It's a little bit nippy this morning!

I woke up this morning with my ac blowing full blast and the room colder than an igloo. I wasn’t aware I woke up this morning with my ac blowing full blast and the room of the cool front that came in last night.  I love the cool weather of fall but it’s not always a good thing. If you have a freeze to early on a wheat crop you just planted it can be painful for the pocket book and will put you out of pasture for the winter, that pasture I’m talking about is the ground you put your cattle on when the other local grasses go dormant and don’t have the nutrition the cattle need to produce a lot of milk for the calves and the energy they need to stay warm.

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Now doesn’t this grass look a whole lot better than this?

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Wheat is one of the most popular winter crops for just about anywhere.  The nutrition stays high during the harsh winter months and when wheat goes dormant your love grass and other grasses are ready to be grazed. All of my life this grazing cycle has been a part of our ranch operations and has been very successful. I don’t ever remember our wheat freezing out to early and we not having a bad winter thank the Lord. I know that if we were to have an early freeze and our winter grounds went to pot we might have to consider selling our calf crop of even our heard because we couldn’t make it through the winter.  Many people have gotten mad at the way we do things because they think you will work enough when your grown but they have no clue of the responsibilities that come with owning and living on a ranch. That is the lively hood of our ranch so whatever needs to be done for the ranch takes priority over whatever is going on at the time. If I were to put off doing a certain job like checking water in the winter and it gets froze over the herd could die within a day from not getting a drink. Water in the winter is just as important as having feed for the cattle.  Cattle drink water and it helps keep them from freezing to death.  The winter is coming so I’ve got a list of everyday chores that must be done in order to keep things rolling in our ranch operation. Check your calendars and know when you should be preparing for winter.

[3]

Sources-

1)      Pennstate, . (Photographer). (2004). Winterwheat. [Web]. Retrieved from http://fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/2004/FCN0409.html

2)      B. E. DAHL and P. F. COTTER, . (Photographer). (2010). dormant lovegrass. [Web]. Retrieved from www.rw.ttu.edu/../images/mnote_5/photo_9.jpg

3)      Calender. (2010). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.mpscdrc.nic.in/calender.htm

Well should I?

Here recently I have been informed that now is the time to buy cattle, because Louisiana is running out of grass quick fast and in a hurry due to the lack of rainfall(1).

(2)

(4)

One thing a cattle buyer should always be on top of is the market.

Cattle markets are so very vital, if you go to sell a load of cattle and the market is lower then what you bought the animal for and you have already made deals to sell, then you have put yourself in a big hole financially. Not good!

There is nothing hard about looking up the cattle market, you just have to search on the net for the national cattle market and bing there it is at the convenience of your fingertips. If you are interested in buying cattle, if I were you I would make a move if it’s possible. Welp I am out, night a sweet dreams!

(5)

Sources-

1).http://www.wwltv.com/weather/?nTar=OPUR&iq_id=7824019

2). Persure, Steve. "Drought in the bayuo" Photo. May 14, 2010.

September 21,2010.

http://chadpurser.blogspot.com/2007/05/drought-in-bayou.html

3).http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/09/prweb4551264.htm

4).Consumer world. " Empty Pockets". Photo. August 2, 2010.

September 21, 2010

http://www.consumerworld.org/archive/aug0210.htm

5).Istockphoto."sleeping cowboy."Photo.

September 21,2010 .http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-3529393-sleeping-cowboy.php

Louisiana has had a lull in their precipitation here lately, which has pushed ranchers to sell out their cattle crop this year. Droughts are never a good thing for the people in the area. If a cattle owner has his money tied up in his stock then is forced to sell because of the lack of grass he has. When a cattle owner sells out, like I am talking about it usually isn’t a good turn out financially and he will usually be in debt(3). Which to any person, is not good! Even though he sells out that doesn’t mean he clears what he has invested in the animal. There is always the chance of having to sell for less then what you had bought the animal for or having more money tied up in feed and medicine then what you sold for. The cattle operations is a very tricky business and if you aren’t two steps a head of the game at all times you may be in a world up hurt.

Dry, Dryer, And too Dry.

Good golly miss Molly! It is getting supper dry[1] around these parts?  It has been a fairly dry end of summer and the dust is flying and the grass is dying. Have you ever been in a mini dust bowl? Not fun, let me tell you about it.

[2]

I don’t guess I should be complaining, we aren’t anywhere close to the dust bowl of the 1930’s. It was so bad that the sand in the air would get into anything and everything! People during the time would try to keep out the sand by nailing sheets over the windows to hopefully keep out the dreadful terrors/sand trying to make its way in.  Keep any kind of livestock was almost impossible to keep alive and healthy. The animals that did make it for a little while weren’t in any shape to be eaten due to the lack of nutrition they weren't in-taking.

[3]

The cattle crop went way down during the dust bowl and drove the price of meat tremendously high. As the price of meat went higher the animals weren’t the only beings dying off slowly.   

So what caused [4] the dust bowl? Was it government stupidity, personal, stupidity, or just a natural disaster? We may never know the reason. The answer is out of our hands.

I know that things are running smoothly now days and I can have a steak just about whenever thank the Lord! I am so thankful for the cattle market being good[5]. If it weren’t for the high cattle market the past few years I wouldn’t have gotten my pick-up paid for when I did.  If you can manage a few cows and work the numbers right it is very possible to make a good amount of pocket money. Cows are animals that depend on us to take care of them so don’t take the job lightly.

