Trust your gut

[poorfarmer]

I have been thinking about this lately. How much does the learning curve cost cattle farmers? When I got into cattle 8 years ago I was not new to cattle, I had grown up on a cattle farm, it was my only employment until finishing college. I also had the advantage of a wealth of knowledge I could tap (Dad). I think one of my biggest problems was not trusting my gut instinct when different things would arise, whether it was calving issues, illness, or problems with my facilities. I know you will never learn it all but I wondered if anyone else looks back at their beginning and take inventory what they learned.

 

[M-5]

I often check and recheck stuff because something does not feel right. Its easy to dismiss things and in hind site you see that intuition was telling you. You just have to make a conscious decision at that time.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Stupid taxes are very costly.
You fail the IQ test if you pay the same stupid tax more than once.

 

[TexasBred]

I have been thinking about this lately. How much does the learning curve cost cattle farmers? When I got into cattle 8 years ago I was not new to cattle, I had grown up on a cattle farm, it was my only employment until finishing college. I also had the advantage of a wealth of knowledge I could tap (Dad). I think one of my biggest problems was not trusting my gut instinct when different things would arise, whether it was calving issues, illness, or problems with my facilities. I know you will never learn it all but I wondered if anyone else looks back at their beginning and take inventory what they learned.

Don't ever think you always have to do everything just like dad did it. Dad was never "always" right about everything. Be flexible and willing to learn and make changes that help you to work smarter and be more profitable.

 

[pricefarm]

You live and learn. The more mistakes you make now the less you will make later.

 

[boondocks]

Problem I have is when my "gut instinct" doesn't match the hubster's "gut instinct."
Usually, I'm worried about X.Y, or Z and he's more "eh." (Eg, calf is cold and wet and I want to get mama and baby in barn; he thinks they'll be fine).
Sometimes we compromise and give it a day to sort itself out. Once in a blue moon I'll say "nope, we really do need to do X." (I spend more time with them and watch for any changes more closely, so I think that gives me a 51% vote there. He gets the 51% vote on mechanical, equipment etc). So it works out. Usually!

 

[TCRanch]

Problem I have is when my "gut instinct" doesn't match the hubster's "gut instinct."
Usually, I'm worried about X.Y, or Z and he's more "eh." (Eg, calf is cold and wet and I want to get mama and baby in barn; he thinks they'll be fine).
Sometimes we compromise and give it a day to sort itself out. Once in a blue moon I'll say "nope, we really do need to do X." (I spend more time with them and watch for any changes more closely, so I think that gives me a 51% vote there. He gets the 51% vote on mechanical, equipment etc). So it works out. Usually!

I feel your pain. Or rather, I felt your pain. Over the past couple years I have taken over managing the cattle but he still manages the hay, equipment, etc. Gut instincts vs logic coupled with being married and dealing with cattle makes life, um, interesting. So now I follow my gut because I've learned some hard lessons. And even if my instincts turn out to be wrong/all for nothing, that too, is a learning experience.

 

[boondocks]

I feel your pain. Or rather, I felt your pain. Over the past couple years I have taken over managing the cattle but he still manages the hay, equipment, etc. Gut instincts vs logic coupled with being married and dealing with cattle makes life, um, interesting. So now I follow my gut because I've learned some hard lessons. And even if my instincts turn out to be wrong/all for nothing, that too, is a learning experience.

It's definitely something that you learn as you go, I guess! We've been very lucky in that we like doing the same sorts of things; my dad referred to it once, bemusedly, as "unnecessary work" (chopping grapevines , in that instance). Instead of being offended, that's now what we jokingly call half of what we do: "Hey, what unnecessary work can we find to get into this weekend?"). One thing we do tend to get sideways on is picking up and moving things together (posts, gates, whatever). He's left-handed and for some reason, will move in the opposite direction from what I'm expecting. Pinched fingers and torqued back ensues, plus a choice word or two I then have to apologize for. (why are my emojis still broken)