President Sold Out

[True Grit Farms]

Not making money on cattle. He has 3 kids.
I guess the kids were not as interested as he hoped they would be. He had a herd of about 30 Simmental/Simangus cows. His bull was a Rocking P bull. The bull got crippled about a year ago. That was a big loss. He sold some seedstock.

We've talked about this allot. Cattle is a rough game. I've had good and bad years just like everyone else. Sometimes I feel like opening the gates and going home. I'm in a little to deep to quit now. 30 cows is enough to make a few dollars on but definitely not enough to worry about hay equipment. What's he feed 90 bales a year max?

He has a relative who also runs about 12 cows there. Those cows are still there but not his to manage. I am not sure how much hay they put up. But I would guess about 150 rolls/bales. It surprised everyone on the board because he was our leading advocate for farming. Someone thought it was a marital issue but he quickly dismissed that. I think he just decided to enjoy life more.

Not a very good lesson for a teacher to do IMO. But if your family isn't interested in cattle why practice? When the going gets tough the tough get going, I'd quit tomorrow if it wasn't for my wife. We are blessed to have a couple of good ag teachers in our GCA chapter.

 

[ga.prime]

Turn the mower over upside down on the ground with your FEL and get the wire off.

 

[Bestoutwest]

I'd love to farm full time, but with land going for $5K/acre, tractors in the $100K range and then there's a slew of other fun stuff to buy, how do you do it? We're going to have a rude awakening soon I'm afraid if something isn't done.

 

[fence_it]

Hay equipment breakdowns are very frustrating. Nothing like having a field ready to bale with rain in the forecast but your baler is broke. Back when we were doing hay the knotters were always giving us fits. Just not worth it.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I broke 2 header bars this past weekend, broke a yoke on my tedder and had some hay get rained on. Its Tuesday and its still setting in the field because its been flooding the last 2 afternoons. None of that compares to my day job and the frustrations and nonsense I deal with on a daily basis here. Making hay is the most stressful and enjoyable part of what I do. people that cant handle it have never really had to deal with real world problems . Saying he is an ag teacher explains it . he's got that cushy state job and real work caused him to break .

Good thing you got toughened up in the isles of Piggly Wiggly ain't it?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

What a disappointment this thread has been. I could have sworn it was gonna be about Trump.

 

[Ky hills]

What a disappointment this thread has been. I could have sworn it was gonna be about Trump.

That's what I thought at first too.

 

[bball]

Not making money on cattle. He has 3 kids.
I guess the kids were not as interested as he hoped they would be. He had a herd of about 30 Simmental/Simangus cows. His bull was a Rocking P bull. The bull got crippled about a year ago. That was a big loss. He sold some seedstock.

We've talked about this allot. Cattle is a rough game. I've had good and bad years just like everyone else. Sometimes I feel like opening the gates and going home. I'm in a little to deep to quit now. 30 cows is enough to make a few dollars on but definitely not enough to worry about hay equipment. What's he feed 90 bales a year max?

He has a relative who also runs about 12 cows there. Those cows are still there but not his to manage. I am not sure how much hay they put up. But I would guess about 150 rolls/bales. It surprised everyone on the board because he was our leading advocate for farming. Someone thought it was a marital issue but he quickly dismissed that. I think he just decided to enjoy life more.[/quote]
My wife mentions this to me monthly.

 

[bball]

What a disappointment this thread has been. I could have sworn it was gonna be about Trump.

That's what I thought at first too.

We got clickbaited!!!

 

[snoopdog]

I definitely understand the frustration , Iv threatened to quit a thousand times . Older equipment breaks down , so does new, but none of it breaks sitting in the barn. It gets dry, cows have problems , and the market don't cooperate . Despite all that , when it rains , when cows do their job , and you roll out of the field at the end of the day , there is no better feeling in the world , well maybe one .

 

[Bright Raven]

I have a front end loader, but there is no way I am working on something that big simply relying on hydraulics. A man close to here was killed because the did that.

Sstterry

DON'T get under anything supported only by hydraulics! If you work alone, a slow drawn out death under a mass that has you pinned is a wretched way to spend your last mortal hours.

 

[sstterry]

I have a front end loader, but there is no way I am working on something that big simply relying on hydraulics. A man close to here was killed because the did that.

Sstterry

DON'T get under anything supported only by hydraulics! If you work alone, a slow drawn out death under a mass that has you pinned is a wretched way to spend your last mortal hours.

I know that very well Ron. We had a whole thread about a month ago where I pointed this out. I think I know how I am going to support it now with tall jack stands along with back up support chains so there will be a 3 way safety system.

 

[Bright Raven]

I have a front end loader, but there is no way I am working on something that big simply relying on hydraulics. A man close to here was killed because the did that.

