The fat lady has sung

[backhoeboogie]

Lets roll out the red carpet. I could use some storms.

 

[Isomade]

Lets roll out the red carpet. I could use some storms.

:nod: bring em on

 

[Caustic Burno]

Key word here is MILD tropical storm Hurricane's not welcome.

We have had a little system move in got a 1/4 inch friday and another saturday, 50% chance today and 40% tomorrow with a chance the rest of the week. I forgot how much I missed humidity.
Welcome relief, the drought is a long way from over.

 

[kerley]

We must be getting the rain from the same storm. It's been raining here sence the 14th, we got four inches acording to the rain guage.

 

[jayh]

I hope you guys get some rain soon.

I really feel for you guys. Farming ranching really is a way of life. You guys have my respect.

I work in town all day so I can come home and play :roll: (work) on our place that my great grandad has handed down. I love it but I have to have a job to support my family.

 

[JSCATTLE]

Ended up with 5.5 inches of rain since the 15 th weather man said 70 % Monday and Tuesday 20 miles away my pastures got 1 inch hope that storm cb is talking about makes it .

 

[slick4591]

Glad to hear you got some of that stuff. Now, please push it up my way.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

35/100 since Jan 1, here. a hair over 1.25 since late September. every event less than 15/100ths and many days apart - so, essentially useless.:frowns:

Humidity up today and 60% chance for tonight.

 

[JSCATTLE]

35/100 since Jan 1, here. a hair over 1.25 since late September. every event less than 15/100ths and many days apart - so, essentially useless.:frowns:

Humidity up today and 60% chance for tonight.

I hope you guys get 4 inches .

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I am so sorry about your needing rain. Here we are flooding and you have dirt flying. Prayers for your animals.
Sure wish those farmers would quit turning their pastures into corn crops... :bang: Making it hard to find hay, even with the rain.
Valerie

Well I suppose we can thank our misguided government for pushing ethanol so hard can't we?

 

[Hippie Rancher]

35/100 since Jan 1, here. a hair over 1.25 since late September. every event less than 15/100ths and many days apart - so, essentially useless.:frowns:

Humidity up today and 60% chance for tonight.

I hope you guys get 4 inches .

Only if it comes REALLY slow! that would take most of the soil off of this place if it came like normal summer rain around here! Perfection would be 1/2 inch a day for a couple weeks

and we did just get 22/100 - which laid the dust and even made a few little puddles! :banana:

 

[kenny thomas]

I know it is not as bad as having to sell out but slaughter cows and bulls here have dropped 3-5 this week. Only reason I get from the slaughterhouse is we can get them in Texas and ship them here cheaper than we have been paying here. So really the drought in Texas and a lot of the south is hurting slaughter prices here.
Really hope you all get rain.
How many of the ranches that have or will sell all their cattle will get back in after the rains?
vette, are you saying 2006 was wet compared to now. I was there in August-September 2006 and it was the dryest place I have ever been. Never saw a creek with water in it in the time I worked there.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I culled down to about half . But I'm holding hiefer s . If the rain starts ill be in good shape to keep them if prices are high ill be in good shape to sell them . Most likely ill sell them even with the drought people will get back in. Especially the ones that sold out early.

 

[1982vett]

I know it is not as bad as having to sell out but slaughter cows and bulls here have dropped 3-5 this week. Only reason I get from the slaughterhouse is we can get them in Texas and ship them here cheaper than we have been paying here. So really the drought in Texas and a lot of the south is hurting slaughter prices here.
Really hope you all get rain.
How many of the ranches that have or will sell all their cattle will get back in after the rains?
vette, are you saying 2006 was wet compared to now. I was there in August-September 2006 and it was the dryest place I have ever been. Never saw a creek with water in it in the time I worked there.

Kenny, all the waterholes, tanks, ponds etc...are just about dry. I have two of 4 that still have water in them but they are at their lowest I've ever seen. Up until lately, the dryspells were more regonal...Severe drought or worse is statewide over 5 states and a large part of another 9. Beginning to hear talk that the years of the dust bowl were wetter....I haven't researched that, but wouldn't doubt it locally....

 

[spinandslide]

Humidity was up this weekend..but it didnt make for anything but more miserable heat..

combined with the skeeters who are loving my irrigating the hayfield are making it 10 times worse.

