Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

Looks like you're having a couple "feast or famine" weeks. Same here. NO work for 2 months and start back is a dump of jobs. Going from zero to 60 is only fun in race cars!

Hope the preg checks are great!!

Zero to 60 in a Barracuda! Radio blasting good ol’ 70’s rock n’ roll, windows down, wind blowing!

 

[farmerjan]

Long day but the weather was good... high hit 70, sun was warm, light breeze....

Went to the barn, DS & GF came... we sorted the calves off the one "side of the barn"... cows from the 1st 2 places... 18c/cf total... then sorted the other side 17 cows/13 calves.... Then we were taking some gate hinge pins out of some old fence/gate posts... the kind that go all the way through with the nuts are now $20 A PIECE.... like OMG.... all the old posts that were taken down from that one pasture and the guy brought them there and dumped them, couple years ago.... had a couple gate posts with the hinges... DS had a couple other ones there ... so got 2 pair of the screw in kind and 1 pair of the bolt through with nuts... Vet got there about 1-1:10.... we were ready so ran through the 18 then switched over and did the 17 and he was done and left at 2:20 for another herd to do preg checks at around 3...
Not the greatest preg check... BUT.... there were quite a few old cows in this group. Of 35, there were 12 opens... which is normally BAD.... However... 6 are very old cows.... so not a total surprise there...
Then.... 1 was the bought char heifer from early this spring... we bought 2 char that day... the one just calved so she was short bred when we got her... this one has had several months with the bull and not bred... she will get sold... vet said she felt fine,,,, some just don't breed. Could be why she was sold. The good thing is she has gained some weight and will make a good beef for sale.... Another was a 1st calf heifer, from last year, that did not breed, DS insisted on putting her back with the bull... she is fat and sassy and still open... I wanted to sell her back earlier since the calf was good sized... Now he is well over 650 lbs... too big for the "groups" DS puts together... but he certainly won't lose any money with his size... A third one is one of my cows, not sure what her problem is... but she is getting shipped...
So that's 9... the other 3 are first calf heifers, all have nice calves, and all 3 got put back out at grants behind me, with their calves; the bull will be in there for another 6 weeks so they will have 2 heat cycles to hopefully catch...they will "lose 6 months" compared to the the rest of their group... but that is not so awful bad... and not totally unexpected.
Then we got in another bull, we normally switch out bulls after 6-8 weeks... in case someone isn't doing the job... they took him to the pasture in the front of the trailer, got the other bull in the back of the trailer with a cow, but GF did not shut the trailer door when DS told her to, and the original bull got back out... so right now there are 2 bulls in there instead of switching... I will try to get the first bull into the little catch lot in the next day or 2 so DS can come back and move him out.
They got into words... she had been complaining he was cranky all day... which he was a little short a couple times, but she picks at him constantly... I hate the sarcastic comments all the time... but not my relationship... well her not getting the gate shut fast enough didn't set well... and they had a real blow up... so when they went back to the barn, she said she was leaving and she didn't care if he came home tonight or not... he asked me, later, if he was cranky all day and I said no, he was a little short a couple times but not bad...
Plus his back is still hurting... it's only been 48 hours since the shots... so it is still sore and I knew that... but he was not anything like he has been in the past... and on top of that he got hiccups, and has had them on and off for over 24 hours, did not sleep well, and they have been bothering him alot... I get it...so he is tired too...

So, she was okay during the vet check... we work the chute with the vet, vaccinate and I write things down as well as work the head catch and the gates if someone was open they didn't go out with the preg cows... but she is sooo "needy" sometimes... and has to be the "authority" figure ... self important person... and does not work that fast and time is money for the vet check... but it still wasn't too bad...but she needled him even then....
Then they had the blowup with the bull... she still thinks that being "nice" and "gentle" will get things done.... and with these bulls, it just doesn't cut the mustard.... like slamming the gate FAST..... and when they push you aren't going to stop them... Bull wasn't mean, he just was going to follow the cow out and DS was trying to stand in front of him as the cow went out and hollered for her to shut the trailer door.... but she doesn't seem to get that you have to "do it RIGHT NOW, FAST".... HE IS NOT GOING TO STOP if you are not fast enough to slam it shut... he sees the cow going, sees some "daylight" and just GOES.....

