A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

[The Old Ram-Australia]

This came in my feed. Thought you might all enjoy.
You might be a farmer…
• If your dog spends more time each week riding in your Ute than your partner does.
You might be a farmer
• If you’ve ever had to wash off your boots in the back yard with a garden hose, or strip down to your jocks in the carport before entering the house because of mud, manure or both.
You might be a farmer
• If you’ve ever used baling twine or wire to attach a license plate, patch a fence, or to tie square-baled hay to the roof of your car.
You might be a farmer
• If you can remember the fertiliser rate, seed population, herbicide rate, and yields from farms you have leased the past three years, but cannot recall your wedding anniversary.
You might be a farmer
• If you’ve driven off the road while rubber-necking at your neighbours crops or cattle.
You might be a farmer
• If you have ever used duct-tape, hanky or old piece of rag as a bandage for bleeding hands from barbed wire fence repairs.
You might be a farmer
• If you refer to land using the names of the farmers who owned them a generation ago.
You might be a farmer
• If the equipment in your shed is 10 times more valuable than what is parked in your garage.
You might be a farmer
• If buying new clothes and boots means your town clothes can now be used for work.
You might be a farmer
• If your family becomes instantly silent when the weather comes on the news each night.
You might be a farmer
• If family picnics are most commonly shared on the tailgate of a Ute during sowing or harvest season.
You might be a farmer
• If using an elevator relates to grain harvest rather than in a tall city building.
You might be a farmer
• If regular social conversation with your closest friends at the local involves rainfall, equipment repairs, hybrids, or herbicides.
You might be a farmer
• If spending time alone with your partner in the evening means they are holding the flashlight while you fix something.
You might be a farmer
• And finally, if you won $1,000,000 from the lottery your life would not change that much. You’d keep right on farming, maybe with newer equipment and more land, but you’d keep farming because that is who you are and what you do.
You might be a farmer…

@sally_pittman
T.O.R.............................

 

[Baymule]

Oh yeah, I like that!

 

[Bruce]

I identify with several of those but

You might be a farmer
• If buying new clothes and boots means your town clothes can now be used for work.

I'm a farmer!!!!

OK, I'm not REALLY a farmer. I have a little land, 2 alpacas and 25 chickens. No plans to try to make money "farming".

 

[frustratedearthmother]

No plans to try to make money "farming".

Farmers make money? Dang, I've been doing it wrong for a very long time!

 

[Bruce]

I didn't say MAKE money, I said TRY to make money

 

[farmerjan]

Thank you @The Old Ram-Australia (T.O.R).... I can well relate to that. There is an old radio program here that Paul Harvey used to have.... and he always would come back later with "the rest of the story".... but one day he did a tribute to a farmer and it was so well said... "So God made a Farmer". I am sure you can find it on the internet... I believe he first came up with it at a Farmer convention like Farm Bureau or FFA or somewhere.... Back in the 70's or 80's. Kind of in the same vein but it was not quite as much of a funny twist (satire) as a real tribute. Still, your post made me think of it and how true both what your post said and what Paul Harvey said all those years ago... It was still fun to read your post. It made me smile and I outright laughed at the using baling twine or wire..... the referring to places by the previous farmer/owner and the spending time alone in the dark with a spouse (or in my case with my son) , holding a light while we repair a piece of equipment or patch a fence..... We refer to nearly all our rented places by the owners' or previous owners from a couple generations ago... it's always the Bartley place or Doug's farm or something....

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks, imagine my "surprise" when this item appeared in a platform of NSW Farmers.

Introducing our very first FarmFeed Member Spotlight!

Each month we will profile a different member, asking them questions about their professional and personal life.

Meet @FRANK EGAN

Occupation: Almost retired Sheep Farmer.

Our journey started almost 50 years ago when we sold up in the suburbs and with three pre-teens in-tow we moved to our first of several farms. Currently we occupy 500 acres of which 200 acres was completely destroyed in the fires.

Career Highlights:
I regard our most outstanding achievement as the complete restoration of our 300 acres Sheep block. It has taken us 13 years to achieve but the results have been described as "outstanding" by all but academics and agencies like LLs and the like, who seem unable to comprehend the "concepts" involved.

Frank has been kind enough to share his presentation, which was developed by a faculty at a U.S. University, which follows the restoration of the headwaters of a local creek ,which empties into the Shoalhaven River which forms part of the Sydney water supply.

The development of our Face Book page "Australian Painted Sheep", which in a little over 2 years has a worldwide membership of 1300 folks on all continents and is made up mainly of females (about 80%) who drive most of the posts that appear.

I have in recent times hosted and presented a radio broadcast directed at in the main, "escapees from the suburbs" who have moved to the district in recent times.

Career Advice: My advice "Make the livestock fit the landscape ,not the landscape fit the livestock".

