Farmerjan's journal - Weather

COLD DAY TODAY....it was 22 to start, up to 40 in the sun but there was still a stiff breeze and... it was just cold out.
DS called about doing gates there at Grants and Snyders by me... which was fine.... it makes it a whole lot easier to go in and out, when he runs up the road several hundred feet to get more hay from the hayfield there across from the house... Did 2 trips in to grants, then I shut the gates and went to snyders with the bottle for the calf and opened that up... he came in with 2 rolls and I was doing the calves.... The jersey didn't come to the barn until I was nearly done with the bottle and I didn't even go looking for the other cow... they are not used to me coming in so early... so it actually worked out better... Fed "the 4" in the barn, gave the calf a bottle, and he fed the hay and then I shut gates on my way out.

We left by 12 to go to the dr appt... and that was a fiasco. Seems that even though the workman's comp lady and DS did the paperwork last month... here at this complex... and the appt was SET for the shots... the dr office cancelled it because they said it wasn't approved... and did not notify DS or anyone... The workman's comp lady texted DS and REMINDED him that his appt was today... and that she would not be there because it is a "state holiday" ....Presidents Day.... so all federal and state employees, and banks and all that are closed...
So she didn't even know it had been cancelled... they said he had to get it "approved"... so a totally wasted trip... I would have been raising some serious noise about it... the scheduling lady at the desk said it showed where it had been cancelled... then they got someone to come out and talk to him/us... and he said that the approval had not granted and the information for the transfer had not gone through so there was nothing he could do...I mean, they were apologetic... but this is on the workman's comp ... and the lady he has been dealing with is really good...she comes to most all his appts...all the time.... and obviously she was not aware of it or she would not have sent him the text reminding him and that she would not be there...

So, we came on back... stopped at the stockyard, as their sale is Monday.... but they had very few animals...
Came on home... I got changed and met DS back at the barn.... we sorted out the heifer calves from the 2 groups.... got my cow and the other heifer in and gave the 2nd time lute shots... treated 3 steers with snotty noses... this last week the crappy snow then the cold rain on Sat has not helped them at all... we had talked about the cows on the way home and he has decided not to sell the bred cows that are shorter bred...(figured he wouldn't). 2 will keep their heifer calves for a couple more months. Put them behind me at Grants... since those cows will get preg checked and moved in a couple months... we will pull these 2 bigger/older calves when we preg check and pull the calves off the rest of the cows in there...... so they are out of the barn. Which is good... My cow with the twins, and 2 others, that have steer calves that will most likely get sold tomorrow...are still there...
We talked about the best plan for my cow with the twins.. Have decided to sell the steer off her with some other steers that are too small for this guy... and let her keep the heifer to raise bigger, and it will be less of a "drain " on her too, with only 1 calf to feed....... and put her out to pasture this summer back with a bull and hope she breeds back.... So in essence she will have "paid for this past year" when I sell the steer and then next year when I sell the heifer, it will be like she has that 2nd calf to pay for this coming year... The heifer will not be good for breeding since she is a twin to the bull... and she will be bigger. It will justify keeping the cow and I hope she breeds back. Anyway, she will stay around the barn area until he pulls her steer calf to sell. If any other steer calves are too small for the buyer... we will just hold on to them until mid March or so when the prices are usually pretty high with people looking for "grass cattle"... something that can go out on grass for the season... and the sale we will take them to, on a Saturday... has alot of small "part-time" farmers... and most of them do not want big groups so selling in 2's and 3's is not a problem. That is where/when the longhorn's steer will get sold also. The more "odd ball stuff" that we have that don't fit in the bigger groups that DS has been putting together... like the ones going tomorrow.

The bred heifers still out to pasture that he got down in the front field...that I was not happy about the one that surprised us with a calf... will be going to snyders to calve out... which is usually where they go... but I still have the 15-16 in there that are being bred now... they all should be bred at least 30-60 days by now... it will be a PITA to sort them out with the others in there... since they will be getting preg checked in 45-60 days.... but it is the best place to calve out the heifers and I can watch them closer... , I left and came up to snyders. The jersey and the calves all came in.,.. the black cow came up and went around the barn but came in the other gate pretty easily... BUT... the baby had followed the other calves out... so it took me awhile to get him close enough to the barn and finally in the gate. He went right for the cow and I had to give her more grain since the calves and the jersey had been eating most of it... but she stood right there and let the calf nurse once she had a pile of grain in the bunk.
So it looks like once a day I will make sure she comes in and the calf goes to her... as long as she is not being stupid.... and feed a bottle once a day to him too. I will make sure that he is in at nights, and will lock him in the side where he cannot get out the creep gate when they are calling for iffy weather... otherwise, like today, it was cold but sunny... it is not going to hurt him to follow the rest out...as he gets a little older/bigger, he might be able to get on her some if he is out there...as long as she will come in, he will help to keep her milk production stimulated.. I don't think she has much but he gets on all 4 quarters and with her getting grain, there is not reason for her to not have some production. Guess she will get a reprieve and get bred back... probably.

