Baymule
Herd Master
Seriously, why aren’t we making all of that, or if we are, why aren’t we stepping up production?
Farmerjan's journal - Weather
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Mini Horses
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We do make all, just not enough of some.
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farmerjan
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One of the things we benefit from, by importing beef... is that more US beef gets graded as select and choice and PRIME and there for it does not have the fat necessary to make all the ground beef that is consumed. Quite a bit of the imported beef is of "lower quality" and makes good ground beef, and goes into processed meats like bologna and hot dogs and such. We sell our "choice and prime" beef for higher prices, import back a lower grade (lower cost) of beef for ground beef and processing beef... keeps the channels of trade open...
Also, the organ meats, that many in the US do not want or use... heart, liver, tongue, kidneys, tripe, and more....... are considered delicacies, and in much higher demand in other countries...
It is complicated... BUT.... there is NOT enough of the type of beef that goes into ground beef and processed products... and people are not going to pay for good top quality beef to go into their ground beef... AND, there is not enough fat produced to make the 70/30 grade of "hamburger" that is sold...
The tariffs will actually cause the cost of beef to go up even though we are not going to be "short" of beef overall... we will just be short of the beef that is in greatest demand by the public that cannot afford the nice ribeye steak but can afford a "hamburger steak".... things like that...
And with the smaller cattle herd size, which is still a big issue.... there will not be the production of the lesser cuts because overall there is not as much beef to go around...
Same with lamb production... the US does not produce enough for the demand/consumption... especially with the increase populations of other ethnic groups that had little or no beef in their home countries and they prefer the sheep and goat meat.... so alot of lamb is imported...
Also, the organ meats, that many in the US do not want or use... heart, liver, tongue, kidneys, tripe, and more....... are considered delicacies, and in much higher demand in other countries...
It is complicated... BUT.... there is NOT enough of the type of beef that goes into ground beef and processed products... and people are not going to pay for good top quality beef to go into their ground beef... AND, there is not enough fat produced to make the 70/30 grade of "hamburger" that is sold...
The tariffs will actually cause the cost of beef to go up even though we are not going to be "short" of beef overall... we will just be short of the beef that is in greatest demand by the public that cannot afford the nice ribeye steak but can afford a "hamburger steak".... things like that...
And with the smaller cattle herd size, which is still a big issue.... there will not be the production of the lesser cuts because overall there is not as much beef to go around...
Same with lamb production... the US does not produce enough for the demand/consumption... especially with the increase populations of other ethnic groups that had little or no beef in their home countries and they prefer the sheep and goat meat.... so alot of lamb is imported...
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farmerjan
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Monday night. Temps were 48 up to about 65... Rain most of last night and some hard rains this morning.. NOTHING like what poor @purplequeenvt got... I dumped the rain gauge this afternoon late... 1.5 inches total which really was about perfect since it never rained so hard to run down the roads or anything. Ground was warm enough for it to pretty much soak in too.
Had a chiropractor appt this morning...it poured down pretty hard for part of the drivedown; went to the goodwill on the way home... got a pair of jeans and a couple paperbacks...
Then stopped at Walmart as I needed some power steering fluid stuff since it leaks... got a big pkg of TP... I have not bought any in the last few months... time to start adding back to my "stash" .... not overly worried about shortages, but I have used some up so want to replenish and keep it well stocked. Picked up a few other things while I was there that I could remember without a specific list... It was right on the way home so may as well make the trip count.
Went up to the pasture, fed the calves in the barn, the cows came in and all like they should. DS was going to do the banding yesterday, but he was not having a very good day... but said to see if I could get them in... I did, but he never got back to me, so after a call, then texting and no answer, I finally let them out... He called me just as I let the cows out... and I said I had sent him a text over an hour earlier... and figured he still had a headache... he said he was "home" (her house) and I could hear the kids in the background... he said he could come back up but it would be an hour and I said, no.... it was getting too late. So he said to let him know if I got them in this afternoon, and he would come up if it wasn't too wet.
