Watcha think?

[VanC]

Jeanne: As you said earlier, you're under no obligation to justify what you do or how you do it to anyone. I do admire how you've handled this thread, though. It tells me that you're someone that's very comfortable with themselves and what they've accomplished, and aren't affected when others throw stones. Keep up the good work.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Those on this Forum who have read some of my "Opinions" for the last 5 years will remember my statement concerning this idea presented here:

They fail to realize that the bull may ony be one animal but he makes up 50% of the herd. One wrong dicision and it can be pretty costly.

This is a factual statement, and I like to embellish it a little bit, and make people think about what it really means! A GOOD bull is half your herd. A POOR bull is your ENTIRE herd!

DOC HARRIS

 

[Lon]

Those on this Forum who have read some of my "Opinions" for the last 5 years will remember my statement concerning this idea presented here:

They fail to realize that the bull may ony be one animal but he makes up 50% of the herd. One wrong dicision and it can be pretty costly.

This is a factual statement, and I like to embellish it a little bit, and make people think about what it really means! A GOOD bull is half your herd. A POOR bull is your ENTIRE herd!

DOC HARRIS

this i would agree with you on here Doc. not to mesion that fact that i bet it could take some years to change the damage a poor bull could do. this is one reason i am thinkin since i am getting started and will be fairly small i will AI to bulls there is no way i could afford and clean up with a bull that is the best i can afford.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

one of few threads,, where you have to explain why they look so good.... some cattle dont look worth a dam no matter how much groceries you run through them.... like the other thread on''genetic potentail'' you can polish a turd,, but all you get is a shiney turd

Ala - I meant to comment on this post - Thanks! what happened to your avatar????
VanC - thanks! after 40 years of breeding, I better be happy with what I've got.
VCC - thanks to you also, very nice comments.

 

[Isomade]

Those on this Forum who have read some of my "Opinions" for the last 5 years will remember my statement concerning this idea presented here:

They fail to realize that the bull may ony be one animal but he makes up 50% of the herd. One wrong dicision and it can be pretty costly.

This is a factual statement, and I like to embellish it a little bit, and make people think about what it really means! A GOOD bull is half your herd. A POOR bull is your ENTIRE herd!

DOC HARRIS

Now that all depends on the size of the herd. ;-)

 

[BC]

Houstoncutter said "She will get wormed once a year, no shots, very little hay, no feed,and in late winter into spring some top noch rye grass and clover thats what the good Lord made grass for. Baylage which is the same thing as feed. "

Baylage is a good way to harvest some of your surplus "top noch ryegrass and clover" when weather will not permit it to be put up as hay (like most of our early May's here in Texas).

By thw way I really like the red cow in the first picture better than any of the other cows shown.

 

[houstoncutter]

BC very seldom will i have an excess of grass to justify the purchase of the equipment to put up balage...I agree that it is away around our usually wet springs....If I am going to have an excess I would rather purchase a few more animals to play clean up. Most years I have always purchased tested hay. 9%protein is good enogh for me if it has a decent TDN. That is high enough to get about 1 pound of gain without supplements.... other than mineral and salt. It would be nice to feed higher quality hay or balage as you have mentioned, the only problem is consumption. You put that 16% hay in a ring and that 1100 cow is gonna consume about 35 t0 40 lbs on a nice day and even more on a bad weather day. I want that cow to work eating those winter weeds and moss and other things that are growing in the woods. At times I will use salty range meal to increase her consumption of woody forage.....I was really torn on selling my last group of animals as I had raised all of them from heifers and they were trained quite well, many of the cows would even eat chinese tallow which is a real scourge for us here in this part of Texas, and this group of animals were teaching the calfs to eat the tallows as well. Hurricane Ike threw a monkey wrench in my plans because it made me have to hold over selling calves, that normally would have been sold in Sept.. So I had extra sales of calfs in one year and hay that year went through the roof here in Texas. The herd was older and it made sense to sell it due to the tax advantages that are avaiable after your area has been declared a disaster area, plus we had the drought declaration as well.

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

You two seem to have a few things in common. Both have worked long and hard selecting animals and management practices to maximize profit in your own environments - environments which are quite different. It makes sense the animals would be different too. Houstoncutter it sounds like you had an exceptional set of animals as well.

 

[houstoncutter]

Those on this Forum who have read some of my "Opinions" for the last 5 years will remember my statement concerning this idea presented here:

They fail to realize that the bull may ony be one animal but he makes up 50% of the herd. One wrong dicision and it can be pretty costly.

This is a factual statement, and I like to embellish it a little bit, and make people think about what it really means! A GOOD bull is half your herd. A POOR bull is your ENTIRE herd!

DOC HARRIS

Well stated as always Doc!

 

[houstoncutter]

You two seem to have a few things in common. Both have worked long and hard selecting animals and management practices to maximize profit in your own environments - environments which are quite different. It makes sense the animals would be different too. Houstoncutter it sounds like you had an exceptional set of animals as well.

