One Fine Acre - 2023 4H Steer Project Update

[OneFineAcre]

@farmerjan
Yes we know how low cull cows are selling for. We saw some as low as 25
We have enough money now to cover hay and the vet next week, so we have no pressure at this point.
Just need to get everything fixed
We don't know exactly what happened to the dead cows, but we are blaming the thieves.
And we have no clue about the other 4. They maybe wandering around.

 

[Baymule]

Congrats on stopping smoking. It is a hard habit to quit. Have your taste buds come back yet? Food suddenly is delicious! LOL

 

[OneFineAcre]

Congrats on stopping smoking. It is a hard habit to quit. Have your taste buds come back yet? Food suddenly is delicious! LOL

I have replaced my smoking habit with an ice cream habit.
I had actually lost 20 lbs before I quit smoking. Since I quit I've gained about 10 back.

 

[Mike CHS]

That will level out and not too far in the future you will make a wide circle around anyone that is smoking since the smell will be terrible.

 

[OneFineAcre]

That will level out and not too far in the future you will make a wide circle around anyone that is smoking since the smell will be terrible.

I just hope I can stay quit. I read that if you make it 3 months then your chances go up exponentially. But, I sure still have a craving every day. I've also heard that it will never go away. My stepfather told me Thanksgiving that he still thinks about smoking sometimes and he's been quit a long time probably 25 years.

 

[Mike CHS]

An understatement but it's not easy and I think you can make it.

 

[Baymule]

You are on your way to better health. Stay the course!

 

[B&B Happy goats]

For my 15th birthday i was given a cup of coffee and a pack of cigaretts (had already been smoling) hated the coffee...finally quit smoking after fifty one years, it will be two years in august...you can do this , got faith in you!

 

[greybeard]

The prices you got were not bad considering that the ones were bull calves instead of steers.

No, not bad at all on the high ($1.30) end. This is a bad time of year to sell no matter what tho. Everyone has generally already sold off anything they don't want to carry thru winter so the feedlots are full, the frozen boxed beef inventories are at or near yearly (and all time) highs and hay is in short supply or very expensive in much of the cattle producing country..

A good portion of raising cattle (or any livestock) is the ability, necessity, and willingness to cull hard..always, not just in hard times when money, grass, or hay is in short supply. It takes just as much $$, acreage, and forage to feed an open cow as it does a bred cow. Do NOT allow emotion to determine which ones go and which ones stay. (we all fall victim to that every once in a while, but none of us can afford to do so on a continuing basis) It costs about $2/day per mature animal to keep cattle. 2 extra mouths to feed is $1,460/year minimum $$ out of your pocket.
In the future, watch the yearly price cycle, and plan to sell off the culls when prices are up a bit. (Yes, it's like trying to catch a falling knife)

Cattle thieves are like dog thieves IMO.. they really should be tried at the short end of a long rope. Keep on your DA and push toward getting them the max penalty you can. If there is a cattle association there in NC, Join it.
One of the best serves my area and they don't mess around.
http://tscra.org/what-we-do/

 

[OneFineAcre]

So, this is what we woke up to this morning from the system that gave the Texas BYH'ers all that rain.
We got about 8". Very unusual for NC in December. Goat Whisperer put on FB this morning that they had lost power.
It turned to a light freezing rain so feeding animals was not much fun today.
I've been replacing blown bulbs in all of my light fixtures. First time all have had working bulbs in a long time.

Forgot to mention. I had to go to the orthopedic doctor last week. I have a condition called "Trigger Finger" in my left thumb. It's an inflamation of the tendon that makes it pop when you bend it. It looks like the thumb is popping out the socket, but it's actually the tendon. It started in late Oct during the state fair. At first it was just annoying, but has gotten painful. Gave me a cortisone injection which really hurt. I have to take meloxicam for 30 days.
Maurine is making an apple pie to go with my vanilla ice cream. She makes a really good apple pie.