I called him, and he called me back a minute or 2 later,... said he was at his house doing some fence repair as the lambs have been getting out in the field next door... that he had been sick to his stomach, but he could come up in a few minutes... but he had to go to the farm and get the truck... and he needed to check those cows for calves too. So I said that it was a little wet, that if he wanted, he could just come and band the couple calves... and then move them another day when he felt better to deal with the cow too... and that I could get them in to get sold if he told me a day or 2 ahead of when he was planning to go to the stockyard... not last minute. So he said he would be up in a little bit and asked how the cow looked.... maybe she needed to come to the barn to eat silage and gain some weight... but she is in pretty good condition since she is getting grain pretty regular and no calf to pull her condition down...
I kept the calves in the barn, and kept the 2 cows in the other side, and gave them a couple sections of a sq bale to keep them satisfied.
Then I waited.,... and waited... I expected an hour and sent texts out to farmers about testing and such... but then it was nearly 2 hours and I figured he forgot... tried to call, then sent a text and said ???????.
He sent me a text back, said "oh sh!t.... go ahead and turn them out".... then sent another one, he had gone and checked for calves, then he got sick again and was at the house in the bathroom... he was sorry, he forgot to tell me when he got sick.
So, out loose they went again... but they got a good feeding of grain and some hay... and I opened the gate and the cows came out of the barn into their little lot, and then out loose on their own... no upsets, so at least she didn't act like she was "trapped" or anything... opened the door from the barn into the lot on the other side with the creep gate, and the calves came out and went to drink water first thing, then went back in the barn... they don't get overly upset over much.....
Try again tomorrow... I really want to at least get these couple banded and vacc shots... and the head catch there does not have a good way to keep them immobile... takes 2 of us with the makeshift gate.... and these calves are 300+ lbs... so not going to even think about doing them by myself without a good head catch... this works in a pinch so it is useful... BUT..... normally we would work this size calf at doug's farm in the regular chute/headcatch. I don't think he is talking about taking any to the sale now for several weeks... since most of the heifers are gone... there is no big push... but they need to be worked... use the "big bander" so that in 2 weeks can cut the sacks off of them... won't have to wait for them to fall off on their own.
It is getting colder out tonight. I have had the spider plants all outside the last couple days and they got a good soaking from the rain. But I brought them all back in this evening as it is going to get down in the 30's and colder tomorrow night with freezing temps... The warmth was nice, but it is too warm for this time of year yet... 60's and 40's is more normal...
Going to get a shower and go to bed here shortly... It is chillier... down to 45 already....
Had a chiropractor appt this morning...it poured down pretty hard for part of the drivedown; went to the goodwill on the way home... got a pair of jeans and a couple paperbacks...
Then stopped at Walmart as I needed some power steering fluid stuff since it leaks... got a big pkg of TP... I have not bought any in the last few months... time to start adding back to my "stash" .... not overly worried about shortages, but I have used some up so want to replenish and keep it well stocked. Picked up a few other things while I was there that I could remember without a specific list... It was right on the way home so may as well make the trip count.
Went up to the pasture, fed the calves in the barn, the cows came in and all like they should. DS was going to do the banding yesterday, but he was not having a very good day... but said to see if I could get them in... I did, but he never got back to me, so after a call, then texting and no answer, I finally let them out... He called me just as I let the cows out... and I said I had sent him a text over an hour earlier... and figured he still had a headache... he said he was "home" (her house) and I could hear the kids in the background... he said he could come back up but it would be an hour and I said, no.... it was getting too late. So he said to let him know if I got them in this afternoon, and he would come up if it wasn't too wet.
I called him, and he called me back a minute or 2 later,... said he was at his house doing some fence repair as the lambs have been getting out in the field next door... that he had been sick to his stomach, but he could come up in a few minutes... but he had to go to the farm and get the truck... and he needed to check those cows for calves too. So I said that it was a little wet, that if he wanted, he could just come and band the couple calves... and then move them another day when he felt better to deal with the cow too... and that I could get them in to get sold if he told me a day or 2 ahead of when he was planning to go to the stockyard... not last minute. So he said he would be up in a little bit and asked how the cow looked.... maybe she needed to come to the barn to eat silage and gain some weight... but she is in pretty good condition since she is getting grain pretty regular and no calf to pull her condition down...
I kept the calves in the barn, and kept the 2 cows in the other side, and gave them a couple sections of a sq bale to keep them satisfied.
Then I waited.,... and waited... I expected an hour and sent texts out to farmers about testing and such... but then it was nearly 2 hours and I figured he forgot... tried to call, then sent a text and said ???????.
