Farmerjan's journal - Weather

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She's sleeping in today! :lol:. Too many of those early milk days this week. Sure glad my goats don't expect me in the barn at 4 or 5 am to milk!! :oops:. I'm sometimes up then, usually not by choice....but for a dairy farm, that's not even early.

I hope the sales were good! We all appreciate some value for the hard work and long wait raising livestock. Most consumers never know what goes into getting that #of ground beef, a steak, gallon of milk, etc.
 

farmerjan

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DRUM ROLL and FIREWORKS...... VERY VERY GOOD sale day yesterday. Nice to hit a homerun once in awhile.

Slept in compared to the last 3 mornings but was up and dressed and loading a few already packed boxes into the car at 8 this morning. Had to go meet DS at the barn to work some cattle through the chute that we bought, at 8:30 or so. Knees really took a beating the past few days.

OKAY Steer calves weighed in the 450-650 wts and most brought in the 1.60-1.80 / lb. Heifers were in the same weight ranges, more were on the lighter side, and brought in the upper 1.30's- 1,48 for the big group of 11. We came out with about 6-7,000 more than what we had hoped for.
That sounds like alot, and it is a NICE chunk... but then we turned around and bought 11 head. A couple that will go to that guy he deals with on "cheaper" stuff.... and some pretty nice hereford and hereford cross heifers in the 650 range that were giveaway prices. Literally in the $.70 /lb range. Because, "black" is the color they want around here. DS has a friend that was looking for a few hereford heifers for breeding, so they may be here just a few days. He is coming to look at them today. They will be ready to go with a bull in June for spring calves next year. I figured it up, and basically we traded 450 lb small black mediocre feeder heifers for 650 ready to breed heifers. And saved a year's time in getting them to being bred because I really don't want to be calving heifers in the fall and our 450 wts would be ready to breed in Nov/Dec but that would make fall calving 2022..... these will be having a calf in early 2022. It is a shame that herefords don't do better here. DS likes the ones that are like 1/2 hereford more than straight herefords.... I am fine with either. We both like red cattle but they just don't sell here. Crossed with a good black angus, or any good black bull, you will get 75% or more black or black white faced calves that sell good. To me it is worth having them. Yes we get some red calves off our red crossbred cows, but if they are good calves they will bring 20 cents less than if they were black.....
So if he takes them fine, if not, I think DS will keep them and they will get bred in a couple months. I may keep one or 2 and him keep the rest. We'll see.
I wound up selling 4 head of mine total... there was 1 steer (wasn't sure if there was 1 or 2) and 3 of the 4 heifers that were mine. Kept one for now. For the 4, I got about what I would have gotten for 5, so that is nice. And if I decide to keep any of the herefords/crosses for me, then I will pay him what he paid for them. If he can make some money off them from the friend that was looking for some, then better for us. I don't see any of the money that he makes off deals like that, but then he has been paying out a bit more to get help when I just can't do stuff now, so I figure that it is a fair trade off for him to pocket a little profit. Even when I get royally P.O. at him, and he doesn't do some things the way I think they need to be done, he does not cheat me out of any money or expect me to "carry him" in anyway. I paid him back for the car.....traded off the one heifer of mine, we had killed, that he sold for beef, and things like that.....
I can say that GF has given him a little different attitude and outlook on what people are worth as far as working the cattle and stuff..... so, that is to my benefit too. Yet when he was talking the other day and telling me about some stuff with her, I can tell he is looking at things pretty "smarter" .....being realistic about some of her problems and hangups. So, I will just take it as it comes.

SOOOOO, I did stick a few things in the car that were already packed at the house, and have just gotten them unloaded. We did work the bought heifers through the chute and they got blackleg shots and all according to what he sends to that other guy; then whatever we keep they will get a Triangle 10 vacc and then get turned out when the time comes with the bull.

Got the 200 cow jersey farm that is 125 miles away set up for Wednesday. The weather is supposed to be really nice this week.... temps chilly today with a strong breeze again, but sunny.... sunny right through Thursday at least with temps maybe hitting 70 mid week.... then some clouds but no real rain in the forecast for the next 7-10 days.

I think that I am going to go down to the stone house and get some more stuff packed and bring up another load today. I feel like getting some more stuff emptied out from down there. I need to eat something though and I will do a sink full of dishes before I go so they can be drying while I am moving other stuff.

