Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Morning. Sunny, not as humid right now...
@Mini Horses ; it didn't "pour" but it rained real good for a bit. Then got some more lightning but you could tell it was moving off... Still, the rain gauge had .4 inch in it this morning so that was REALLY REALLY GREAT . Hopefully this will keep me from having to worry about the spring at the nurse cow pasture. Need to get several of them out of there... hopefully this week or by next weekend... the 4 that should be well along bred... and maybe a couple of others..... and get the ones out that will go to the sale on Friday.

One of my farmer's texted me and took his holstein steers to the once a month holstein feeder sale and said that they brought between .95 and 1.05 for him ... in the 9 wts... so I really hope the other farmer that took a few to the local sale a couple weeks ago and got in the .70 range, took the rest of his up to this sale as he was talking about doing.
Maybe next time he will listen when I suggest that he sell them sooner, even when he had grass at the time, because when it got dry he used up the grass way too soon. Better to have some extra grass long into the colder months for them to pick through than to use it all up because it got dry....

Woke up about 4 and was aching from the day yesterday so took a couple tylenol and went back to sleep and didn't get up until after 8... but I don't hurt so bad now. Late for me to get up and going. I am taking it easy though. I got one load of clothes done washing and put a 2nd load in so I can go out and hang both at once. I picked up a new 50' length of clothesline the other day when I was in Lowe's getting the fuses... I had a thinner cotton covered one that broke several times..and a little bit thicker one that was poly of something that has done better... so got one like that. I was cramped to hang more than 2 loads with only the 50' so am now back to having a total of about 100 ft.

Got several things on the list for today... hope I can get some of them done. Will depend on the knees how much standing I can do....

 

[farmerjan]

Got the cabinet leveled up and shelves in the house to get wiped/cleaned off to put in. Took a "few minutes sit down break". I had to get a pillow to kneel on and then of course, had trouble getting back up.... my mobility is getting less and less so I sure hope this surgery is going to happen.
Want to get stuff moved in the kitchen so the stove can come in. Gotta move the portable dishwasher out of the way so I can move the cabinet, that will fit back next to the stove, so it will be out of the way. I took the door off the stove so I can put the panel in it. That is next on the list.
Have to go take some feed up to the nurse cow field and see if the calves will come in.....

 

[Mini Horses]

This may be something you already do but, put a chair next to where you have to get down. Then you have something to help you get back up by holding onto, pulling up, etc. You already have a walker from the ankle job? If not, I'll bring you one to the swap. I've got a couple from mom. You'll need it after knees. Even if only to grab to get up and down from sitting...use arms, to help knees.

 

[farmerjan]

@Mini Horses .... yep, I have a chair or the 2 step stool that i use to get up in the cabinets with, near when I get down so I can get back up. Da@#.... they hurt. I sure hope that the replacements help so that I can get more active again....

Went and got the beef a little bit ago. Hung at 467 lbs... which is about average for a jersey in decent flesh... have had mine run anywhere from 400 to 600 or so hanging.
I had them do more stew meat and less ground beef... tried to get them to put more of the smaller pieces into stew meat that they would have thrown in the ground beef... looks like they didn't do that but did up more of the roasts into stew meat... anyway there is less ground beef though... the total was $416.04..... costs $55 to kill, $.57/lb for processing... $.35/lb for the stew meat extra cut up, $20.00 to package steaks in single steak pkgs... will probably do them in 2 steak pkgs next time like I used to.... $.10/lb extra for vacuum pack as opposed to paper wrap. I also have all my ground beef done vacuum pack in sq one lb packages... frozen flat... much easier to stack in the freezer and keeps much longer than in the 1 lb tube packages as they are not vacuum sealed.
So all said and done, it costs roughly about $1.00/lb for a beef to be worked up from the hanging weight. Maybe a little less...but if you figure high then you will not get a surprise. That's everything pretty much.
This gives people a general idea it they buy a beef... if it weighs 1,000 lbs... hangs at 550-600 lbs... it is going to cost around 550-600 to get that hanging beef in your freezer... And you will lose some poundage with waste bones etc.... you will not get 600 lbs actual meat... but about 450-500+ lbs actual meat.
What I tell people is to take a 1,000 lb animal and figure you are going to get between 25% to 40% totally edible useable meat in your freezer....usually about 40%.... so a 1,000 lb live weight animal is going to give you 400+ lbs meat. Depends on meat to bone ratio and how well fed it is.
If you raise your own... then figure the meat processing costs will be $2.00 lb of actual edible meat in the freezer... add to the cost of the animal if you buy it. My thoughts run that if you pay 1,000 for a 1,000 lb live animal to kill, the meat is going to be worth 4.00 lb when you put it in your freezer... Since good hamburger costs that much, that is CHEAP for the steaks, roasts and everything else you get. And the cost is usually less... but that is a good easy round figure to use as a baseline.
Remember too, that killing and processing costs are different in different parts of the country....
It is worth it to take the live animal and get it back cut, vacuum packed, and frozen .... ready to cook....There is probably 400 lbs meat there.

