justintime said:
oakbar said:
You never know--there might even be a few "real world" shorthorns sold in Iowa this weekend. In order to find them you might have to have more of an open mind than many who have posted on this thread, however. JMHO
Thank you oakbar for those very wise words. I doubt if there are many breeders who run their cows on a more commercial basis than I do. I purchased 3 head last year in two of the sales that will be held this weekend. They have been run with our other cattle since arriving here, and they all calved unassisted, and have raised good calves on nothing but hay and grass ( a few salt blocks and mineral) Yes, these sales cater to the show ring crowd, but to say that there are no " real world" cattle being sold is totally wrong. Study your lessons folks... and maybe we should all compliment a good animal when we see one regardless of it's pedigree or it's owner.I think the cattle business would be a much better place if we could do this.
I have heard it all. To mock those that try and raise real world cattle. I have a news flash for you JIT. Feeding knee deep alfalfa all winter is not really testing your cattle. How long do your cows graze crop residue? Do you graze dormant forages and make them survive off it? I'm studying my lesson and I don't see one calf from sull I would buy. Sorry I don't need a show heifer that already has enough fat in her udder to hurt her milk production the rest of her life. JMO. Maybe I am missin the boat ,who knows. No hard feelings tho, just debate. To each their own.
TGCC... I was certainly not mocking you or anyone else, and I have no idea how you could even consider this. I would be one of the first people in line to commend anyone who tries to raise their cattle as economically with as little management as possible. I wish I had some crop residues to run my cows on but our farm is all in grass so my cows have to eat the dormant grass as long as the weather permits. This can vary from year to year, and we also have virtually no natural shelter from the wind, so this can affect when the cows come home. We have a few times been able to run the cows on the dead grass well into January.If we have had a drought, we have to start to feed earlier due to there being nothing left to graze. We have been wet this year, so I am hoping we can forage the cows well into December or later.
Once the cows start to be fed, I do make them walk. Unless it is bitter cold and windy, we feed them at least 1/2 mile from where they spend the night and water, so that they will walk at minimum 2 miles a day. Some days they walk further, some days the weather is just too cold and windy, so we have to feed closer to home. In any event, they have no shelter from wind and they have to go out and eat regardless of the weather. I believe cattle should only be tested if it is economical to do so. It is important that cows be able to flesh easily and be able to fend for themselves as long as possible. I think cows should have the ability to be tested on occasion, but I also believe that it is good management to look after your cows when they need it.
I was just saying, in my last post, that the bred heifers I purchased in these two sales were no fat when I purchased them. They have calved without assistance and have beautiful udders. They are rebred to calve in less than 365 days from calving this spring, and they have maintained their condition very well for having big strapping calves dragging on them all summer. The calves are still on them, and I plan to get them off early next week. We do feed some alfalfa as we can grow it in our area, but I will assure you that alfalfa is very poor feed if it is put up too mature or if it gets rained on. I actually do not like feeding alfalfa, as too often it is nothing more than coarse sticks. In our country, you often have only a few days to get alfalfa put up in good condition. If conditions are dry, the leaves will start to fall off it, a few days after it blossoms, and when we usually have over 1000 acres of hay to put up, we cannot get it all cut and baled when it should be done. Grass hay will wait for you longer.
In any event, I am just saying that there are some cattle from these outfits that can survive. I doubt if they all will, and that is why I said you have to study your lessons. You have to know the bloodlines, know the operation they come from, and know the cattle. Nothing more. If you don't do this, you can get harder doing cattle in most any sale.
To bring in bulls from a A.I. pimp that are raised totally different than yours will take you backwards. How else can you explain the turnover rates in the AI biz. Promotion, commotion, emotion lead to massive amounts of breeding mistakes. I know I have fallen for it in the past. My bulls being used now are not extreme in any way. The trick is having the guts and vision to use my own stuff for generations to build something better and bring in genetics(when needed) that will compliment not necessarily fix my herd. Sure sounds easy but we know better.