I have to go to Deb's and do the horses. I talked to her last evening, and she said she forgot to tell me that she had to go back to her house up near work because she had to go into work, so they have not been checked on for a couple of days. She was going to come out this weekend, but I told her that I would go in there this morning to check and feed them. She mentioned that she was wanting to go see their grandchild ( her deceased husbands daughter baby, that she is pretty close to) and I said it was no problem if she wanted to do that, I would just check/feed the horses this weekend instead of her coming out Sat morning and having to go back on Sunday eve.... Not a big deal since she has to be in the office the first part of the week no sense of making a 2+ hour trip out here for just 36 hours.... she said that maybe she would come out Wed or Thursday for a long work/weekend. Which I said fine... just let me know so I can check on them.

I also am going up to the nurse cow field, take feed in there and see if I can get those calves coming in the catch pen, in the next couple of days to get feed in the feeders. They did come in during the fall for awhile, so need to have a little reminder. At least half of them are mine, off my heifers. With the prices as good as they were yesterday,. I want to get rid of everything that we can sell now, before the prices drop off; then we might be able to buy a few breds or cow/calf pairs.... or even luck into a few nice breeding size/age heifers. So, there are about 10 up at the nurse cow field that can get sold, and there are probably 20 head that need pregnancy checks. The ones that have the calves due to be sold, and some others with calves born this fall that have been with the bull since late Nov.... the ones with the older calves should be very pregnant, due to calve in May, and the ones with the smaller calves should be bred to calve in Sept/Oct..... But the older calves need to go. So, I guess I better get my butt in gear here and get going.
 

Bruce

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Steer calves weighed in the 450-650 wts and most brought in the 1.60-1.80 / lb. Heifers were in the same weight ranges, more were on the lighter side, and brought in the upper 1.30's- 1,48 for the big group of 11.
Why do heifers sell for less per pound? A guess ;) These are feeders and the steers will end up packing on more weight at slaughter time so they are worth more now?
 

Mini Horses

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Yes, weight gain. Also, a steer will usually fill in areas that a heifer won't. So some more, better cuts at butcher.

:celebrate :celebrate on good sale prices!! :celebrate:celebrate:clap:woot

Have a couple young does that may get sold for fall holidays if not kidding 2021.
I'm thinking some good prices will be had for goat kids next spring. I'll breed for early kidding, when fall arrives. My buck will be delighted. 😁. He's an ever willing worker.
 

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Yes @Bruce , steers grow a little faster, fill out a little better, better conversion feed to weight.... and no hormone problems.... although many heifers are spayed to end the hormone issues. Out west spaying heifers is usually done by someone who has hundreds to thousands of them on feed. It is not done around here that I am aware of. Our retired vet friend used to do spaying for a few places when he was a younger vet working out in the mid-west. Another reason for spaying is a heifer that is maybe short bred and goes on a feedlot, if she calves she is not putting weight on where she should be so "wasted" feed and the calf will get pulled and from what I am told, they either dispose of the calf, or most places have people that come get the calves regularly off places like that. I get it, they are not in the calf raising business.... so spayed takes that problem out of the equation too.

Rest of the day did not go as planned. Went and did the horses, filled the water trough and all there, then could not get the truck out of the field because the one horse would not get back away from the gate enough for me to drive through, without her sneaking out. And I cannot drive through and jump out of the truck to get it shut quick with these knees. Finally she went out a little bit into the field and I had it set to where I could drive out real quick with the gate nearly rubbing the side and got out before she turned around to come back and got it shut. The water trough is way on the other side of the field near the barn and I am not trying to walk all that way with these knees, then have to stand while it fills. But got that done.

Went to pick up the vaccines and stuff that I ordered on the "booking" that they do twice a year.... special pricing, so a little better... but they did not have one of them in. Also couldn't get the screw that goes in the old door knob because I need to take the other side in since it has the part that it screws into.... So will do that Monday.

PLUS, I have a sudden wobble in the car, and it feels like a tire.... I am thinking that the cords in the steel belt let go.... it makes the tire have a bulge and gives it the feeling of it falling off the axle. Like the old cartoons where the wheel on a car is wobbling from side to side nearly falling off the axle.... Checked all the lug nuts, and they are fine. The tires are 16 inch on this car, and it fits so close inside the wheel wells, and so far I cannot see any bulge on the tire.... and they were busy, so I will have to go back for that on Monday..... because I do not want to drive this 125 miles one way to the farm on Wed if that is the problem. I will be able to get them to put it up on the lift and see if they can see what is wrong. If it is the tire, then I will just go on and get 2 more new ones for it.... wasn't planning on this but..... guess it is a good thing that the calves sold well.... always something to take any "extra money" that you think you might be able to stash away..... these tires had pretty decent tread so I was expecting to not replace them until the fall..... Well no sense in anticipating until I know.
Better a set of new tires than something really bad. I have felt this sort of wobbly feeling before, so that is why I think that is what it is. I have also hit a few really bad potholes the last few days, and it might have just been enough to cause the belt to separate enough to cause this. I guess I would rather that than a mechanical problem. Not the end of the world, I can drive the 2wd for a few days. It gets better mileage anyway.