He sent me a text back, said "oh sh!t.... go ahead and turn them out".... then sent another one, he had gone and checked for calves, then he got sick again and was at the house in the bathroom... he was sorry, he forgot to tell me when he got sick.
So, out loose they went again... but they got a good feeding of grain and some hay... and I opened the gate and the cows came out of the barn into their little lot, and then out loose on their own... no upsets, so at least she didn't act like she was "trapped" or anything... opened the door from the barn into the lot on the other side with the creep gate, and the calves came out and went to drink water first thing, then went back in the barn... they don't get overly upset over much.....
Try again tomorrow... I really want to at least get these couple banded and vacc shots... and the head catch there does not have a good way to keep them immobile... takes 2 of us with the makeshift gate.... and these calves are 300+ lbs... so not going to even think about doing them by myself without a good head catch... this works in a pinch so it is useful... BUT..... normally we would work this size calf at doug's farm in the regular chute/headcatch. I don't think he is talking about taking any to the sale now for several weeks... since most of the heifers are gone... there is no big push... but they need to be worked... use the "big bander" so that in 2 weeks can cut the sacks off of them... won't have to wait for them to fall off on their own.
It is getting colder out tonight. I have had the spider plants all outside the last couple days and they got a good soaking from the rain. But I brought them all back in this evening as it is going to get down in the 30's and colder tomorrow night with freezing temps... The warmth was nice, but it is too warm for this time of year yet... 60's and 40's is more normal...
Going to get a shower and go to bed here shortly... It is chillier... down to 45 already....
Thank you for the explanation.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
One other problem with lamb production here in the US is that because of the Australian subsidies, imported Australian lamb was/is cheaper than American lamb. With the ethnic upsurge of lamb purchase, maybe lamb prices will stabilize. A lot of producers went into other ag fields because American lamb production was not financially sustainable. The wool market also fell apart.
We will just have to wait and see. My opinion is that if other countries put large tariffs on our imports or don't allow us to import to their country, we can't afford to not do the same. Foreign tariffs on our goods and the cheaper production in other countries with no tarrifs on their goods coming is the main reason why so much of our manufacturing went overseas. America needs to do something to balance trade and imports. We have lost too many good jobs.
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farmerjan
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Wed morning... COLD.... 26 on the recording thermometer... Sun is out and it is supposed to warm up to the 50's.... hopefully there will not be much of a breeze so it ought to be decent out.
Yesterday was not bad... mostly sunny but it was quite breezy so chilly enough. Wore a hooded sweatshirt and had my flannel jeans back on !!!!!!!
DS called and said he had to go to a funeral, but that maybe I could get them in for when he got back... It was at 11 so I figured maybe by 1 he would be available.
Went up to check on the heifers still due to calve, and managed to get the calves to the barn. The 2 cows came right in... so they got their grain and some hay. Finally got the calves in. I called DS and said, okay, they are in. He said it would be about an hour or so before he got back. I made sure they all had some hay and left them in. Texted him and said I was going home to eat some lunch, and to call me when he was ready to go up there. It was after 2 when he finally called me.
He came with the trailer... said he had another really bad headache again. He brought the medicines/vacc... but didn't bother to look at the bottle and only brought enough tetanus for 1 calf... like REALLY??????? And he brought the wrong vacc for the calves. I specifically said Triangle 5.... because the steers don't need lepto, they aren't going to be breeding anything... But he brought the Triangle 10... which won't hurt them, but it is more expensive. He got a little short with me when I asked about why the triangle 10 instead of the triangle 5.... So, banded and gave the shots to the black calf that comes in, that was going to stay there...he is still nursing the cow although she does not have alot of milk since she was an "oops" pregnancy and calved younger than I like....and I am hoping she is bred back so will calve the 2nd time in synch with the other heifers... giving her several more months to grow more, once we wean this calf in another month along with the ones that are on the rest of the fall calving cows when they all get preg checked. Then banded and gave all but the tetanus to the bigger holstein calf... he said he would get a shot of tetanus at the barn since it was going there. Loaded the black cow and the holstein in the trailer... he left for the barn, I put gates back like they needed to be, then went down to the barn. We let the cow into the barn lot on the side with the 10-12 bigger calves he is still feeding, more room for her and she won't push them around like the side with the smaller ones... 20+ on that side. He also put the vaccines in the fridge and got the tetanus shot to give the holstein. He had locked the group of 20+ calves out of the lot, so they could feed silage in the barn.
