to create one.

 

[dun]

It is easier to maintain a good pasture than it is to create one.

Bingo
A lot less expensive also

 

[Txwalt]

Judging from the pastures around here most folks stick to native grasses. Unless they are growing hay. My property was not taken care of at all before I purchased it. Its probably a picture perfect example of what years of overgrazing will do. The cows eat the grass and the weeds keep getting taller and taller. Right now I'm thinking I'll spray the whole field with 2-4d and fert next spring. I'm not sure the 2-4d will help much in the fall as the place is covered up in spring weeds. I will have a soil test first.


Walt

 

[dun]

Judging from the pastures around here most folks stick to native grasses. Unless they are growing hay. My property was not taken care of at all before I purchased it. Its probably a picture perfect example of what years of overgrazing will do. The cows eat the grass and the weeds keep getting taller and taller. Right now I'm thinking I'll spray the whole field with 2-4d and fert next spring. I'm not sure the 2-4d will help much in the fall as the place is covered up in spring weeds. I will have a soil test first.


Walt

As I was told by a neighbor, "It took years for the pasture to get this bad, you can;t expect to get it right in just one year".

 

[Txwalt]

I thought I would update ya'll. Daisy dropped another bull calf for me last week. She's been vaced and wormed since the last post. She's doing fine although she doesn't look great. The Liquid protein tubs were delivered last week. I'm always behind on stuff like that but I'm trying to get a handle on it. Hopefully their poop will start thinning out. She was pregnant when I bought her although I didn't know it. She must have breed back real quick because the rancher I purchased her from thought the calf she had was too young for her to be pregnant already (his operation calfs year round). Hopefully the rest of the cows will be birthing in March on schedule.