The fat lady has sung

[Caustic Burno]

It is over! Been steadly hauling cows for the neighbor's to the salebarn.
I start hauling mine Sat. Have to sell the cows to save the pasture.
Figure I will hold to a few heifers and my 15 month Angus bull.
Seems weird to drive by my neighbors and not a cow standing in the pasture.
I have plenty of hay to carry a few through if I get them off the pasture, I can't let the pasture get destroyed take years to rebuild.

 

[dun]

It is over! Been steadly hauling cows for the neighbor's to the salebarn.
I start hauling mine Sat. Have to sell the cows to save the pasture.
Figure I will hold to a few heifers and my 15 month Angus bull.
Seems weird to drive by my neighbors and not a cow standing in the pasture.
I have plenty of hay to carry a few through if I get them off the pasture, I can't let the pasture get destroyed take years to rebuild.

It's pretty disheartening to have to sell way down/almost out completely. But you and I have been through enough drought cycles to know it's the way things work. I don;t know how many more cycles I have left in me before I chuck the whole thing, you're probably in the same boat. (I know boat was a poor choice of words when talking drought)

 

[backhoeboogie]

I'm cutting back to 35 cows. There's no choice at this point. Even cactus is dying off.

I would have hauled several this week but was laid up in Cook's Hospital with the youngest grandson and his mild case of pneumonia. He's good now. Starting over raising two grandsons and I'm doing it all solo now. I'm stubborn enough to start over with cows too. There's 140 round bales left and everyone in the county wants to buy them. Can't sell any of it.

If things don't change soon, there will be no cows in any pasture you look at CB.

 

[dieselbeef]

aint hurting the prices any..still bringin good moneys at the barns tho..expect things will be real pricey come winter when theres nothin left to sell off.
were finally gittin some rans here so things are lookin better finally....

its too bad we cant somehow take advantage of each others situations...yall are dry..were wet...you got hay...we got none..etc....low prices..high prices...know what i mean??

gary

 

[backhoeboogie]

its too bad we cant somehow take advantage of each others situations...yall are dry..were wet...you got hay...we got none..etc....low prices..high prices...know what i mean??

gary

A "Beam me up Scotty" type of thing? That's what I am thinking. Move 'em a few hundred miles. Lots of folks are trucking 'em north. Can't see how they are going to come out with prices being what they are. You are right DB. Normally we'd be giving them away in this scenario.

 

[dieselbeef]

yeah the truckin is a killer..ive tried it with hay and i could never make it work. doubt cattle would be any different. even when ive done the hauling myself

good for you guys selling off right now in hard times that at least yer not givin em away..might help sme when the time comes to get back in. course how to figure that if the prices are high now and the market should be filling up...whats gonna happen when the market is short?

sucks man..i was backgrouding calfs over the winter here for a guy and had to git em off cuz the pasture was dust..month later its misquito heaven out there...tuff call

gary

 

[TexasBred]

Went to Ft. Worth yesterday. Five double decker loads of steers passed me going to feedlot I suppose. Met three empty double deckers going south. Riding thru the country you almost have to search for cattle but will see the occasional small group. Only thing more scarce is rolls of hay. Saw maize stalks advertised for $75 a roll and also saw an ad for coastal round bales. Don't knwo the bale size but man wants $85 a roll for them if you buy 40 or more. Gonna be a lot of gouging it seems if they can get by with it.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Went to Ft. Worth yesterday. Five double decker loads of steers passed me going to feedlot I suppose. Met three empty double deckers going south. Riding thru the country you almost have to search for cattle but will see the occasional small group. Only thing more scarce is rolls of hay. Saw maize stalks advertised for $75 a roll and also saw an ad for coastal round bales. Don't knwo the bale size but man wants $85 a roll for them if you buy 40 or more. Gonna be a lot of gouging it seems if they can get by with it.

if he's irrigating that coastal, he's losing money. I've tried it. Folks want me to do it now. It doesn't pencil out.

 

[dieselbeef]

we had 40 rolls left..my partner sold it off for 40/roll...hermathia mix..one guy bought it all to put up

i was guessing hes figuring a shortage since we got rain so late..but at least we got it

gary

 

[TexasBred]

Went to Ft. Worth yesterday. Five double decker loads of steers passed me going to feedlot I suppose. Met three empty double deckers going south. Riding thru the country you almost have to search for cattle but will see the occasional small group. Only thing more scarce is rolls of hay. Saw maize stalks advertised for $75 a roll and also saw an ad for coastal round bales. Don't knwo the bale size but man wants $85 a roll for them if you buy 40 or more. Gonna be a lot of gouging it seems if they can get by with it.

if he's irrigating that coastal, he's losing money. I've tried it. Folks want me to do it now. It doesn't pencil out.

No idea Boogie...might even be some left over from last year. Didn't know the fellow.