So with all of this, I did not band or vaccinate the holstein and jersey calf that are on Betsy. And funny thing is, after we got done and I let them in on the other side, with her, out of the way to load 1305 and the holstein, they ran right to her and went to nursing her... She doesn't have much milk, but they needed their "momma"... I really hope she is bred to the angus bull, so she will get a chance to raise some more next time around.
Then he let the holstein out... we walked him down the alley and then across the driveway to go out with the 2 holstein heifers, the crippled black steer, the one momma with the twin calves, they had gotten a "slow start" that DS was worried about... and the one heifer that was another "oops" pregnancy this year... who just calved and is doing good, but needed to be somewhere she will not get pushed around, and get more to eat than in the barn lot where she was..... The holstein steer will not have the pasture he had at snyder's pasture, but he will get "better hay" and they are feeding silage and grain to this group too. And he is there at the barn to easily get in to load whenever we take anything to the sale... and not have to come up to a separate place to get him.
I offered to help do what ever he needed at the barn, but she was there, so he said he didn't need anything... so I just left. He did say he had gotten some of the posts "unrolled" off the pile with the wire, so I said I would get them cut out and staples pulled. I hope to do that today if it is not too terribly cold later on. Need to get this pile of posts finished. Plus I need to get the other fence stapled off that he put up the wire where the posts were already in...
The guy still has not showed up to pound more posts... DS is pretty unhappy with it... and all the other fence builders he has talked to are flat out "covered up" with work because we had gotten that rain back awhile ago, and they were going crazy trying to get posts in the ground while they could drive them. The 1.5 inches of rain we got the other night has gone a long way to softening the ground again... the forecast is for more rain tomorrow (thurs) and Friday... DS's headaches won't take the post pounding....
About 6 I get a phone call... DS asked if I could go to the barn and let the heifers he had locked out, back into the barn.. he thinks he forgot to let them back in to water and to eat... he was at one of the kids softball games.. So of course, I go back to the barn after I fed the calf his bottle at snyders, and yup, he had forgotten to open up the gate from the field, into the barn lot... and opened the other gate into the barn so they could go in to eat silage in the bunk. Then I came home... by then it was almost dark. I locked the chickens in and done for the night.
I will get out and get "started" on the day. Need to go check the 2 heifers at snyders... Jess, the longhorn, is making more udder... I expect to just go find a calf with her one day... She just does her thing...
Yesterday was not bad... mostly sunny but it was quite breezy so chilly enough. Wore a hooded sweatshirt and had my flannel jeans back on !!!!!!!
DS called and said he had to go to a funeral, but that maybe I could get them in for when he got back... It was at 11 so I figured maybe by 1 he would be available.
Went up to check on the heifers still due to calve, and managed to get the calves to the barn. The 2 cows came right in... so they got their grain and some hay. Finally got the calves in. I called DS and said, okay, they are in. He said it would be about an hour or so before he got back. I made sure they all had some hay and left them in. Texted him and said I was going home to eat some lunch, and to call me when he was ready to go up there. It was after 2 when he finally called me.
He came with the trailer... said he had another really bad headache again. He brought the medicines/vacc... but didn't bother to look at the bottle and only brought enough tetanus for 1 calf... like REALLY??????? And he brought the wrong vacc for the calves. I specifically said Triangle 5.... because the steers don't need lepto, they aren't going to be breeding anything... But he brought the Triangle 10... which won't hurt them, but it is more expensive. He got a little short with me when I asked about why the triangle 10 instead of the triangle 5.... So, banded and gave the shots to the black calf that comes in, that was going to stay there...he is still nursing the cow although she does not have alot of milk since she was an "oops" pregnancy and calved younger than I like....and I am hoping she is bred back so will calve the 2nd time in synch with the other heifers... giving her several more months to grow more, once we wean this calf in another month along with the ones that are on the rest of the fall calving cows when they all get preg checked. Then banded and gave all but the tetanus to the bigger holstein calf... he said he would get a shot of tetanus at the barn since it was going there. Loaded the black cow and the holstein in the trailer... he left for the barn, I put gates back like they needed to be, then went down to the barn. We let the cow into the barn lot on the side with the 10-12 bigger calves he is still feeding, more room for her and she won't push them around like the side with the smaller ones... 20+ on that side. He also put the vaccines in the fridge and got the tetanus shot to give the holstein. He had locked the group of 20+ calves out of the lot, so they could feed silage in the barn.
