I. Humor
"Dog gone funny"
I have been around dogs all my life, and I've outlived all of them so far...:) Seems like we always had a new dog or pup every few years when I was growing up. Some would "done runoft", and some would "done get run over". We've had several that have spent their whole life with us. Over the years I even gained a knack for training the canines to be both entertaining and useful. My wife was a cat person when I married her. We don't have cats anymore...because I converted her (and my daughter). Not that I dislike cats, but a good dog can catch a barn rat just as easy, and they mind a little better! Tina has learned to appreciate the lap dog now, and I do believe they get more attention than me...most of the time :).
When I was about 10 or 11 we went through a spell where we didn't have a dog. I took it upon myself to find a companion which I could spend long hours running the creeks with during the summer. I located a free dog in the paper. He was a Heinz 57 and already grown out. He was about 3/4 the size of a St. Bernard with similar markings, and weighed more than I did. His name was "Primo". Primo and I spent days of fun in the sun together, but he kept running of...a trait common to "unfixed" males. I would have to go hunt him down and bring him back to the house. This was despite him having a pretty good range (acres) right around the placee. My parents started to become annoyed, since they had to share in this regular "dog hunt", and the neighbors were starting to voice some strong opinions regarding the rouge male.
All this didn't matter though, as I was determined to make him an obedient companion. We didn't have the money to get him fixed, so I vigilantly worked on keeping him corralled when I wasn't around. After a couple of months of bonding and training I decided to give the parents a show of Primo's accomplishments. I was hoping this would help put him in a positive light thereby extending his stay with the family. I brought my parents out on the front porch to witness the fine display of tricks and obedience which Primo was now capable of.
After I gave them the basics, and subdued there annimosity towards the dog, we began to "Rassell" and tussell on the lawn. Before I knew it this dang dog locked on to me as I was crawling around...and when I say locked on I don't mean with his jaws! Oh the terror...and the embarrassment that insued. I couldn't get him off! My parents were thuroughly amused...and I mean laughing out loud. They didn't do anything to help my 40 lb disadvantage. All I could do is holler while I tried to keep crawling around. Well that show didn't end well. Wasn't long after that I got me a new Golden Retriever which ended up being the smartest and best canine companion I had my adolencent life...it was a female.
The moral of the story:
Learning the basics and teaching the basics may not always involve the same thing!
From a cattle raisers point of view:
Animals will not always perform up to their expectations despite your hard work.
II. INFORMATIVE
"Stock!"
Just figured I would ramble again. This blog in not about the the future of the cattle market, of which the stock looks pretty good right now, and it's not about the cattle specifically. It's about balancing forage with numbers and conditions. I won't bore you with the pounds of raw forage per acre it takes per unit, etc., etc. You can find that statistical data in plenty of available literature out there. I just figure I'd part a little experience and understanding. Times have been "different" down here in Texas these past few years, and they have definately had their impact in more ways than one. When we started up at the new location we had about 30 momma cows to rebuild with. Moving a good distance from the previous area and being new to the current community made my lease options few...especially considering the land here is mostly cultivation. Add this to the fact that I didn't have the new place completely fenced, made grazing pasture a needed commodity. I was able to cut the new pasture twice and stock pile some hay, and that would have been suficient for a while...under normal conditions, but they were'nt normal conditions.
Since we've been here, we have had the wettest year on record in decades, the most snow on the ground in decades, and the dryest summer on record in decades. Not having the pasture fenced right away, no leases (save one), and environmental extremes have caused overgrazing, and overuse of available winter feed storage. Nationwide everyone is familiar with Texas' delemma, and I contribute all the inquiries for cattle to be related to taking advantage of our states situation. The cattle market down here is through the roof, with feeder calves bringing over $2.00 a pound. Our grasses and hay meadows have been plagued by wetness and drought and they are in terrible shape. What used to be 20 and 40 dollar hay has consistently brought $65 to $125 per round. I was lucky that I did not overstock earlier this year and my pastures lasted a little longer than most, but eventually the grass just burned up. Cracks in the ground were spidering all over the pasture 8" wide and up to 5' deep. The tanks dried up (which had never been known to), and I was forced to water for months out of a trough.