 

[1982vett]

Didn't nap at the sale today...cows are roughly off 10 - 15 cents from when I sold two months ago. 30 days since the last rain leave about 10 more to go before looking for the next chance....I'm back on the fence trying to figure the roll of the dice this time. Couple young heavy bread (Black) cows ran up to 70 cents...those are going to get hauled to greener pastures...

 

[john250]

It is over! Been steadly hauling cows for the neighbor's to the salebarn.
I start hauling mine Sat. Have to sell the cows to save the pasture.
Figure I will hold to a few heifers and my 15 month Angus bull.
Seems weird to drive by my neighbors and not a cow standing in the pasture.
I have plenty of hay to carry a few through if I get them off the pasture, I can't let the pasture get destroyed take years to rebuild.

First, my sympathy to you and your neighbors. This de-population of the Texas cattle herd is going to affect the US cattle business for years to come. Dang it, I am not in a position to take advantage of this. I've trimmed my own herd 50% thanks to low prices and a late frost and ethanol.

 

[baleflipper]

Just got home from putting out round bales of hay an cubes.Got Enough to make it to mid Sept.If doesnt rain by then The fat lady gonna be singing Turn Out The Lights The Partys Over.
Feels strange to be feeding cattle round bales in mid July.

 

[1982vett]

It is over! Been steadly hauling cows for the neighbor's to the salebarn.
I start hauling mine Sat. Have to sell the cows to save the pasture.
Figure I will hold to a few heifers and my 15 month Angus bull.
Seems weird to drive by my neighbors and not a cow standing in the pasture.
I have plenty of hay to carry a few through if I get them off the pasture, I can't let the pasture get destroyed take years to rebuild.

First, my sympathy to you and your neighbors. This de-population of the Texas cattle herd is going to affect the US cattle business for years to come. Dang it, I am not in a position to take advantage of this. I've trimmed my own herd 50% thanks to low prices and a late frost and ethanol.

The economics of my small operation is what keeps me from stressing out about selling..
I think alot more of us should do like Causic....instead of fueling a tractor - fuel a boat.... :nod:

 

[lavacarancher]

Yes sir, I feel for ya. Had to do that in '09. Sold off 111 head and kept 30 or so. Got about 60 head now and moved 10 heifers and a bull down the road where the grass is waist deep. They've been there about two months now and so danged fat you wouldn't believe. Having to haul water over there but cattle are doing great.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Well a first has happened here this evening I just finished putting out hay. Never in my life have I ever put out hay in July. Our normal rainfall is 60 inches a year we were behind 25 inches last year and 36 this year. Both spring fed creeks that run through my place have dried up. The last time Falls Branch dried up was in 1910. Big Cypress, Caney,Coontop,Carwash, and Russel creeks are dry to name a few this again is a first. Got a notice to conserve water today as the aquafier is being stressed. Stressed he!! it's going dry as it is the one that feeds the springs that feed the above mentioned creeks.

 

[1982vett]

A neighbor had to have a new pump put on his well...He said watermarks on the pipe shows water level is 15 feet below its highest level in recent years.

 

[hillrancher]

I hauled off yeasterday and today and going to continue. We got more than half a years rainfall in the springs in 3 weeks and no rain for over 8 weeks. My pastures is like walking in corn flakes. Did get a shower while at the sale today. Pairs, cows and bulls were off the others up. May not be anything to replace when we can support more. Just happy the price is still up. I am not as bad as others and complaining.

 

[Pineland]

I am sorry to hear CB. I wish you well and we will all continue to pray for rain.

We have been fighting the same battle and the only thing saving us is our previous 5 years worth of work on our wildlife forage management areas. We are a TPW level 3 managed property. My wildlife biologist is going to be unhappy with us because we have been running temporary fence through these area and letting the cattle graze away. But you got to do what you got to do. We also purchased a k-line system to test out and so far it has saved our primary pasture.

I just contracted with a forester today to come and thin out some more areas were we can begin to grow some natural forage.

Thanks again for the advice on the Brangus heifers. We love them. They are thriving.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Again sorry to hear.

 

[Caustic Burno]

The amazing thing is I went from 35 head to 28 to 12 just because over the last few years. My place has always been able to support the higher number belly deep in grass. The 12 are looking for something to eat. One neighbor is down to 50 on 400 acres and I am hauling for him on tuesday. Since I was a little boy and that wasn't yesterday I don't ever recall less than a couple hundred on his place in the worst of times. Truck hasn't been backing up to the 16' gooseneck been using the 24' one. One neighbor called the salebarn and they came out with several trailers loaded everything with the exception of one old longhorn he wanted to keep.
Think I got a line on a lease pasture last night at church. I sure would like to hold on to these girls as I have 8 heifer calves about a month old on them. Those baldie heifers will be pure gold next spring if I can hold on.
Going to pen this evening and tooth everything again in case the lease falls through or is not worth it.
The best five cows and heifers will get a reprive as I have enough hay to hold that many until next spring.