To breed for fall or not is my problem

[Till-Hill]

So here is my deal. 10 years ago bought fall cows. Live in NE Iowa wanted high selling calves in spring and the ability to AI in winter. Built up a pretty good set and well then girlfriend now wife wanted spring cows to raise show calves and more replacement kind of cattle as I'd say 99% cattle around me are springs. We have 3 fall cows due 8-14 and 3 of their heifers left. Will as of now calve 18 spring cows in. Have pasture for 20-25 and won't buy any. Fall cows are kind of in the way now too when spring cows start calving and hard to wean 2x a year with few numbers I got.

Got a really good registered polled Hereford cow that was a spring but only had fall cows at the time so I moved her to fall cows. She is coming 8. Perfect cow to raise show calves and have sold a herd sire out of her. Just getting old enough not worth alot to somebody else but I know she can raise marketable spring calves.

Simmental sired 2nd calver out of the hereford cow. Picture perfect udder calm as you can make one. Held condition and raised biggest calf last year. She about same as her momma not worth alot to someone else and hard to market fall calves here besides sale barn etc...

Simmental x Hereford Angus cow that I sold over $7,500 spring calves out of and they all did really good. This year calf stood 3rd overall same as last year. The fall Simmental daughter has a poor udder so her time here is limited anyway. Will be bred for clubby production from here on out. Kept heifer back and will see if her udder any better.

I know holding them over is going to hurt pocket book on losing 6 months but really it won't as steers will have added value in my current market. I start calving 2-19-14 and my thoughts were to breed the 3 fall cows and 3 fall heifers for 2-1-15 and haul them to grass and they would be out of the way. Should settle very easy, they do in the fall with no special treatment.

What's everyone's thoughts? I either going to move calving dates or put a trailer under them. Just don't think as a mixed group of ages and breeds I will get what they worth to me......

 

[Lucky_P]

T-H,
Around here, if the wife wanted to roll 'em to another season - they'd be rolling to another season. Who am I to argue with the farm manager?
It took several years to get to defined spring/fall calving seasons, moving from a spread-out, almost year-round calving system - and it necessitated holding some open for an extended period - but, as you say, it's small numbers, and, a bigger point to me - no one would value what they are as much as you do, so...here, we'd probably change calving dates, rather than shipping 'em.

 

[Till-Hill]

Thanks Lucky_P only been married little over a year so I still got to argue with the wife sometimes! I keep a very tight calving window. Never moved a open cow to differnt season. This year all falls due 8-14-13 and springs 2-19-14 to well bull getting pulled in two weeks but anybody bred in last month will get sold so end calving 5-1-14, this year we did springs in 2-17 to 4-2 but bought a cow from a family estate deal of boss' so ended 4-25 with one clean-up sired calf. Like to keep it that way!

 

[cow pollinater]

I ran a small spring herd of registered stuff and the bulk of the herd as fall calvers for a while. I think canning the spring calvers and just doing it all one time every year has been one of the smarter things I've done in my life.
Learning to let my wife have her way ranks right up there.

 

[Till-Hill]

CP that's my deal is the work in 3 vs 25 I can't calve that many at a time but I will stretch my spring calving window to 90 days and I think it will work out in the end.

Best and worst thing I have done is marrying a woman who knows as much or more about cows that me! Mainly mating choices is where the real screaming starts! And now God is going to bless me with a daughter soon here so it's going to be 2 on 1 for awhile! Somehow I got to teach the daughter that shorthorns are bad asap! haha

 

[Jessica06]

I love Baxter Black's "ranch couple" stories. I laugh so hard because they are SO true.

Somehow we are still working together after 7 years. It gets easier, but I'm sorry to say to say that the screaming probably won't completely stop. I read an older ranch wife's advice on a blog a while back and took it to heart...what's said at the pens, stays at the pens. Most of it is said in the heat of the moment, and it's best not to take anything personally. Nobody said marriage, or working with your spouse (!) is easy.

 

[Lucky_P]

2-on-1 for a while? Yeah, for the rest of your life!
That said, letting the farm manager have her way is a good thing - at least, in my case, 'cause she's RIGHT 99% of the time.

 

[Till-Hill]

I hear you Lucky_P at this point in my life I would rather do the right thing and not the thing that's going to save a argument tho!