Unrolling hay tip and question on older hay

[callmefence]

Yeah... I know... and I get it. We've all got our toys... but I wonder how many cattle are raised actually having to pay for, on their own, all the ACTUAL investment that goes into "getting it done" for them... you know what I mean? Are we too often willing to subsidize our "hobby"... and still somehow call it "profitable"? Do we really and honestly attempt to account for and justify all the costs we incur to produce our product? I think it happens way more than most of us are or would be willing to admit to. How many other "businesses" are willing to do that perennially?

It's a free country... so more power to you..., and to all of us... But the rest of the business world would say..., "This is what it costs me to produce this product, and I must have at least X % return on that investment, or I simply can't and won't continue to supply you with any more product...", period.

A majority of the U.S. beef cow and calf inventory is held in operations of fewer than 100 cows, that are dependent on supplemental income from off-farm employment. And I've got nothing against anybody who is willing to work "two jobs"... or three. I did it too, for a long time... and at a time in my life when I wasn't farming...

My "beef" comes in when that off-farm job is used to "subsidize" the on-farm job, instead of the family that's doing both. As long as we're willing to continue to subsidize this admittedly wonderful, enjoyable enterprise with funding from other sources..., and as long as we continue to then willingly provide a subsidized supply of product, the rest of the world will certainly be willing to take advantage of our generosity, and will continue to be taught, BY US, to expect us to do it.

I love what I do... but I'm trying my darndest to make sure that what I raise is profitable after honestly and objectively accounting for all my input costs. I encourage all of us to do the same, or we're all going to continue to beat our heads against the wall as we go down together. It's pretty obvious that the "good years" in the cattle industry (or any industry) are when demand outpaces supply. The supply swing in cattle numbers from low to high in the last 20 years is about 6%............. My guess would be that if we refuse to "subsidize" our enterprise, and instead insist that the animals we raise HAVE TO pay for themselves or we just will not raise them, we'd lose a little more than 6% of the national herd... and the steady profit would be there... because we would be demanding it through the supply chain... "voting with our feet" so to speak. (And where opportunity presents itself, opportunists will step in and fill that gap...........................)

It's a free country though, and thank God and all the individuals that fought to make it and keep it that way, that it is. Just "food for thought"... for ALL OF US. Sorry for the soapbox..................... just thinking out loud among friends.

I didn't read all that. Sorry.
I get what you're saying but a hobby is usually subsidized. If you are doing it as a professional ( for a profit) imo having the right tools in dependable condition is a must.

 

[chaded]

Working the "goat-kart" today.


View attachment trim.1B6D98FF-29AE-4A2F-BB53-AC0B78F092D0.MOV

 

[RDFF]

I'm not sure were you are going with this post

Like I said... "just thinking out loud among friends."

 

[CJ John]

When I unrolled the hay in a line like most hay unrollers, my cows would start at one end and have a race to the other end. This would result in a fair amount of the hay being walked into the ground. I have finally bought a hydraulic "unroller" that fits on the back of the tractor or the front of my skid steer. I can gently roll the bale and get a portion to fall off --- and then I move on. I will typically take a large round bale and end up with 7 to 8 "hay piles" in a given area of the pasture. That allows all 60 to find a spot to eat and they gather in small groups around each pile and CONSUME the majority of the pile without walking much into the ground at all !!! And when I drive out of the pasture, I can look back and see 5 or 6 small calves eating around their "own" hay pile. That would never happen with a hay ring. And by scattering the hay throughout the pasture, there is manure throughout the pasture that will provide fertilizer in the spring and the hay on the ground can provide some seed ! Additionally over the years I have lost two cows and a calf to a hay ring. One got her leg caught in it and damaged her hip. Even with vet support and daily physical "management" she passed away. Another cow got her head caught in the ring and passed. And the calf was among the cows trying to get to the ring--- and just got caught in the mud and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. So I really LIKE my rotating bale spinner that allows me to put 7 to 8 piles at various places. My rotating bale spinner looks similar to a Worksaver "spin-off". And being on hydraulics (instead of ground unrolling) you can actually rotate a bale clock-wise or counterclockwise (to facilitate the unrolling process).

 

[CJ John]

One other thing I forgot to mention also is that having it hydraulically spun off instead of utilizing "ground unrolling" with a UTV or tractor ----- you can put the piles in the pasture where ever you want and you can totally avoid the muddy areas !!

 

[chaded]

One other thing I forgot to mention also is that having it hydraulically spun off instead of utilizing "ground unrolling" with a UTV or tractor ----- you can put the piles in the pasture where ever you want and you can totally avoid the muddy areas !!