[6]

Sources-

[1] Harris-Man. “LongRange Weather.” Link.www.longrangeweather.com 2009. September 14, 2010.

http://www.longrangeweather.com/Weather-Forecasts.htm

[2]  NASA. “Dust Bowl.” Photo. www.nasa.gov. March 18,2004. September 13,2010

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?old=2004031816664

[3] Horrington, John.”Dust bowl and the Great depression.”Photo.www.historylecture.org. July 2009. September 13, 2010.

http://www.historylecture.org/dustbowl.html

[4] Oblack, Rachelle. “What caused the dust bowl?”  Link.www.about.com  2010. September  14 ,2010

http://weather.about.com/od/weatherfaqs/f/dustbowl.htm

[5] USDA.” Livestock market report.”Report.www.cattletoday.com September 13,2010. September 13,2010.

http://www.cattletoday.com/livestock_market_report.htm

[6] Tomas099. “Fat Cows.”Photo. www.worth1000.com.  July 26, 2006. September 14, 2010.

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/300077/fat-cows

Oh Boy!

The world may never know why in the world the saying "the turtle is crossing the road, it must be going to rain!” I for one do not! [1]



I’ve heard all my life that when the turtle crosses the road there is going to be storms! The more I try to figure it out the more amusement I get out of the fact there is nothing behind the myth, but as long as the turtle crosses and the rain falls I won’t be asking any questions. So far there must be a lot of turtles crossing because all of the weather disturbances that hurricane[2] earl is spitting out towards the United States, it's quite amazing!



So far there hasn’t been much precipitation for any of the dry land wheat to soak up and grow. Boys this little disaster is really starting to concern these farmers. Naturally wheat has to get good little showers over it early or the crop will just not produce like you need it, and if the crop doesn’t produce enough then the farmers can’t put cattle out to get fattened up for market!



If wheat production decreases then you can see your bread you like so well go through the roof, price wise. Times are hard as it is with out the prices of food going up.





This graph[3] shows the wheat usage for the past 27 years, I don’t know if you notice or not the recent wheat usage trend is going in an upward trend, so if the production is down and usage is up what is going to happen? There will be a shortage in what we can buy and an inflation on the wheat products we can buy.
So keep the rain here! none of that rain, go away sillyness! Theres not a whole lot that you can do but please reframe from saying you hate rain[4]!


Sources-



[1]Picture 1
Gamble, Tony. “Turtle crossing the road.” Photo. Bellmusem.org.2003. 9-8-10

http://www.bellmuseum.org/herpetology/turtleroad.html

[2]Picture 2

Sterling, Steve. “hurricane hermin”. Photo. Internettoblow.com 9-8-10. 9-8-10<http://intenttoblow.com/?p=43>.

[3]graph 1-
Big picture agriculture. “Wheat statistics”. Graph. Bigpictureagriculture.blogspot.com May 19,2010

http://bigpictureagriculture.blogspot.com/2010/05/on-wheat-production-and-stocks.html

[4] Long range weather forecast. "weather forecast".link. almanac.com September 12, 2010

http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange

Get Ready!

Get Ready!


First blog I’ve ever done in my life so bare with me. A lot of ideas aroused in my mind about what to blog about but the fact that ranching and cattle are always on my mind so why not help others out with tips and ideas that I have. This blog is more so aimed for the first time farmers/ranchers who are trying to get their own spread started but haven’t a clue on feeding habits, how to treat sicknesses or how to conserve and save while getting good results from the animals you are feeding. Animals depend on us when it comes down it. Equally grazing a field, checking minerals, and having the right groceries they need to do a good job raising their young, so don’t take the business lightly they need to eat and stay healthy just as you do. I say this but if it comes down to it where your struggling to make the bills and put bread on the table you should consider selling before it gets too bad. Family first!

Supposively “the winter is going to be a bad one”, says the old timers in the in the community. Due to the rapid cool offs we have had and the couple of years since we have had a harsh winter, it could very well play out to be a dusey of a winter! (4)

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Tips on getting the farm ready-(2)

Having hay stored up for the winter to feed your livestock is a fairly cheap way to feed in the winter. Hay being high in protein and nutrients it is a good ration for those winter months that can get very harsh. Alfalfa hay is a very good source for the minerals and extra protein you need. I know that in recent winters my Dad has found alfalfa hay very cheap because it was the older cut from the first of the summer. Cheap is always a good thing in the cattle market! The less expenses you have in the animal you’re feeding, means more money in your pocket when you sell it! Not too long ago a type of molasses came out for cattle that were the by-products of ethanol, the product had tons of fat and proteins that gave the cow energy and the groceries it needed for the cold winter days, this product was also fairly cheap!

Also a little tip, when you put your hay bales out, putting the bales in a draw or behind trees opposite that the wind is blowing will help keep cattle out of the wind which will help them burn their energy on producing milk for the calf rather than using extra to stay warm. A lot of times farmers/ranchers have trouble finding hay to feed, but there is always hay that you can feed! If you’re having trouble finding hay just ask the feed store workers where you buy feed or look in the news papers. There is always someone selling hay. A few sources that will keep you up to date on the latest cattle trends also all of the new and in-proved cattle feeds/medicines are Drovers journal and whatever (state you’re in )monthly cattle-men’s journal also farm bureau almanac. Well until next time “good farming!”

Reference-

1) (Aug 30)Picture retrieved from wildwhiteclouds.com

2) (Sept 1st)Hobbyfarms.com, The right nutrition and cheap ways to do it

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/crops-and-gardening/hay-feeding-14792.aspx (Thomas, HST. (n.d.). Hay and feeding advice for farmers. Retrieved from http://www.hobbyfarms.com/crops-and-gardening/hay-feeding-14792.aspx )

3) (Sept 1st) Farm bureau, . (n.d.). Farm bureau. Retrieved from http://www.arfb.com/

4). (Sept 1st) Weather forecast http://www.dryday.com/