Thanks 2/B they wernt very pretty or real big but those ladies knew how to work

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Houston - you are right about the baleage equipment. I'm soooo lucky I have a great neighbor that purchased it when it first came out & has been periodically updating. We put up anywhere from 600-800 bales in 3-4 days. zip zip!! even if it's cloudy or even light rain. If we can get the heavy equipment thru the field, we're usually good to go!

 

[Angus Cowman]

Houston - you are right about the baleage equipment. I'm soooo lucky I have a great neighbor that purchased it when it first came out & has been periodically updating. We put up anywhere from 600-800 bales in 3-4 days. zip zip!! even if it's cloudy or even light rain. If we can get the heavy equipment thru the field, we're usually good to go!

Jeanne
we are going to start putting up baleage at Jed's down in Arkansas next week and I think I could use you to train his help how to do things or I should say come and do the work while his hands watch that way we can get done in a few days :lol: :lol: :lol:

plus I know the weather is alot more agreeable down there than in NY right now

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

AC - you don't know how tempting that is to get OUT OF THIS MUD. We just had a Simmental meeting here (to dispurse semen). I warned everyone to bring their mud boots. What a mess! It was even snow showers in-between a little sunshine.
If you have good weather down there why is he doing it in baleage? did he get his own equipment?
1 guy mows til noon (he fly's!). Stop for lunch, then he bales, a young guy drives the tractor with the pick-up/dump wagon & brings them to me. I run a skid steer & load the bales. We can get 200 done in a day if all goes well. Depending on how thick the windrows are, the young guy sometimes doubles up the windrows (raking) before he starts hauling to me. Sometimes I don't get done til dark, but whatever gets baled, gets wrapped. Haven't had to double up windrows last few years.
You can see the bale wagon on my web site under SNAPSHOTS.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Quit bragging Jeanne. The dust is so bad here it has got half the population wheezing. We'd love to see mud.

No wild fires lately and that's a blessing.

 

[Angus Cowman]

AC - you don't know how tempting that is to get OUT OF THIS MUD. We just had a Simmental meeting here (to dispurse semen). I warned everyone to bring their mud boots. What a mess! It was even snow showers in-between a little sunshine.
If you have good weather down there why is he doing it in baleage? Sunshines down there all the time so good growing but humidity is high and takes forever to dry plus they are a little wet also plus he needs to get it up so he can put a money making crop on that ground
did he get his own equipment? I will bale it for him and Jed and I bought a wrapper together so it works out to where I go bale his and help him and then I bring the wrapper home with me and do mine
1 guy mows til noon (he fly's!). Stop for lunch, then he bales, a young guy drives the tractor with the pick-up/dump wagon & brings them to me. I run a skid steer & load the bales. We can get 200 done in a day if all goes well. Depending on how thick the windrows are, the young guy sometimes doubles up the windrows (raking) before he starts hauling to me. Sometimes I don't get done til dark, but whatever gets baled, gets wrapped. Haven't had to double up windrows last few years.
You can see the bale wagon on my web site under SNAPSHOTS.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

You are so right. Can't remember the saying - but something about - too much rain and you will still eat, but too little rain, and you will starve. Something like that.
When we lived in Kansas - I remember the huge cracks in the ground when it would get so dry. How quickly we forget.
Have you been having a lot of brush fires?

 

[PenleyFarm]

Jeanie, cattle look good as usual. Looking forward to coming up to the Stars & Stripes, it is one of our favorite sales. Great cattle, good people and one of the most interesting locations in the east.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

You can send of the white stuff you don't want this way. I have a new appreciation for the dust bowl era. Some poor fellow a couple of towns over ended up with no cover on a small ~ 40 acre field. I assume he worked it to plant a spring crop, gambling that it was going to rain again some day. The top 4 to 5 inches of top soil had packed up and moved north when I drove by Sunday. With the hot 40+ mph winds today, I would hate to guess what it looks like.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Kathy - Thanks! have you taken the time to take the free Gettysburg Battle Field tour? I am NOT a history fan, but it is soooo interesting, everyone should at some point do it. I think they offer it on Friday.
Commercial - I would LOVE to share this rain we're getting. Poured, thunder & lightning all morning yesterday & still raining. No snow on the fields but still have snow piles & snow in the woods. Talking temp dropping this AM and turning to snow, but won't stick. This is GREAT weather for the young calves. :shock: This is why I like late Jan/Feb calving. The calves are big enough to know how to avoid the bad muddy areas & definately know to get into the shelters they have, leaving mom behind. The newborns still follow mom thru this mess to the feeders. Not nice.

 

[j bear premier farm]

Jeanne the cattle look good as usual. If i had to pick i'd say i like the black 2 year old the most, The red 2 year old is a very nice female as well. But when you look at the black 2 year olds mother that sells her to me.I am planning to go down to the sale this year, i'm looking for another cow calf pair, just sold off all my pairs over 8 years old.
Also was wondering if anyone was going to have a trailer down there that is shipping back into New York? Any way the cattle look great.By the way the 3c macho bull we purchased from you 2 years ago , worked out excellent, all calves born unassisted and growing like weeds.