 

[TexasBred]

Humidity was up this weekend..but it didnt make for anything but more miserable heat..

combined with the skeeters who are loving my irrigating the hayfield are making it 10 times worse.

Skeeters around here are learning to live on sweat.

 

[Stocker Steve]

What I've seen since 1996, basically my first run in with drought...we came into a dry spell in early spring which broke in late July....made plenty of forage for pasture and hay...Oats were planted early early September.....from then we had wet spells and dry spells...usually lasting 2 - 3 months June to August...learned to work with that pattern....first sign of change was 2006 dry spring...some moisture in summer and dry fall. Oat planting time slipped all the way to mid-October....when moisture began to return...Then 2007....2008...wet spells were 3 months long usually Jan - Mar...then 2009 dry till September and 80% of the years rainfall average fell in 3 months before tapering off and leaving 2010 15 inches short for the year...At present I'm 16 inches behind for this year....Oats, few had any grazing from them at all since it was a Christmas Eve rain that brought them up.

What am I getting at....It's still getting worse, not better. pretty much the same weather South Texas has experienced since 1996 except for the occasional tropical storm passing by. Dry spells are longer and wet spells are a few days long about 40 to 60 days apart.... Look at my avatar... From 1996 to Now is 15 years....I'll wager it WILL NOT change tomorrow and WILL NOT return to "Normal" any time in the near future....This isn't localized as it once was where you can feed thru it. I'm not screaming and Al Gore climate change...Dig up the long range forecasts from 94 and 95....for our area they predicted below normal precipitation for 15 - 20 years...(el nino, la nina effects :roll: ) some how I guess they got it right...which means we shouldn't expect "change" for another couple years....and what they didn't say - if it take 15 - 20 years to get here it is probably going to take that long to get back....roughly means another 7 before we get back to the wonderful 2006 conditions....IF it turns on a dime TODAY!

Folks better understand the difference between "localized" and "wide-spread"...one you can feed thru and hit the ground running....the other you run till you hit the ground.


No amount of MIG grazing or pasture rotation is going to fix that.

This is what I've seen and learned since 1996. ;-)

When I lived in the Dakotas, the wet and dry cycles were pretty obvious but I don't remember them being as long as as this?

 

[Stocker Steve]

The drought here has been minor this year compared to past droughts and what many or you are experiencing. A severe drought can and will knock anyone's knees from under them. Each individual has his own risk tolerance and goals and only the individual knows what is acceptable to them. I have not yet recovered from the 2007-2008 drought we experienced. Not only were my pastures adversely impacted, my earnings since were because I have not had the number of feeder calves to market . In retrospect I have concluded that I would have been ahead to have forfeited a years income by buying expensive trucked hay and maintaining the brood stock in BCS at not less than 5 and rested all the pastures. Had I done that I believe that I could have resumed the before drought daily operations with the resulting income once rains returned. Instead, I have been impacted with a reduction of brood stock that will take time to replenish, some cattle were slower to cycle due to reduced body condition, the pastures were harmed extensively and the before drought income took a hit for 2 years following the drought. The pastures still have not recovered to the before drought condition. The reason that I posted this was to suggest to look forward as to the impact along with the current situation. I did not have that foresight as I had never experienced such severe drought.

For an not such severe drought where you can cull down and carry part of the herd through - - are you better off retaining heifers or cows?

 

[agmantoo]

Stocker Steve

IMO if a person intends to remain in the cattle business on a for profit basis then the proven cows are the animals to retain. Known good health and proven performance and having already reach maturity has a lot of merit. A heifer, particularly a bred heifer, may need to keep growing and to frequently provide for an unborn calf at the same time. With minimal and marginal feed the stress can be too much creating future issues. An old cow may lose some weight but will already have the structure. When times and feed do improve she will put the weight back on rapidly. Compensatory gain is something that benefits my herd when overwintering and stockpiled forage is less than desirable.

 

[TexasBred]

35/100 since Jan 1, here. a hair over 1.25 since late September. every event less than 15/100ths and many days apart - so, essentially useless.:frowns:

Humidity up today and 60% chance for tonight.

You know a feller lives in a dry area when he buys a rain gauge that measures to hundreths and loves even one or two of those hundredths. Hope you get more soon.