So after that unproductive trip....,luckily only about 4 miles away; I went to get feed to take to the nurse cow field to see about getting the calves to come back in the lot. I hadn't been in there since tuesday with all the stuff we were doing with getting things set up to ship the calves and testing. Some one of the cows managed to get their head through the gate I guess, and must've yanked it and pulled the short upright post off the concrete and it tore off a couple of the siding boards and got the gate down, got back into the feed room they had made a mess of a couple of weeks ago and finished destroying the whole thing and ate all the crappy hay that was left and manure everywhere, and even a bigger mess. I was so mad I could've shot the whole bunch. They all came right up there too. So I had to pick up gates and get them unhooked from each other while all the cows are in there "helping" looking for feed/hay/whatever.... trying to not get knocked down by them.... the bull is in there too, looking at me like, where's my treat.....:somad:rant:duc:barnie:he:hit:hit:hit:hit. All I wanted to do was cry or scream.... all I did was cuss out the cows, get the gates back up, chase them back out into the lot, then out into the field... try to fix what I could for now.
There is also a board broken on the catch lot and the calves are going through the whole so it has to get fixes. Texted DS and said that it HAS TO be fixed so that I can get these calves in and keep them in so they can get sold/weaned.
Understand that this lot was built before we ever rented this place and the boards were not the greatest. It was neglected and we fixed some stuff but it has NOT been kept up with the last couple years. My dairy/nurse cows don't try to tear stuff up like the beef cows.... But the couple of things I have asked him a couple times to please fix, and it hasn't gotten done... now it will require more work to fix than if it had been done sooner...

Fed the calves in the troughs/feeders and most of the younger calves actually went in the lot through the creep gate. Had the one bigger steer in the other side that he went in through the gate, he cannot fit in the creep gate, then chased him out with the adult cows that I was trying to get out of the barn, so will have to work on getting him in the other gate during the week so he can get some grain and then it shouldn't be too hard to catch him up. If I feed them in there the next few days, they ought to be pretty easy to catch up. Got one nice heifer calf in there, the others are decent/okay.... most all mine and they mostly are all heifers.... but they need to come off the cows so need to get sold or weaned. I want to talk to DS maybe tomorrow; as soon as we get the pregnant cows moved, I want to look over the heifer calves again. Most all those calves momma's are bred and due to calve here anytime, so not too many reasons to keep all these heifer calves still if they are bringing these kind of prices.

He wanted to leave the pregnant cows in the one lot at the barn so that they can get over taking the big calves off them. Most looked to be dried up/calves weaned on their own that we sold.... but this way they will be less likely to try to get out of a field if they get over the hollering for "baby" in the lot at the barn. Thinking he will move them tomorrow or Monday. Then I want to be able to look over and maybe make some more culling decisions.... I'm thinking we can come up with another 10-20 to sell this coming Friday. Plus he will be sending the bigger common cattle to the other buyer next weekend... so will get alot more out of the barn lot.
Did get a nice surprise at the nurse cow field.... we bought a hereford x young cow a couple weeks ago.... maybe a month or so, and she has a nice little bwf bull calf on her today... and another one has a new little black calf but I could not get close enough to see what it was. That cow was an iffy, maybe bred....she managed to not be in the pen the last 2 times we moved cattle, so that I could get her checked. Got to get the bull out of there this week too.... he should have been out but it has been so muddy and that place is really flat by the barn and the water/wet/mud sits there and it is soooo easy to get hung up and spin up there. Another reason to get them out this week.

That nice charolais heifer of mine that we didn't take to the sale, that I was sorta on the fence about, was acting all high headed today, and I said, put her on the trailer when you take the other ones to go to Mark. NOT going to breed her and try her.... I can buy a nice quiet calm ready to breed red one for less than she will bring... and she is not bred either.... Made up my mind. I can use that extra money to reinvest in a more agreeable attitude cow. Maybe even buy another "one and done" if I find one with a decent calf. And not get hurt in the process. DS said she has always been a little spooky but he really thought she would calm down being around him in the barn all the time.... but she isn't. SO BYE BYE.....
 

farmerjan

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Hit the post button as I erased a couple lines I had typed. With my luck I would have erased the whole thing...so better to post it.