Favourite way to unplug from work? Connecting with farmers ,mainly in the USA via ZOOM, even though it means rising in the middle of the night in most cases.

If you could ask other members in the room one question, what would it be? What do you consider more important ,"increasing you're out put ,or reducing your cost of production"?


Thank you for being our first #MemberSpotlight Frank!

Please feel free to jump in and ask Frank any questions and don't forget to answer Franks question -> What do you consider more important ,"increasing you're out put ,or reducing your cost of production"?

More news to follow ,with the arrival of 2 new boys for the flock program.I will post story and photo's later..T.O.R.

 

[Legamin]

G'day to you all.After almost 20 years breeding our line of Suffolk’s we will over the next 12 months sell almost all of the flock and transition to a composite Hair flock. Starting from “scratch “by purchasing small lines of ewes and suitable rams along with some genes of our Suffolk’s we will begin to breed up a suitable type of slaughter lamb which has the ease of production (i.e. no shearing or crutching)but with the eating qualities of the English Shortwools.

I guess some of you are Hair Sheep Breeders, have you found any adverse comment about the “denseness “of the meat or a taste they dislike? Down here the supermarkets present the two types quite differently, but perhaps you all have taken the trouble to target them properly?

I have observed some “consumer pushback” to the eating qualities of the Hair or Tribal breeds and the prices at the saleyards “reflect this”, but if we apply the production methods we use with the Suffolk’s the lower prices we receive for breeding females and production rams will be off- set by the reduced workload and we will be able to continue to farm sheep for a number of years into the future.( I'm now 75)

Buying in the sale yard is a “risky” business” as in the main the stock has some sort of “fault” but with careful breeding these initial problems will be overcome, buying in the private market results in mainly small lines (maybe even just one or two ewes at an exorbitant price)for which you have to travel for hours to look at. Our regional sale is a 200 km round trip but there are times when you will be able to purchase some very good lines as an average sale is over 6000 head on a weekly basis(small I know by the numbers some sales attract), you just have to turn up each week and because we wish to start with about 100 ewes with as big a genetic pool as possible it seems the way to go.

The introduction of the Australian White is such a breed, but the path they took seems to be a “well kept secret”, although I did miss out on a “run” of their young ewes recently because I did not “have my wits about me” and realized too late what they were.

So this week we purchased our first ewes, they were within budget and all looked to be “in-lamb” (14 in all). They are a mixed lot of BH and White Headed Dorpers; some are pretty “scruffy” and need to be cleaned up. I don’t think the traditional method of sheep shearing is the way to go as on the first side you are shearing against the way the hair lays, so I think I will try a shear down method like the way you finish on the second side in normal shearing. If you clear around the tail and up to the “pin”, then start at the “poll” and go down the neck across the shoulder and finish the “first side” turn the sheep over and do the second side as normal will result in a “cleaner “ looking job.

I would be interested in any of “your” experiences in this type of breeding; I will resist the use of Poll Dorset’s but may try a Texel, Wiltipoll, White Suffolk or even a Border Leicester, but I fear it may put too much “leg” under the lambs.....T.O.R.View attachment 37754

You are right about the Leicester breed putting leg under the lamb. I breed, as part conservancy of the species and part meat flock, the Leicester Longwool…of course the .35-.5 meter of wool per year is part of the point of this breed. When you lengthen the leg it takes more food and this breed, as well as the BFL and some lines of the Border Leicester are HUGE consumers. Where I live I get deep grass early and need to put the flock out on it while mowing some of the pasture just to keep up with the growth. I can run 10 sheep per acre and bring them back on full lush thick 12” growth in just 3 weeks. keeping up with the pasture is my main concern. If you are in an area where it is a bit sparser, fast growth, carcass weight and short cycles are super important. The Leicester needs about 18 months to fully mature in the ewe if you want to breed multiples. For some reason if they are bred too early they mostly give one lamb year after year…not good production if you’re going for meat flock. i don’t have your experience but after 5 years with the Leicester Longwool and BFL I do understand this breed. My goal was bigger sheep, longer leg 240-380lbs of meat on the LL/BFL Mule meat sheep carcass at 9 months…which is when my meat lamb is ready for market. I do the grass fed, no antibiotics etc. etc. all natural and keep two flocks..one for general market and one for custom order which mainly goes to high end restaurant and private buyers. From the picture of your pasture it seems your goal is more of the fast cycle compact meaty breed with short leg but good carcass meat/weight ratio. I’m getting about 50/50 on my sheep. I’d like to do better but I can’t grain finish with the organic customers.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

Hi, as promised ,here are the new rams .I have also just placed an order for 4 Poll Meatmaster rams which will arrive in a week or so

 

[Bruce]

You are even more famous now TOR!!!!