Popcorns

[tking]

These little fellas are adorable. When they're all on the ground, I'll try to get one of them running and jumping...lol...too cute.

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[Tallen]

Them little fellers' are adorable, especially the little tiny one back by the herd. He is just a little guy.

Popcorns..., sounds like a painful foot condition, kind of like Chestnuts.:sparkle:

[tking]

Them little fellers' are adorable, especially the little tiny one back by the herd. He is just a little guy.

Popcorns..., sounds like a painful foot condition, kind of like Chestnuts.:sparkle:

Yeah, that little guy is the newest one. And he's about 3 days old now. They're all about that size when they're born. I especially enjoy calving season with this herd.

[JBaker45]

Yeah, that little guy is the newest one. And he's about 3 days old now. They're all about that size when they're born. I especially enjoy calving season with this herd.
Hi Terri,

So you guys raise cattle as well as farming? Is that correct. I remember you showing us a picture of your husband driving a combine of some kind.

I'm curious.. How much land do you guys manage and what kinds of things are you doing with it?


Thanks,
John

[tking]

Hi Terri,

So you guys raise cattle as well as farming? Is that correct. I remember you showing us a picture of your husband driving a combine of some kind.

I'm curious.. How much land do you guys manage and what kinds of things are you doing with it?


Thanks,
John

Hey John,
Yeah, we raise cattle as well. We run a cow/calf operation (not sure if you're familiar with the term, but it just means that we keep the cows and bulls and sell off the calves when they get a certain weight vs. doing feeder calves which is where you buy so many, put em on pasture and sell them when they get a certain weight, but you have none that you keep as a herd). We have about 600 acres total that we manage. Out of that, about 150 of it is rented land, the rest we're buying. We raise wheat on part of it. We have blue stem grass on part of it, and the rest is pasture land. The wheat we sell, the blue stem we cut and bale to feed through the winter with as well as sell some, and some of the pasture land is blue stem also. The rest of the pasture land is bermuda grass.

[TigerBunny]

Soooo Cute!

[JBaker45]

Hey John,
Yeah, we raise cattle as well. We run a cow/calf operation (not sure if you're familiar with the term, but it just means that we keep the cows and bulls and sell off the calves when they get a certain weight vs. doing feeder calves which is where you buy so many, put em on pasture and sell them when they get a certain weight, but you have none that you keep as a herd). We have about 600 acres total that we manage. Out of that, about 150 of it is rented land, the rest we're buying. We raise wheat on part of it. We have blue stem grass on part of it, and the rest is pasture land. The wheat we sell, the blue stem we cut and bale to feed through the winter with as well as sell some, and some of the pasture land is blue stem also. The rest of the pasture land is bermuda grass.
Oh wow.. That sounds like quite an operation.

It's nice to hear how the other half live. As for me, I'm just a nerdy software guy in the suburbs. I sit at a computer writing computer codes all day ;-)


God bless you guys, and thanks for feeding us! :smile:

[tking]

Oh wow.. That sounds like quite an operation.

It's nice to hear how the other half live. As for me, I'm just a nerdy software guy in the suburbs. I sit at a computer writing computer codes all day ;-)


God bless you guys, and thanks for feeding us! :smile:

Nah...we're actually one of the small operation farmers around here. Most of the folks have quite a lot more.

What you're doing is something I wish I had the training and smarts for. I'd love to be a geek...seriously.

God bless you, too...you feed us as well!

[Tallen]

One time about 20 years ago or so, I was hired by some dairy and cattle association, I forget the name, to write a program that would track the growth rate of calves. Then it would put that into a database for future reference for the rancher's use in "growing cattle".

The forumla that I used was predetermined by the association and was based on the breed, the size of the bull, the weight of the dam, the type and amount of feed. Then at certain intervals the farmer would put in the weight of the calf and track it's growth according to what should be expected.

These guys were really serious, I mean really serious, about this and would compete their animals in shows, fairs and things of that type.

Some of the cows were absolutely huge.

[tking]

One time about 20 years ago or so, I was hired by some dairy and cattle association, I forget the name, to write a program that would track the growth rate of calves. Then it would put that into a database for future reference for the rancher's use in "growing cattle".

The forumla that I used was predetermined by the association and was based on the breed, the size of the bull, the weight of the dam, the type and amount of feed. Then at certain intervals the farmer would put in the weight of the calf and track it's growth according to what should be expected.

These guys were really serious, I mean really serious, about this and would compete their animals in shows, fairs and things of that type.