So by the time I got done with all that at the barn, it was getting late and my knees hurt from standing and getting the gates fixed up and all.
Caught the one that DS said was sucking on the other cow the other day, sucking on a different cow.... then she went to 2 OTHER DIFFERENT COWS when their calves went to them to nurse.... she is getting a nose ring/anti-suck flap...as soon as I can get her in, just to stop her from stealing the calves milk from their own momma's.... If I knew for sure who her calf was she would be gone NOW. But as soon as we get these calves eartagged and I get them matched... she is on the list to go. Have never seen one go after other cows like she did today. To think that she got weaned with all the other heifers from that group.... again, mostly all mine, and several off nurse cows.... and was without any cow to suck on.... then goes back to sucking after 1 to 1 1/2 years..... No sympathy even though she is out one of my favorite old cows that is now gone. Have no idea what her deal is....

So I came back to the house. Then I had to go meet the farmer I get my milk from, he was breeding cows for one of the other farmers I test, here a couple miles up the road, so convenient for me to go get the milk that he was bringing with him. That was great. I had called this morning and asked about milk, then he said he was going to be just up the road and would bring it with him. He still does not want any money for it, said that if I was willing to get the milk samples and all that it was good with him. That is where I have to go pick up the couple samples for the few cows he still has....as a courtesy,,,, and they get run through with another herd I test.....I would have gone to his place but since he was going to be just a couple miles up the road, it worked out even better.

With all the BS at the nurse cow field, I forgot to put the chicken in the slow cooker, so just swung by Wendy's on my way home with the milk and got chili to eat. Came back here to the house and ate and got on the computer. Now I am going to go down the hill and see if I can get a few boxes packed until I can't stand on my knees, then get a good hot shower and collapse. NOT setting an alarm tomorrow either... don't need to do anything at the barn like this morning.... will take the truck so I can maybe load a few "bigger things" to bring up to the house....Have to wait and load the truck in the morning so I can bring it right up because otherwise the cats there will be in the back and DO NOT want the males to pee on anything as they will do.... So I will try to amass some stuff at the back door to load in the morning....
I will have a dish drainer full of clean dishes to put away in the morning, and then probably have another sink full of something to wash. I also have a bunch of clothes hanging on a pole there that are kinda dusty.... so will start bringing them up and try to get them all washed this week while the weather is so nice. Probably fill up the back of the car with them. Think they are the last of the clothes I have there. Still have lots of dishes and baking pans and such stuff there to bring up yet.

Time to head down the hill. It is later than I thought.
 

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Nothing like having animals tear everything up , then trying to "help" you while you try to patch it up. I have a picture in my mind of fence and boards down, cattle in all the wrong places, having a party on the hay and sticking their noses and big clumsy feet all over the place while you are trying to pick up and sort them out. I know it wasn't funny for you, one of those "last things you need" kind of things, but I sure was laughing.

You ought to be just about ready to move the big stuff to your new home and call it quits on the landlord. You have done it the right way, slowly, sorting things out and putting things away as you go. I wish we could have done that, but I finished the house here, ready to move in, and we packed up and moved in one day. Madhouse.
 

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I would have laughed too @Baymule if I hadn't been so mad.

Sunny, chilly but not quite as much wind so doesn't feel too bad. I brought a bunch of stuff up in the truck this morning and DS stopped as he was going to get some hay across the road, and got the quarter round and baseboard out from around the little cabinet so the stove can be moved in. He said he will probably be able to get some help on Wed eve.... they will bring it up and put it on the deck so I can clean it since it has been in the storage trailer and he says it is really dirty. The weather is supposed to be really really nice and really warm.... upper 60's & 70's on Thursday and Friday.... then a slight chance of showers Friday eve but not any kind of "rain" or accumulation. So I will be able to get it cleaned, washed, whatever & then he will get some help to get it inside.

He did say that he doesn't think we will be able to ship any animals this Friday as he has a LONG list of things he wants to try to get done with the warmer weather. I am still going to feed the calves in the catch pen so they will be easier to get in and catch up. Plus, maybe we can get the smaller ones ear tagged, and I can figure out who #4 has and send her down the road, too. He also said he would look at the board on the catch pen so he will know what he needs to fix it. Not happy that they won't be going this week, I want to ship them while the prices are high.... and I could maybe get them in and take them myself... but he has a few more at doug's that he wants to sell... so would be better to just take one whole load.... I think I am going to send the other young heifer there of mine.... next year will be as good a time to retain a few if prices are not as good as this year. Saw it happen about 6-8 years ago.... and I am glad that I shipped all that I did that time of mine.