Going to get it in the freezer a little later. It is all frozen and packed tight in the cooler chests so will be fine til later when it is cooler out there, to get it all in. Got to put together a couple new cardboard boxes I have ready to tape so I can slide them in the shelves and be able to stack it better than just on the shelves.... and things like the stew meat and such are not nice neat flat packages so don't stack well as the roasts don't either.

Got to pack the samples from saturday's herd to go out too. Just sat and ate a tomato sandwich for lunch.
I cannot find the clips for the shelves to put in the "spice" cabinet. They are in a yellow plastic, nestle's choc milk powder container I had... and it is no where to be found.... the last few days of packing and moving the stuff I know I was getting tired and put stuff in boxes and now cannot find them. Going to have to take apart some more stuff that i was trying to sort through more methodically.... SOOOO aggravating.

Oh well, lunch is over....

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, @Mini Horses , have a walker from the ankle although I used the crutches much more... the walker always had me feeling like I was going to trip and fall into it... too confining in front of me. But I do have a cabinet right next to the bed I use now for steadying for the first step when they hurt... and arms on the desk chair and the step stool thing in the kitchen.... can't reach the upper shelves anyway...

 

[farmerjan]

Oh, to also answer a couple of other questions. I use my own laptop for the herds... Looking to get a new one for home as this one is running slower and slower... and being windows 7 not supported with updates and such so more vulnerable for things like my banking and bill paying. Going to keep this one just for the herds until I decide to quit. I know nothing about having a tablet or anything. Would actually like to see the different options available.... decide what I want. I was going to go with a desktop... but then realized that I can't take it with me, say if I go up north or in the hospital and rehab etc.... for the knees... something like a tablet would be better for that???? And I do not have a smart phone either..... guess I am going to have to get more modern if I am going to survive some things... like keeping in touch with people...

No, the farms are not required to be on the milk testing I do. They have to meet minimum standards and there is a milk sample taken out of their tank every time a truck picks up milk to go to the processing plant. They have to meet minimum standards for the state, and for the milk company, they are shipping their milk to. My testing is individualized so they can make decisions based on each cow.... but they don't "have to milk test" individual cows. You can pick up mastitis in the california mastitis test that you can buy, and find problem cows that way but it is not as easy to do all the cows... but you can check on suspected cases of problem cows.
It is easier for the farmers to have the kind of milk testing I do, on a regular basis so that they can keep up with things faster. And the ones that have their own computers in the barn with this program on, can keep up with things like breeding and calvings and dry off dates and such. But if they are running a low scc on the bulk tank that the milk truck picks up every other day on average, they don't need my results as "desperately"...

 

[Mini Horses]

Thanks for the info!! Testing and butchering,....

I knew you used crutches but, sometimes the walkers help with up and down moves, both a touch of balance and arm use. This will be so for first while at home, I'm sure. Just the swelling can cause stiff and sore loss of motion. Looking out for you.

 

[farmerjan]

Got the glass panel in the stove door front.... got some of the stuff moved and hope to get the stove in the house tomorrow... Got to do a sink full of dishes, plates and glasses, from the last couple days.....dishwasher moved into DR for now... trying to make room for the stove to make it as easy as possible to manuever..... The friend that said he wanted some jersey bull calves has now decided that he doesn't want any until Dec.... well, I texted back the farmer that said he had one and said the guy wasn't able to take it now... and that's the end of that... no more.... not doing any favors for anyone... maybe I ought to get it and feed it for a couple weeks, then take it to the poultry swap.... what do you think @Mini Horses ?
Tired and sore, I'm done for the night.

 

[Baymule]

Yeah, you need that Jersey calf. Take a calf to a chicken swap? Somebody will take it home!

 

[Mini Horses]

This chicken swap is like a couple acre yard sale!! You're right, someone would buy it...those big brown eyes will get ya.

That guy would be finding his own self calves in Dec. For faster meat and time lines, chicken, pigs, sheep and goat are the way to go. Then, always hunting. But nothing says beef, like beef!!