But that caused them to have the blow up... I wasn't there... I had gone to snyder's across the road to open the gates so he could bring the calf with the bad leg up there when he brought back the 3 cows/cf pairs to go back with the bull... He had trouble getting the 3 cows/cfs up the alley to load (they were already sorted out) and the calf was in the front section... so he said he was going to come back to get the silage cart, when he brought the calf... he is in the little barn, at snyder's; has got to have shots for the next 3 weeks the vet said, it is infected... and I can get him in the little head chute there at snyder's, keep him in the barn lot and feed him there... so I said I would wait for him to come back then shut gates behind him... so he came back and got it... he was done there, so he went out and then I shut the gates. I went back to the barn, got the clipboard and papers, and then said I would go up and open the gates at grants for him to take the silage wagon in and not have to fight with the cows... so he came up a little bit later, I opened the gates and then shut them when he took it in and dropped it off.... and he went back to finish at the barn I guess, and I came to the house.

Normally we have 5-15% opens, this was 30%.... which is not good... but like I said, half of them are OLD cows... just been alot of these old cows that are aging out all at once.

Let's hope that it will be better with the 40+ at the big pasture... we know that the one cow has the hurt hip/leg.... and have seen 1 other standing... which is an indication but not a sure thing that she is open...

So we put 23 preg cows out in the "peterbilt field" (next door to the peterbilt repair shop).... calves are at the barn... 3 c/cf pairs back to the bull... the last 9 are still with the calves at the barn. They will stay in that lot, come in and get fed silage and make sure the calves are coming in and out. Then when he decides to take a load of cull cows to the sale, they will go... 9 plus 1 that lost her calf a month ago... so 10 to get sold... That will be one load to go....
Several of the 6-7 late late fall calving ones are getting shifted to this spring calving group... the ones that have just calved....
Hopefully we will have few or none out of the next group.

DS did have someone call him about a bull, we were wanting to sell the one easy calving bull,,,, and he is going in a week.... so will get back more than we paid for him 3 years ago... he will basically make the one we just bought cost 2500 ... so very good deal for us...

I've got to go to bed...

 

[Baymule]

A good productive day. The preg check gets the open cows identified until waiting for them not to calve. So it's a good day, all things considered. Even with the blow up with Miss Important, it was still a good day. All the old cows can go to sale, along with those that did not breed. A good work day.

 

[farmerjan]

Thursday morning. Been up and at it for awhile.

Was 38 overnight... sun came up and it has warmed nicely. About 60 now... Some high clouds out there mixing in and the forecast is to get cloudier later... Showers possible overnight.. then some actual rain Friday eve-Sat morning. Saying possible inch of rain... we have gone from moderate drought to severe drought for a good part of this area. An inch will help, but it will not solve the problem... I will gladly take what we can get.

Put a load of laundry in. Went and put gas in the Explorer because DS had a dr appt... and he was going to do some feeding this morning and I had let it get way down when we came home the other day. I knew he would be pushed to leave on time... didn't need to have to worry about no gas... He normally will fill it when he comes back with it...
Then ran up and took the meters to the farm for this afternoon... Talked to them a few minutes... Came home.

Went out and hung the clothes on the line so they could dry... It is nice out there...

There were a couple of cows walking the fence next door... DS had already left, so I called him... turns out he didn't take the 3 calves with the 3 open young cows he put in there to try to get bred. He said the calves were big enough to be weaned, the young cows need the break... which is fine. But that explains why they are not happy. They will get over it in a day or 2... the one is thin, and the other 2 can use an extra long break. Plus the calves need to be at the barn, getting started on the silage, and getting some grain... DS set up the creep gate so that the calves can come around to one side of the bunk feeder... so he can feed them some extra grain on the silage and the open cull cows won't be pushing them out... the cows are still getting silage... but they aren't shoving the calves, so the calves are getting some better nutrition... the cull cows don't need the grain, the silage will help round them out quick.
So, we made a plan.... I rescheduled the 500 cow herd from Wed to Thursday next week... Wed is the monthly bred cow sale , and that is where we normally take our cull cows now too... They only sell baby calves and cull cows and bulls on Wednesday's.... and then they have their special sales... once a month bred cow sale, once a month dairy cow sale, once a month fat cattle sale.... Sale starts at 6 for the baby calves, and then they sell cull cows until the bred cow sale starts at 7.... then after whatever bred cows are there, are sold, they finish selling the cull cows. The thing is the cull cows will get loaded out and by Friday they are already hanging on the hook at the plant which is good.
They also have the regular sale on Saturday... sell tons of goats, sheep, hogs, and then all the cattle... they have everything, baby calves, feeder cattle, cull cows... and we go to that one often, too... but there is no guarantee of what will be there; but the bred cow sale has strictly breeding cattle.... cows with calves, pregnant cows, breeding bulls... never know how many or what.... but you aren't sitting there for 4-6 hours to just find out that there aren't any preg cows or cows with calves or anything...