Sstterry

DON'T get under anything supported only by hydraulics! If you work alone, a slow drawn out death under a mass that has you pinned is a wretched way to spend your last mortal hours.

I know that very well Ron. We had a whole thread about a month ago where I pointed this out. I think I know how I am going to support it now with tall jack stands along with back up support chains so there will be a 3 way safety system.

Ga.Prime offered a good suggestion. I dont turn mine over because I only have had minor needs to go under except the time I replaced the stump jumper.

If this is a big job, I believe I would flip it over. Might lose some gear oil but that is simple and cheap to fix. The gear boxes have ventilation apparatuses.

 

[sstterry]

Turn the mower over upside down on the ground with your FEL and get the wire off.

That was my initial plan, but it is too wide and deep to flip with the FEL and there are no areas to hook a chain to on the sides. I mentioned above how I think I can do it safely.

 

[WalnutCrest]

I consider it one of my better ideas to own only a single tractor, which I use to intermittently feed hay in the winter ... hay bought from someone else and delivered to my place.

I do not have the capital expense of owning equipment. I don't have the time hassle of actually baling, much less the cost of fixing equipment. I don't need to buy / build extra barns to store the equipment in. I can bankrupt someone elses' soil ... or ... if they fertilize, I don't have to buy fertilizer. Etc. Whatever market rate is for hay sure seems cheap to me whenever I think about all of the nonsense I don't have to put up with.

Sure makes my time with my critters that much more enjoyable since I don't have to fiddle with depreciating and breaking equipment.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I consider it one of my better ideas to own only a single tractor, which I use to intermittently feed hay in the winter ... hay bought from someone else and delivered to my place.

I do not have the capital expense of owning equipment. I don't have the time hassle of actually baling, much less the cost of fixing equipment. I don't need to buy / build extra barns to store the equipment in. I can bankrupt someone elses' soil ... or ... if they fertilize, I don't have to buy fertilizer. Etc. Whatever market rate is for hay sure seems cheap to me whenever I think about all of the nonsense I don't have to put up with.

Sure makes my time with my critters that much more enjoyable since I don't have to fiddle with depreciating and breaking equipment.

All that is very true, and makes good sense. Myself I enjoy the farm life and not having to depend on anyone for anything. I also get a lot of satisfaction doing and fixing stuff that I've never done before. The thing that hurts the worst you have very little control over, life and death. I hate losing a calf and selling my old friends for slaughter isn't the best feeling either.

 

[JW IN VA]

I am not getting under my brush hog unless it's cribbed or blocked up some way.Lately,if I need to take off the stump jumper,I just turn it over.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I consider it one of my better ideas to own only a single tractor, which I use to intermittently feed hay in the winter ... hay bought from someone else and delivered to my place.

I do not have the capital expense of owning equipment. I don't have the time hassle of actually baling, much less the cost of fixing equipment. I don't need to buy / build extra barns to store the equipment in. I can bankrupt someone elses' soil ... or ... if they fertilize, I don't have to buy fertilizer. Etc. Whatever market rate is for hay sure seems cheap to me whenever I think about all of the nonsense I don't have to put up with.

Sure makes my time with my critters that much more enjoyable since I don't have to fiddle with depreciating and breaking equipment.

All that is very true, and makes good sense. Myself I enjoy the farm life and not having to depend on anyone for anything. I also get a lot of satisfaction doing and fixing stuff that I've never done before. The thing that hurts the worst you have very little control over, life and death. I hate losing a calf and selling my old friends for slaughter isn't the best feeling either.

You don't have to hock the farm to get decent hay'ing equipment.and machinery..I like being self sufficient... My equipment will make a Amish man jealous ...the Amish come to my farm to show their kids how they use to do it...

 

[gizmom]

The boss sold all our hay equipment several years ago. The man is a planner, he plans everything with details. Cutting hay just drove him bat chit crazy. Either the weather or the equipment would not pay attention to his schedule. It has been much less stress on us since he sold the equipment, we buy some and our hay guy bales some on halves. The problem this year is weather, we don't have the first bale it has rained every blasted day. I will say I would rather have rain than drought, our cows are pig fat right now and we can always just have standing hay.

Gizmom

 

[ALACOWMAN]

The boss sold all our hay equipment several years ago. The man is a planner, he plans everything with details. Cutting hay just drove him bat chit crazy. Either the weather or the equipment would not pay attention to his schedule. It has been much less stress on us since he sold the equipment, we buy some and our hay guy bales some on halves. The problem this year is weather, we don't have the first bale it has rained every blasted day. I will say I would rather have rain than drought, our cows are pig fat right now and we can always just have standing hay.

Gizmom

I hate hay'ing as much as anybody myself..but I hate relying on someone else even worse...and then there's is always folks ahead of you in line for it..for some unknown reason and I'll never figure it out, is that my son loves it..