The guy is coming tomorrow at 8... we have 33 steers in the "bigger group" and there are 10-13 in the smaller group... all according to what he feels are big enough as far as size goes... DS thought there would be 50 +/-... so he is off a little... but there are a few bull calves that we just banded that DS had bought, and one that the guy said he didn't want... so only had 33 out of 37 in the big group. Then there were 31 calves out at the pasture that we just brought home... the cows on the cows we just preg checked... and there were 15 steers and 16 heifers I think..... one was my twin that is smaller... and 3 more that are iffy as to size... and 1 that is just not a very good one...

Still a pretty impressive group to go.

The temps are going to stay cold... maybe hit mid 30's to 40 tomorrow. Hopefully the wind will die down. Then clouds and really cold... maybe 30's on Wed with snow... all according to who you listen to, it could be 2-12 inches... but last forecast has it down a bit to the 2-6 inches I just heard.
Snow all day Wed off and on... then clearing out by noon on Thursday... nights back down into the teens and low 20's... Might not be testing Wed eve again...:th:th:th😞😞

BRRRRRRRR
 
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Long day today. Started out at 22 for the low... Hit 40 and a little thawing on top of the ground but not much. Just surface.... so a little slick/muddy. Ground was hard mostly though.
Sun was sporadic, more this afternoon actually. There was a light breeze, nothing like it has been... but it made it just cold.

Went to the barn early, DS had sorted the few cows out of the barn so there were just the steers.. The guy got there about 8:20 or so after calling DS and saying they would be a little later than the 8 a.m. time agreed upon.
He looked at the calves that had been sorted off the cows, that had come home from the pasture about 2 weeks ago that we preg checked.. And of the 3 that DS thought might be too small, he said only one was a little small... so took a total of 45 steers. They had 2 trailers that are a little wider and longer than ours and fit all 45 on their 2 trailers. So we followed them up to the farm to see them weighed... They ran them across his certified scales. Got a chance to see a little of his place... and it is very nice. They have only owned this farm for 6 years; They sold out their registered angus cow/calf operation that was partly in KS and partly here in VA... and decided that they would go just doing feeders/stocker calves. They rent/lease alot of grazing land... much of it in western VA ... and then after the summer grazing these calves... send them out to several places in KS and Illinois and some other places. They run about 1800 feeders a year. Very impressive operation.
The calves weighed more than DS, or they thought... target was about 550 average... They averaged out a little over 600 lbs... We knew there were some bigger ones... but DS thought there were more that were a little lighter...
He paid what he said he was going to pay... so they were worth over $1800 a head... Going to be the biggest check DS has ever gotten for cattle... some of these are calves he bought as bulls... the odd singles he would pick up, that we banded and all that ... about half were from our cow/calf operation... We will be getting a check direct from the financing group he works with... and it is a well known producer/farmer financing group... One of the guys that is like a manager/milker on the 500+ cow dairy knows them and said he was a good guy to deal with too... and our vet knows them also... used to do work when they had the cow/calf operation.
If they do good for him, it might be a very good source to sell to in the future.. DS also might be able to "up his game" of buying more of the odd stuff/bulls and such... when prices are decent, and put together more for later this fall, when our fall born calves are ready to be weaned off the cows that are being bred back now...
That leaves us with about 45 heifers; some to put out to the varying pastures and such this summer, and some to be sold off... I told him that he ought to sell off most of what he is not "in love with"... meaning anything that is mediocre and such... and maybe run a few less this year... so more grass/longer... take the high prices and do some of the things he keeps talking about at the barn.
 
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Hit the post... by accident. I told him last year that that the little lot directly in front of the barn, where we sort animals and all, should be concrete... for being able to not have them in the muck and mud when we get these horrible rain/snow/wet times...so it will drain off away from the barn and make cleaning it easier to scrape the manure and muck off of.... and he was saying last year he wanted to put concrete pads in front of the bunk feeders so that they do not have to stand in the wet and make it muddier day by day... It will cost money to do this... but like I told him... if he wants to continue doing these feeder animals, then he needs to fix it so it is better for the animals. If the area right around the feeders is concrete, they can stand there, NOT with mud above their knees, and eat. They have been graveled but with the constant hoof activity of the calves there, it gets "mooshed" into a quagmire when it gets this wet. At least this way, if he gets a "solid" base under the calves to stand and eat, then when they get done, they can go off it and into the pasture part... and if he does the lot at the barn, he will never get the skid loader stuck in there and we will not have to go and get our boots stuck down in the mud to where it sucks them off your feet...
There is no way to get totally away from "muck" because the cattle are always doing manure and peeing... so at least with the concrete he can scrape it off, put it in the manure spreader... and not keep putting truck loads of gravel that he will have to replace because it gets all churned up...
And I am talking only doing some concrete where we are working the calves and the majority of their concentrated standing/eating area...