I am going to try to get the bull out of the nurse cow field this week though. Need to cut off the calving season for the fall..... and give the ones with the brand new babies a break from being bothered. If any of the ones that calved this fall are not bred that is okay, they can get bred in June/July for spring calving. I am thinking that he is going to ship the rest the following week which will be okay.... as long as it doesn't get wet up there and we can't get in close to the catch pen to load and get them out.

So I washed another sink of glassware, and got a few things put away, got the stuff off the truck and into the house hallway. Going to put some of the painting stuff moved into the "pantry" closet off the DR until I get the area under the stairs opened up and done into storage and a coat closet. DS said he would take the island thing out of the DR for me one of these days. Got stuff on the porch to take with me down to the dumpsters and stuff at the other house to take too. Going to take the vacuum and clean out from behind the cabinet he moved. I am going to go back down to the other house and get all the clothes off the pole in the other room and get them up here so I can get them washing inbetween everything else. Take advantage of the nice weather this week to get them dried. Need to get the sample bottles in the racks for the farm on Wednesday. Have to go see about the tire first thing after PT tomorrow.
Better make a list because I will sure as shootin forget something....

Break is over.... back to "work".
 

farmerjan

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Back for a bit. I did a couple things here then went down the hill and got a bunch of stuff off the porch and went to the dumpster and tossed stuff. I wanted to do more but decided to come back up with a couple of boxes that were on the front porch, and will go down earlier and maybe box a few more things tonight. I have to be at PT at 7:30 in the morning... I had to cancel Friday morning to haul cattle and they had this opening so I took it. Then I will come to the house and get the car and go to the co-op and see about the tire. DS wants to move the rest of the preg cows out of the barnyard, turns out he moved some today because they came up into the barn so he got them in the trailer after he worked on fence today. He has dr appt in blacksburg but no prolotherapy shots so I don't need to go. He ought to get back here about the time I am done with the car????? I am thinking that if it is the tire, then they will order a set and they usually are here the next day.... I will have to go back and get them put on. Then I can drive the 125 miles to the farm on Wednesday.
Anyway, I am reheating a 1/2 sub that was in the fridge for supper, and going to empty out the dish drainer. Finish the couple of other things and then get clean clothes together and go down the hill. The oil tank is nearly empty so I am taking some jugs with me to stop and get off road diesel (fuel oil) at the southern states place.... really don't want to get another 100 gallons delivered. I will see how much the gauge moves tomorrow.... might just put 15 gal or so a week in it for the next couple of weeks. I come down by there at least once or twice a week. Pain to do it, but I won't have so much money tied up in it... I turn down the thermostat to 50 when I leave in the morning and am not there all day. This week is supposed to be warmer so it shouldn't run much at all.... Been using about 3-4 gallons a day by my estimate, for the last month.....I will make that decision tomorrow.

So eat, do a few things, then head down the hill.
 

farmerjan

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Back at the house this morning. 22 COLD degrees this morning. But the sun is out and warming fast.

Went to PT , and after I got out, came back to take the car down and FORGOT to get the fuel cans filled.... :he:he:he. DOPE !!!!!

I did take the car down and they put it on the lift. The cords/belts did separate in the tire, saw the typical bulge/S shape in the tire. Ordered a new set and they will be there tomorrow so I will go down to get them changed. There goes my "extra cushion" from selling the calves.... oh well:idunno :thAt least they will be changed and all good to drive to the 125 mile away farm on Wednesday.

So I am back at the new house, I'm going down the hill and get the clothes and such so that I can start some clothes in the washer. I will get a car full of stuff to come up the hill. DS is coming home from the dr appt and said that he might want to move some cows, but since he did some yesterday aft., he might not need me for any thing today; except that he wanted me to maybe take a truck down the hill so he can take the other truck with trailer and tractor to move some more hay from there. He needs to take some rolls to a friend that is about out.

Knees are worse today then they have been. And ankle is more swollen and he says I need a compression sock that is "stronger".... I have a new type of exercise to do with the ankle..... 2 weeks off and then will re-evaluate how it is doing.
Have another farm set up for next monday.... have 2 more that should be done next week. Another one I was hoping to do this week can't; he's going on vacation and no one else is very good with the cow numbers and many cows are hard to read the number or don't have ear tags.... so gotta wait for him to come home. That will be the week of the 15th too.... might get put off to the following week.

Making a list so that I don't forget to do things.... Did put the check in the bank for the calves so that was nice. Going to get a few small things extra paid off. At least there is money to do that....
Got a new number to call about the boxwoods.... haven't heard from the other guy..... :idunno:hu:th:th:hit:hit:duc:duc:duc
 
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