I have never had the desire here to put a bunch of piles of hay scattered all over the place. You would also not avoid muddy areas here by doing so.

 

[ClinchValley86]

One other thing I forgot to mention also is that having it hydraulically spun off instead of utilizing "ground unrolling" with a UTV or tractor ----- you can put the piles in the pasture where ever you want and you can totally avoid the muddy areas !!

I can see the benefit to that. When I unroll, it's one in the morning, one in the evening. One 5x4 bale is about a perfect fit for the whole herd. They line up and go to town.

It's been so wet here I've went with feeding whole bales. Minimal waste. No rings.

 

[ClinchValley86]

I'm not sure were you are going with this post (what items you refer to anyways).I bought a Deweze hay unroller about 10 yrs ago for $1,600. At the time I thought it was expensive but I can tell you it's paid for itself in hay savings alone. Not sure how many $250 hay spikes I would've went through by now to boot. The SxS pay for themselves as well. It's not like they are a throw away item that has no value after 5 yrs. The Polaris Ranger we've had for the last 5 yrs will bring what we paid and we've used it alot. The Cab Kubota we bought 3 yrs ago has been a life saver when it comes to checking cattle in the winter and has saved many calves we wouldn't have found otherwise. I don't think it'll bring what we gave like the Ranger but it'd be close. Granted not every investment on the ranch makes money but these two definitely will. I've ask on here several times what folks think an acceptable profit per head is but never have gotten a straight answer, $100,200, 500.....that being said if I wasn't making money on the cattle I'd be out for sure. I will admit I put most of the profit back into the operation but I have the luxury of doing so at this time so I try to invest in things to make my life easier, more productive, and more profitable in the years to come.

I like the 500 to 1000 dollar per head profit range. ☺

 

[Dusty Britches]

What is this "muddy areas" you people speak of?

CJ John - you said my sediments exactly.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

12 degrees and 12" of snow overnight takes care of the mud you guys speak of. Ha

 

[Cowman42]

Yeah... I know... and I get it. We've all got our toys... but I wonder how many cattle are raised actually having to pay for, on their own, all the ACTUAL investment that goes into "getting it done" for them... you know what I mean? Are we too often willing to subsidize our "hobby"... and still somehow call it "profitable"? Do we really and honestly attempt to account for and justify all the costs we incur to produce our product? I think it happens way more than most of us are or would be willing to admit to. How many other "businesses" are willing to do that perennially?

It's a free country... so more power to you..., and to all of us... But the rest of the business world would say..., "This is what it costs me to produce this product, and I must have at least X % return on that investment, or I simply can't and won't continue to supply you with any more product...", period.

A majority of the U.S. beef cow and calf inventory is held in operations of fewer than 100 cows, that are dependent on supplemental income from off-farm employment. And I've got nothing against anybody who is willing to work "two jobs"... or three. I did it too, for a long time... and at a time in my life when I wasn't farming...

My "beef" comes in when that off-farm job is used to "subsidize" the on-farm job, instead of the family that's doing both. As long as we're willing to continue to subsidize this admittedly wonderful, enjoyable enterprise with funding from other sources..., and as long as we continue to then willingly provide a subsidized supply of product, the rest of the world will certainly be willing to take advantage of our generosity, and will continue to be taught, BY US, to expect us to do it.

I love what I do... but I'm trying my darndest to make sure that what I raise is profitable after honestly and objectively accounting for all my input costs. I encourage all of us to do the same, or we're all going to continue to beat our heads against the wall as we go down together. It's pretty obvious that the "good years" in the cattle industry (or any industry) are when demand outpaces supply. The supply swing in cattle numbers from low to high in the last 20 years is about 6%............. My guess would be that if we refuse to "subsidize" our enterprise, and instead insist that the animals we raise HAVE TO pay for themselves or we just will not raise them, we'd lose a little more than 6% of the national herd... and the steady profit would be there... because we would be demanding it through the supply chain... "voting with our feet" so to speak. (And where opportunity presents itself, opportunists will step in and fill that gap...........................)

It's a free country though, and thank God and all the individuals that fought to make it and keep it that way, that it is. Just "food for thought"... for ALL OF US. Sorry for the soapbox..................... just thinking out loud among friends.

I am pretty sure that If we don't subsidize some of our beef operations, especially during the hard times we will all be eating Argentine, Brazilian, or Ozzy beef. When Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) went away and imported beef is labeled "Product of the USA" because the primals were broken down here.......Well if they can make it cheaper and profit from the exchange rate then label it "USA Beef" we are either going to subsidize our customers or lose the market.

Edit: spelling/grammer