Some of the cows were absolutely huge.

Oh yeah...you bet. We don't have much dairy around here, but they do the same thing for particular breeds. Some of these guys travel all over the country to look at specific bulls or breeds and spend a fortune on them so that they can make a good bit of money off the calves. They're registered cattle of course. We bought a herd of some registered Brangus once, but we never pursued that course. It requires a HUGE amount of time, money, organization, and it's very serious business. We still have one herd of black Brangus and the other is red Angus, with a handful of mixed breed in there, too, but we never did the registered thing again.

A few years ago our harvest crew from Canada gave up harvesting to go into the Brangus cattle business. He showed us all these charts and target growth rates, the formula for feeding, etc., like what you're talking about. John and I just looked at one another and shook our heads...lol...that's not for us.

As for showing, the FFA has gotten so out of hand on that for school kids that it's ridiculous. For instance, a gal in highschool this year got over $50,000 for her heifer that sold at a premium sale after winning grand champion in the shows. They paid something like $23,000 for it to begin with...good grief!

[JBaker45]

Oh yeah...you bet. We don't have much dairy around here, but they do the same thing for particular breeds. Some of these guys travel all over the country to look at specific bulls or breeds and spend a fortune on them so that they can make a good bit of money off the calves. They're registered cattle of course. We bought a herd of some registered Brangus once, but we never pursued that course. It requires a HUGE amount of time, money, organization, and it's very serious business. We still have one herd of black Brangus and the other is red Angus, with a handful of mixed breed in there, too, but we never did the registered thing again.

A few years ago our harvest crew from Canada gave up harvesting to go into the Brangus cattle business. He showed us all these charts and target growth rates, the formula for feeding, etc., like what you're talking about. John and I just looked at one another and shook our heads...lol...that's not for us.

As for showing, the FFA has gotten so out of hand on that for school kids that it's ridiculous. For instance, a gal in highschool this year got over $50,000 for her heifer that sold at a premium sale after winning grand champion in the shows. They paid something like $23,000 for it to begin with...good grief!
Okay..

Now I can better understand your concern regarding the cloning issue over on graceshakers boards ;-)

[tking]

Okay..

Now I can better understand your concern regarding the cloning issue over on graceshakers boards ;-)

lol...well, I really am concerned about the health issues as much as anything. But I will say that the cattle business has taken some turns that sort of make you sit up and listen. Folks like us just raise ordinary ole calves for what eventually ends up on the dinner table, but there's a whole other industry out there as well. When it comes to AIing or even cloning, it makes me a little bit nervous. There are traits in cattle, just like any other animal, that are not positive traits and I guess my concern is that over time, we could see something that really is far removed from the original...despite all assurances to the contrary. Know what I mean?

[JBaker45]

lol...well, I really am concerned about the health issues as much as anything. But I will say that the cattle business has taken some turns that sort of make you sit up and listen. Folks like us just raise ordinary ole calves for what eventually ends up on the dinner table, but there's a whole other industry out there as well. When it comes to AIing or even cloning, it makes me a little bit nervous. There are traits in cattle, just like any other animal, that are not positive traits and I guess my concern is that over time, we could see something that really is far removed from the original...despite all assurances to the contrary. Know what I mean?
Yeah, I know what you mean.

Just look what the breeders have done in the pet dog industry.

Pug noses, flat faces, bobbed tails, and short nearly useless legs - yikes! :smile:

[tking]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Just look what the breeders have done in the pet dog industry.

Pug noses, flat faces, bobbed tails, and short nearly useless legs - yikes! :smile:

Uh oh...well now you've done it. Short nearly useless legs, eh? Ahem..this is Sky, our daughter's dog (which makes him our other grandchild, of course..haha)...a Corgi, and them little legs are made for herding. He looks like he's slaloming around the corners. LOL..I know what you mean, though. I'm just teasing you

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s45/kingshots/skyjacker-a.jpg

[JBaker45]

Uh oh...well now you've done it. Short nearly useless legs, eh? Ahem..this is Sky, our daughter's dog (which makes him our other grandchild, of course..haha)...a Corgi, and them little legs are made for herding. He looks like he's slaloming around the corners. LOL..I know what you mean, though. I'm just teasing you

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s45/kingshots/skyjacker-a.jpg
Hahaha.. He's adorable.

And please, no offense to pug owners out there, I think that they are adorable too. So you can list me up there with the others who would breed dogs just for looks - LOL


Thanks Terri,
John