Thick and thin
- Thread starter gcreekrch
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wbvs58
Well-known member
Are ya gonna have enough Dave?
Ken
Ken
uplandnut
Well-known member
I'm assuming this is a first cutting for you up there? Do you even normally get a second crop?
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
I'm getting between 50-60% of "normal" here. Going to be a very lean year around here. Some of the horsey folks and petting zoo types i supply are going to have to look hard elsewhere for feed.
Cows get what regrowth we have when they return home from range.
Time will tell. I know of a couple swamps that no one else is cutting. We have never been short of hay Ken but we have had too many cows a lot of times.
farmerjan
Well-known member
We are also running 2/3 to 3/4 normal hay yield. But the second cutting that we normally make, especially the orchard grass fields, is looking real sad. No rain to speak of through this area, had a little that just disappeared with temps back in the 90's.... that is our main sq bale hay for the customers that we have had for years. Hoping that this week will bring some and it won't split and go around us again like the last couple times. I went to the stockyards Friday to just see and they had over 1,000 head which was more than normal for this time of year. A lot of young cows that they pulled calves off in the cull pen, that were THIN, weighing 850-900, and brought $.40-.45 a lb. Don't know if they had been exposed.. but for $400/hd you could get experienced young cows, put 2-300 lbs on them, get them bred and sell as breds in the spring.... if you had pasture or hay... I expect we will see more of that because the talk was just how dry and burnt up the pastures were and how everyone seems to have 1/2 the hay made....
We are down a bit in cow numbers and that is good. Got several fields yet to rotate to at different pastures, but it is dry dry grass...
Preg checking a group Wed that should have been calving... any opens will go, they are in good shape as all calves are weaned and they have been dry a couple months...Sold calves earlier when prices were up...
We are down a bit in cow numbers and that is good. Got several fields yet to rotate to at different pastures, but it is dry dry grass...
Preg checking a group Wed that should have been calving... any opens will go, they are in good shape as all calves are weaned and they have been dry a couple months...Sold calves earlier when prices were up...
Who does your preg checking?
So far on 300ac I have baled 114 1500-1600lb bales, have another 300ac that only the low spots are worth cutting and they are thin. Between the lack of rainfall and grasshoppers it is turning into a wreck, I fertilized about half of my hay acres and the only place that showed a difference was where I forgot to turn on the spreader spinners. The hoppers were fatter!
farmerjan
Well-known member
@cfpinz , I like Dr Todd Wiseman from Dayton Vet. He does several of the dairies down this way now too. He really helped us when we had some issues with a bought bull.... turns out it was a serious case of Johnes.... he blood tested and the titers were off the charts. He also is good with doing things like an LDA and can do it in the field with no big deal... some require you to take the cow to the vet office... a couple shots, put the cow down with a tranq like rompum, do the surgery, and done and up.....
He also does the bangs vacc on the heifers we keep for replacements.... and I can call him and get most drugs with no big deal. We also deal with Blue Ridge Vet in Lexington, but our favorite vet there retired out and have not found anyone else there that we "really like"....
We have a retired vet friend that does alot of our preg checks; palpation; because he will do them on the weekend when my son is off. But he had shoulder surgery and has not been able to do it since last year. Have another friend that worked for us in high school, that did it in college, and has done some but the accuracy has been ?????... I am not accurate until the fetus gets more developed... 5+ months.... and will check the ones we buy from the stockyards... and have been pretty accurate on them. But I cannot do alot due to the knees hurting with the standing for any length of time.
Since this group of cows were checked by the retired vet just before his surgery, then rechecked by the friend... it is time to stop feeding them if they are not. We want to move cattle around, and wean the last of the heifers off the cows that should be starting in another 6-8 weeks... and if these cows were shorter bred, and will be calving soon, then they can just go with the rest that are due this fall.
With it getting really dry, we are looking at what we might have to do with cattle at certain places. Have several fields to rotate cattle to yet, but a couple places there is not any cross fencing....so might have to move some stuff around or even start feeding. There are several farmers already feeding some hay...
Cull cow prices are dropping a bit, and if there are many open in this group... they are going now while they are in good condition and before prices drop more.
He also does the bangs vacc on the heifers we keep for replacements.... and I can call him and get most drugs with no big deal. We also deal with Blue Ridge Vet in Lexington, but our favorite vet there retired out and have not found anyone else there that we "really like"....
We have a retired vet friend that does alot of our preg checks; palpation; because he will do them on the weekend when my son is off. But he had shoulder surgery and has not been able to do it since last year. Have another friend that worked for us in high school, that did it in college, and has done some but the accuracy has been ?????... I am not accurate until the fetus gets more developed... 5+ months.... and will check the ones we buy from the stockyards... and have been pretty accurate on them. But I cannot do alot due to the knees hurting with the standing for any length of time.
Since this group of cows were checked by the retired vet just before his surgery, then rechecked by the friend... it is time to stop feeding them if they are not. We want to move cattle around, and wean the last of the heifers off the cows that should be starting in another 6-8 weeks... and if these cows were shorter bred, and will be calving soon, then they can just go with the rest that are due this fall.
With it getting really dry, we are looking at what we might have to do with cattle at certain places. Have several fields to rotate cattle to yet, but a couple places there is not any cross fencing....so might have to move some stuff around or even start feeding. There are several farmers already feeding some hay...
Cull cow prices are dropping a bit, and if there are many open in this group... they are going now while they are in good condition and before prices drop more.
I'm thinking the same way you are, and giving every cow we own the stinkeye in case we don't get a 2nd cut. My numbers are still down from a few years back, but I'm glad of it this year.
My wife works for Valley Herd Health in Verona if you would like another option, and I have nothing but good things to say about the Dr.'s in her clinic.
1982vett
Well-known member
Best thing I ever did is cut the herd to 50-60% "book capacity". I've had extra forage even if it was burnt up and dry.
Pre 2010 I was running a cow to 3 acres, by the end of 2011 it was a cow to 13 acres. Happy medium since has been about 1 to 6 acres.
Pre 2010 I was running a cow to 3 acres, by the end of 2011 it was a cow to 13 acres. Happy medium since has been about 1 to 6 acres.
farmerjan
Well-known member
Yes, Ma'am.
They also have a younger female vet who is quite good, too. Good people.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
And his wife is an expert on goats I hear. I'm gonna stop next trip by there and ask some goat questions. Lol. She's going to kill him when I do.
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