Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

I will have to drive even further, just for a custom shop, meaning not USDA. Don’t even know where a USDA place is or if there is one available nearby.

 

[farmerjan]

@Bruce, I will ask where Dave gets his beef done. He also has some hogs done there. He has grown so much that he built a walk in freezer in his barn to acommodate all the meat he goes through.... The barn was completely redone and he and his son also have a a sugar bush and do maple syrup. Whittier Rd Cattle co... Derby Line VT. He is right at the US/Canadian border. They have a facebook page also. It is done at a federally inspected plant I think... has all the liscenses etc to sell meat. At one time he lived here in Va for a few years and farmed, originally from CT like us, and then he and family moved up north and split and he and son now do it. Makes TONS of hay and animals are all grassfed....

 

[farmerjan]

Here on the western side of Va I don't think that driving an hour is that far to go to a processor. That said, we have a state licensed one 10 minutes from us .... WHEN we can get an appt.... but travel 30-50 miles regularly to sales or processing places. Again, we also try to take at least 2 at a time to be done.....

On another note... weather is WARMING UP FAST.... 49 to start... already up to 65 at 10:30... going to be high 70's and maybe 80 next 2 days... rain possible later and/or tomorrow.... Going to put the plants all out on the deck today and with nights in the upper 50's will be able to leave them out for a good natural watering.....

Going to try to work on some "post pulling out of the pile" and go up and see if I can get the cattle to come in the pen and maybe catch that one stupid one of DS's.....

Need to start cleaning up the yard some too.... and have to decide what I am going to do about a lawn mower... getting time to get it cleaned up and mowed down/ dead grass all cleaned up, as with these type temps, it won't take much for the grass to really grow... still too early in my opinion.... but nature doesn't listen to me....

 

[Mini Horses]

one is a miserable witch and doesn't like to go in .... she belongs to DS...

DS seems to have a poor selection for females

 

[farmerjan]

DS seems to have a poor selection for females

Yeah, no joke.....

Wind is blowing like it will take you to Kansas, in a tornado..... but it is warm out. Came in to get a drink and going to head out to farm.....

 

[Bruce]

@Bruce, I will ask where Dave gets his beef done. He also has some hogs done there. He has grown so much that he built a walk in freezer in his barn to acommodate all the meat he goes through.... The barn was completely redone and he and his son also have a a sugar bush and do maple syrup. Whittier Rd Cattle co... Derby Line VT. He is right at the US/Canadian border. They have a facebook page also. It is done at a federally inspected plant I think... has all the liscenses etc to sell meat. At one time he lived here in Va for a few years and farmed, originally from CT like us, and then he and family moved up north and split and he and son now do it. Makes TONS of hay and animals are all grassfed....

My goat lady is also on the border - Border Hill Farm in Berkshire. They are the last building before the border crossing building. West of Dave by a fair bit. She drives the goats to near St. Johnsbury (which is south of Dave right down I-91). Heather has 35 miles of "back roads" before she gets to the interstate and can head south. Probably nearly an hour of travel right there.

She and her husband also have a mobile chicken processing business. And a whole lotta layers. And she sells goat milk. And she makes soap. And they have 2 little girls (4 & 6 now I think?). And her husband has a full time "off farm" job. Some people have WAY more get up and go than I ever had!

 

[Ridgetop]

We also travel abut 50 miles to our butcher. The others that were close by closed and moved out years ago. I would think there would be custom butchers for hunters though. A lot of what my butcher does is hunters' venison. We still need an appointment.

 

[farmerjan]

Spent the late aft helping sort cattle... had to get in and change around several groups...Sorted the 30 we moved from the nurse cow pasture into a couple groups... then moved them out into the front lot at the barn. Got the group in that was still at the barn from weaning off of cows and sorted them... heifers in one part... divided into 2 different sizes; and colors as the "colored calves" (red and charolais) sell better at one sale... the hol x beef animals (there are a 4 or 5, I guess... a couple of steers, off the nurse cow, and a couple of dairy looking heifers) with the colored calves... couple of cows that are culls to get sold... then the rest of the steers that were in that group.... then got the 20+ from the back behind the barn where he had been keeping the steers he sold 2 weeks ago... just to get them out of the barnyard and onto drier ground.... and went through the sorting of them to put into separate sections....
So... after all that,; there are 20 steers to go tomorrow and 3 heifers that would match some of the other ones but they are totally BONKERS.... jumped over gates while trying to sort them.... just totally NUTS... and we are not going to keep dealing with them. One of the nutcases is mine, 2 are his. He thinks he can get the 23 on the bigger trailer and since prices are decent, they will do okay... and NOT be in the barn lot or other group getting everyone all riled up and stupid acting. I mean they are totally off the wall....
Still haven't tried to get that one at the nurse cow pasture in... let her have the day off and maybe tomorrow I can go by and feed in the pen and see if they come up... I am not so worried about the charolais of mine as she has come in the pen and with alot less animals there, should not be a problem to get her to come back in but that one that refuses to get close is going to be an interesting case. Might even talk to vet to get a tranq if I can't make any headway...

Get the 20+ out tomorrow.... then Caleb will come and help do the "grading" sorting for the ones to go to WVA...... might not have 35 to all match so he might have to put out 2 "groups" so to speak... once they get them "graded" then DS can decide if he wants to try to buy some to match but since they are so high now I doubt he will be able to do that.... So if they can put together say 2 groups; that match within each bunch... then that will work also... we'll see after they "grade them".... and go from there. Then we will be shipping the "odd balls"... colored calves, dairy x ones... all stuff like that... to the "Saturday sale" as there are more buyers up there that deal with dairy x animals and alot of small "hobby type" farmers that have a few acres and want to run a few head of cattle for the summer to eat the grass and maybe to raise for their own beef... It is just a better market for the smaller groups (singles and pairs and 3's and 4's in a group)...

I really want to try to get at least that one in at the nurse cow pasture to go to the Sat sale.... If the bigger Charolais doesn't get caught or moved, she is big enough to breed so can stay to get bred. But she would definitely be worth more than what we have in her at this point.

So, I am headed to bed as we are going to meet at the barn by 5:30 ... going to go in a little later so that the one guy is there to sort and that there won't be any sticking in one that doesn't match like last time and this way DS won't feel like he got cheated on the price on the ones that didn't bring what they ought to have since the one was in there that did not match.

Temps hit 79 today... it actually felt too warm, and tomorrow is supposed to be the same or warmer....But showers tomorrow... plants are all out and should get a good watering if it does rain.

 

[Mike CHS]

Those totally nutcase cattle are why I won't have cattle. I can fight with a flighty 200 lb sheep and win but that isn't happening with a 1200 lb steer at my age. Of course I haven't figured out yet how I'm going to handle a 300 pound ram (Oshi) but he is tolerating a lot of handling and we are getting there.

 

[farmerjan]

Those heifers are only about 4-500 lbs.... that is why they are leaving... BEFORE they get to the 1000 lb range.... they are getting over some of these gates now.... NOT waiting for them to clear them from a standstill....