My reserve of hay coming into the new year was used starting the end of July and I was out before deep winter set in. Anticipating another tough year I had contracted my winters hay through a local grower for $35 a bale in the spring, and had even paid the man 1/2 up front with delivery at the end of summer. However, hard times tend to attack our integrity sometimes and when the individual saw hay was going through the roof I was notified my remaining balance was no longer available. I'm sure he got at least double for what I paid, but it cost me much more. With much regret, I will not use this individual again, which is hard to do when coming into a new area and trying to establish contacts locally. I began to sell off cattle and eventually sold everything I could muster, saving a small group of replacements and good doing older cows. It is tough to cull under these conditions when you know the environment is not condusive to a normal breeding season and you come up with good 3 and 4 year olds who are open or just short bred. Then you also have to extend your breed season to accomidate more favorable conditions for calving and breeding.
There is an old saying; "Put the grass in front of the cow and the bull behind the cow", but it doesn't remind us to manage that forage carefully. We get complacent sometimes when we have years of good seasons, then just like that, a 3 or 4 year period comes along that devistates the available forage. Stocking rates change by 100% and we find ourselves overextended on available forage going into the next year. I know I am not alone on this because I have witnessed the herds in the area dwindle from dotted landscape to zero. Lesson learned: Manage your grasses well, and if you can afford today's fertilizer prices take advantage of helping the forage recuperate. This is easier said then done for stocker and commercial operations who can sell with conditions and prices, but it hits a little harder when you have years of genetic breeding tied up in some animals. I will be looking to stock at 150% increase in forage to animal unit this coming year, and this includes winter hay. The rye grass I planted is just sitting since it got late rains., and I am out of hay. My pastures are providing a meeger subsistence. Just the hay business alone this year looks like an inviting enterprise since we have seen 3 states north and east being tapped these past two years.
Remember, keeping the cattle free of parasites, and providing a protien/mineral supplement will also help the them gain the most out of available forage. I hope to use the boot top method for determining minimal available forage this year, but then again, we have no idea what this year will bring. We cannot guarantee much to sell for the next couple of years....again, but we will try to do a good job a managing the available forage so that our cattle reach thier potential in the pasture without supplemental feeding. It is what we base our program on, and it is what the buyer expects. If you don't take stock in what I'm rambling about here, at least take stocking rate into consideration.
III. FARM NEWS:
Tina and I are now officially Grandparents! Our Daughter Melissa had a baby boy!
Congratulations to Trae Beavers for his placing at Ft. Worth Stock Show!
Thank you! - Greg Powell for your recent purchase of Double H Farms cattle.
** All of our young bulls are sold - no more availble until fall of 2012
** There are two to three heifers available for the buy-back show heifer program for 2012
IV. CURRENT/ UPCOMING EVENTS:
February 18th - Magnolia Hereford Show and Sale, Magnolia, Ak
March 10th - Northeast Texas Hereford Sale, Mt. Pleasant, Tx
March 24th - Cross Timbers Hereford Sale, West, Tx
V. HEREFORD HIGHLIGHTS:
WPH MS Prospect 0311
(02/03/03)
Farms
Double
Farms
Double
Farms
doubleh@vzinet.com
Double
Newsletter
Performance on the Hoof!
Performance on the Hoof!
Performance on the Hoof!
Spring 2012
Thanks, and keep coming back!!
Table of Contents:
0311 is an RF Harvey 1G 17J son that made Dam of Distinction. She is the result of Mike Willis using our bull "Chunk" in 2002. Mike was nice enough to offer this cow to us so we could get a few calves out of her before she moved on. Although her udder has began to break down, this cow can raise an exceptional calf. Her spring 2011 bull calf sold to Greg Powell of Louisiana. Her sire made a huge impact on our program, and her dam is a BJH 25K PROSPCTR 51M daughter. Two daughters sell at the N.E. Texas Hereford Sale in Mt. Pleasant, Tx on March 10th. She is bred to TRM Kudzu 7139 for 2012.
Our new Blue Lacey pup looks on as she learns about being around cattle.
Look for Daughters that sale at NE TX Hereford Sale in Mt. Pleasant on the 10 March
The Harvey's
Tom and Tina
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