Of course, there are some cows that someone else doesn't want... bad attitudes, poor milkers...old... whatever... but there are also alot of farmers that are cutting back...drought conditions, and farmers cashing in on the high prices....some times farm dispersals.... and at this point, we can use a few to replace some of what we are culling.... we are not calving out enough heifers to replace all the old cows we have had to cull .... even with calving out 12 last fall, 12 more coming this spring, and another 10-12 being bred now.... that will barely replace the numbers of what we will have culled in the past 18 months... especially with all the ones we are culling from this last preg check yesterday... I mean, 9 being open that we are not breeding back (10 to sell with the old one that lost her calf)....That's alot all at once... and we still have 40+ more to preg check next week.... AND I have 4 more at snyder's that will NOT get bred back this year either... we need to keep more heifers than we have been... I guess. This is why the cow herds have been shrinking... not enough getting kept back for replacements with better heifer prices, fewer farmers, more than normal culling of older cows...

DS is getting his buddy to come on Tuesday to help haul cattle home from the pasture... so we will have to get them all in Tuesday morning... I will help some but I have to work that afternoon...

So, I just ate "brunch".... tuna sandwich at 10:30.... after hanging the clothes. Have to get the bottles in the racks for this afternoon...
I need to go out to the chickens, do waterers and feeders.... then go to snyder's, check/feed the calf with the bad leg, check the rest of the cows....
Then go to test. She told me they have been calving out a BUNCH of cows... had 2 fresh this morning... so will be a long day.... Then go back in the morning... then test Sat aft....
Yep, @Mini Horses feast or faminine....

Guess it is time to get out to the chickens.... hit 70 with the sun on the temp recorder ...... be nice to just STAY HOME in the nice weather....
At least I don't feel "terrible".... not great but better than I have... still the blowing the nose... some coughing... but I'm getting there...

 

[Ridgetop]

Glad you are feeling better. Swallowing all the crud that comes into the throat from the infected sinuses really makes you feel horrible. Glad to hear you got it out.

Everyone has been trying to cash in on the higher cattle prices by selling off heifers and cows they would ordinarily keep as replacements. This was a good year for the hay crop here too so lots of it left in the fields in bales and selling for less.

 

[farmerjan]

Thursday eve... heading to bed to get up to go back and test in the morning.

Not so good with the 3 cows... they walked fences hollering... Wound up getting out, down the road to the neighbors.. kept going... DS calls me as he was not home from Roanoke because he spent more time in the auto salvage... it's a Pick and Pay one where you salvage your own parts... I said I was in the barn already testing... he said GF was down there trying to get them back with her sister and someone else... I said I was sorry but we had already started milking/testing and I could not leave... he said he understood, and just wanted to make sure that they maybe hadn't cancelled... which was fine...
He got home, they used the 4 wheeler... she had already gotten 1 back up the road, then they got the 2nd one, and then the third one went off into the brush... I came home about 5:30 , it was still a little light.... and the cow was coming up the road, then went up over the bank into another field of thick autumn olive scrub crap... and he couldn't get through it... walked some and she disappeared... finally gave up... called his couple of friends and hope she shows up...
He calls about 7:45.... neighbor saw her in a field when he was coming up the road... so he calls me because they are eating at a local restaurant, 10 miles up the road... so I go down the road... the guy who saw them was there... showed me where she was... I took the car and went down through the dormant hayfield, she turns and brought her up along the fence, out the gates and up the road... I had already opened the lower gate to Grant's field, where they were supposed to be....... and got her to go up the road and finally into the field.... I hope the witch goes through the field/woods to where the rest of the cows are...
Told DS that he needs to put the calves back with them... for the month they are going to be with the bull... then take them back to the barn with the bull, pull the calves back off and keep them in a lot there until they are "over" the calf weaning... Obviously they think that they needed to find their babies...
They will either breed back or not... and having the calves off them for only 6 weeks is not going to improve their condition enough to make that much of a difference if they are walking the fences for days looking for the calves.
I was justifying his pulling the calves and moving the 3, but that is NOT what we normally would do... and this is the reason we don't do this... Totally strange pasture, babies are missing... they are upset... DUH.....

So, I am back in, hopefully they are tired enough from the gallivanting that they will stay put... I told him to take the 3 calves back to them to keep them in there...

Going to get a shower and go to bed... Have to be up by 4 to be back at the farm at 5....