So with all of this, I did not band or vaccinate the holstein and jersey calf that are on Betsy. And funny thing is, after we got done and I let them in on the other side, with her, out of the way to load 1305 and the holstein, they ran right to her and went to nursing her... She doesn't have much milk, but they needed their "momma"... I really hope she is bred to the angus bull, so she will get a chance to raise some more next time around.
Then he let the holstein out... we walked him down the alley and then across the driveway to go out with the 2 holstein heifers, the crippled black steer, the one momma with the twin calves, they had gotten a "slow start" that DS was worried about... and the one heifer that was another "oops" pregnancy this year... who just calved and is doing good, but needed to be somewhere she will not get pushed around, and get more to eat than in the barn lot where she was..... The holstein steer will not have the pasture he had at snyder's pasture, but he will get "better hay" and they are feeding silage and grain to this group too. And he is there at the barn to easily get in to load whenever we take anything to the sale... and not have to come up to a separate place to get him.
I offered to help do what ever he needed at the barn, but she was there, so he said he didn't need anything... so I just left. He did say he had gotten some of the posts "unrolled" off the pile with the wire, so I said I would get them cut out and staples pulled. I hope to do that today if it is not too terribly cold later on. Need to get this pile of posts finished. Plus I need to get the other fence stapled off that he put up the wire where the posts were already in...
The guy still has not showed up to pound more posts... DS is pretty unhappy with it... and all the other fence builders he has talked to are flat out "covered up" with work because we had gotten that rain back awhile ago, and they were going crazy trying to get posts in the ground while they could drive them. The 1.5 inches of rain we got the other night has gone a long way to softening the ground again... the forecast is for more rain tomorrow (thurs) and Friday... DS's headaches won't take the post pounding....
About 6 I get a phone call... DS asked if I could go to the barn and let the heifers he had locked out, back into the barn.. he thinks he forgot to let them back in to water and to eat... he was at one of the kids softball games.. So of course, I go back to the barn after I fed the calf his bottle at snyders, and yup, he had forgotten to open up the gate from the field, into the barn lot... and opened the other gate into the barn so they could go in to eat silage in the bunk. Then I came home... by then it was almost dark. I locked the chickens in and done for the night.
I will get out and get "started" on the day. Need to go check the 2 heifers at snyders... Jess, the longhorn, is making more udder... I expect to just go find a calf with her one day... She just does her thing...
SageHill
Herd Master
Geeze - lots of extra trips to the barn lately. 
Mini Horses
Herd Master
I've used my lined jeans a couple days now. Just turned on some heat in the house...a room heater, for a chill kill. It's only 64 in here & I'm bundled but cold. Only 43 out, going to mid 30s 
. Dang!! They say warming starts tomorrow -- good! It was here, left. Did I say something???? 
. Dang!! They say warming starts tomorrow -- good! It was here, left. Did I say something???? - Thread starter
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farmerjan
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Luckily, the barn is 2 miles from my house... so not that big a deal... and snyder's pasture is headed in that direction....driveway is only .2 from my house by the road... corner of pasture is actually kitty corner across the road from me.... if it was very far I would get P.O.ed... and I was not going to leave them out without feed or water all night... and he was over 1/2 hr away (15-20 miles) at the ball game... If it wasn't for the increased headaches all of a sudden... I would get really bent out of shape about it. He got some real relief after the shots they did in the C-2 to C-7 vertebrae... so this is hitting him harder all of a sudden, after some relief. BUT.... he cannot seem to remember to do things and things get put off all the time again... I am fighting a losing battle with his involvement with her...and the kids take priority all the time..... so not worth the fight. There are a couple of my heifers in that group that got locked out... which is done regularly while going in and out with the skid loader to feed .... so they needed to get let back in. You do what is right even if it is not what you want sometimes.Geeze - lots of extra trips to the barn lately.
Going to go to the barn after lunch time in a bit. It is only barely 46 out there now at 11:30... light breeze so still quite chilly.