He even told the calf buyer, after seeing some of his place, that "mom said that if I intend to keep doing these feeder calves and backgrounding them, I need to do some concrete in the lot, at the barn, to make it better for the calves and easier for working them.." Gee... getting credit for one of my suggestions...
Maybe seeing how neat and workable this other place is, will kick start him into making a few more improvements... yes, it costs some money... but if it will make things better for the calves, and feeding and chores easier and more workable, in the long run it would be smart. Work "smarter" not harder all the time... He just is so "wishy washy" about getting things done.....back and forth about doing things, making decisions to do something and sticking to it instead of constantly second guessing things... it gets tiresome....

So, I went to the nurse cow pasture... the black cow came in not far behind the jersey... as soon as she settled down a little and I backed off, and she quit acting so nervous... the calf went right on her and worked on nursing her out. I was glad she did not need to go around the barn 3 times.. but followed behind Betsy to come in. So that was good... Put the grain for the calves in the other side with the creep gate and this way the black cow could not go from side to side...and just had to stay there with the jersey calf and just Betsy... Sure hope she does as good tomorrow...

Went and tested... got home around 8-8:30. Brought samples etc in, locked in rooster... got a few things picked up the wind had tossed around...

Will contact the farm in the morning to see how things look there, and see what the actual snow is doing... forecast is 1-4 inches as the other side of the state... @Mini Horses area, is supposed to get 6-12.... and they will be crippled over there...
Had another farm text to see if they can test on Thursday.... probably will do them.

I ate a bowl of clam chowder, and am going to bed. I will pack these samples in the morning... and if the farm wants to test, then take the meters to them and send the samples off.
 
Wed morning... snowing. 15 degrees... LIKE FRIGID for here... GRRRRR

Farm called and cancelled again.. I was going to call them... soooo glad they cancelled it first... They have frozen water and problems...

Another farm wants tomorrow... I will see how today goes... supposed to be cold and windy tomorrow... just do not want to go out in this cold... plus tomorrow is set up meters so alot of in and out of the barn and all that carrying stuff in the barn.
SOOOOO GLAD the calves went yesterday....

Going to get the samples packed and ready to go out UPS... see how the roads are and worry about taking them later.
Need to go up to the nurse cow pasture... will take a bottle for the calf to make sure he gets a full stomach for this cold, plus whatever he gets from the cow......dreading going out in this cold.
 
It's 24 & feel like of 14 🥶🥶🥶 with winds...goes right through you. I know, you know -- just agreeing. Colder than a witch's tit. 😱. Hay racks are loaded, grained everyone at noon, when flakes began. They had hay this morn. Broke ice on tubs :idunno snow layering on the water. Usually that helps insulated. Otherwise walk to the heated one! It's too cold!!!
 
farmerjan said:
if he wants to continue doing these feeder animals, then he needs to fix it so it is better for the animals. If the area right around the feeders is concrete, they can stand there, NOT with mud above their knees, and eat.
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farmerjan said:
And I am talking only doing some concrete where we are working the calves and the majority of their concentrated standing/eating area...
Click to expand...
Also having less mud in those areas will keep the cattle a little less muddy. For some reason muddy cattle look like scouring cattle, and just not as impressive.
 
@Ridgetop I get what you are saying... but the concrete and getting them out of the mud is 99% for health reasons... ( I don't see the muddiness making them look like they are scoury, but I look at cattle from a different angle...).... but for making the feeders more comfortable for the calves to come eat at. Buyers do NOT want these fat sleek looking animals.. those type will lose 50-100 lbs when turned out....That's thrown away money on the buyers part if they drop weight and then regain it at the buyers costs... yesterday in the short conversation on his changing over to feeder steers, instead of the cow/calf operation that they used to have... a comment was made about them looking ready to go to the bunk... and that they shy far away from the pretty fat shiny cattle... And I said, "you want them in their working clothes' and he said, EXACTLY what we are looking for. We do not want those "nice clean" cattle.... they need to look like they will be able to get in there and go forward....
That does not mean they need to be muddy and rough... but he looked beyond the mud to see that they were what we call "hard calves"... and he said, don't worry about the mud, it has been everywhere and that doesn't bother me.
Still, getting some of this "fixed" and the upgrade of their feeding areas will make it more comfortable for them and make it better for them to eat. It is the traveling to the feed bunks and standing in the muck that is just not good for the calves. DS also wants to put a roof over each bunk so that when it is raining, it will prevent some of the water that saturates the silage, making it like mush and they don't want to eat it then. Not fancy, he has mentioned it a couple times this past year about making it better for the calves in the winter... and I get it... a roof that extends from the bunk feeders, back over where they are standing so they can stand without rain pouring down on the feed and on them... Think of the simple roof of an open shed... no sides...won't make it "dry" but will deflect a good bit of the direct "raining down"...

Yeah, they will look better if not all muddy... if it also makes feeding and things like sorting more efficient then that is a big plus. It took an extra 15-20 min for him to go get the other tractor to come pull the skid loader out of the mud after it had warmed up and thawed the crust on the mud and got stuck the other day.... You start adding up all those lost 15 minutes to "fix" something that didn't need to have happened...then it adds time to your day to do something more productive or even not to have to work so hard...
 
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