cattle

wondering if anybody here had cattle. i like cows. no one seems to talk about them much. if you gotta ranch that you run cattle on, tell me something about it

I usually run a few and most of my neighbors run a couple hundred head. I raise beef for myself, friends and family. This year I am getting into breeding my own. (Hey now, keep it clean!) Haahaaa.. This fall I will be getting a couple of cow/calf combos from a friend of ours. They are Angus-Hereford-Limosin. I am waiting on an Angus-Hereford-Limosin-Santa Gertrudis bull calf to be weaned so that I can start feeding him and butcher next fall (2005). I am interested to see how the beef turns out on that dude. I like raising my own. It is the only way to know for sure that there is no crap fed to your beef. My neighbor has 100+ acres of pasture behind mine. He is getting up there in age and I am hoping to buy it all from him in the next few years.
Eric

my neighbor has a cute little heifer.......

Well, the word "cattle" sometimes becomes a dirty word on this site so maybe nobody wants to admit it.

Never know if I have a ranch or farm. What is the distinction anyway? I don't grow any row crops, just alfalfa, pasture, a little grain for a rotation crop, and run beef cows. I personally call it a ranch but I am no cowboy. Don't even have a horse anymore. I have cows though so does that make me a cowman? That's what I always said about my Dad. He was no cowboy, but he was definitely a cowman. I raise my own alfalfa and have enough irrigated pasture that I can run all my cattle on my own land. And I like it that way. I always dreamed of having cows outside on Forest Service or BLM land but it's a tough way to make a living. Too tough. And it's going to get tougher. Of course all ranching and farming is a tough way to make a living. Only way I can make it on my land is by having a full time job too. It's paying it's way and not much more. Someday it will be worth a small fortune. That's how it was for my Dad. Worked his whole life scratching out a living and raising us on the ranch he built himself. Then when it became worth a lot of money he was too old and ill to care about money. So he died a rich man with no money. But that's not all bad, you know.

Sorry for waxing on. My Dad died Feb 6, 2004 and it still hurts a lot.

Man you said it all about ranching, I grew up on a ranch down here in White Pine Co. in the great state of NV and my father did it the same way, busted his ass for what? He passed at 50, always said he was bulding it for us kids, only now it has been subdivided and all the hay is gone, seems that the only difference between me and you is that I don't miss it one damn bit, now have 5 acres and some small stock, not bustin no more ice in the winter never again! In reference to your father and many other great ol timers there is a saying told to me by an old rich Italian guy who has also passed, he said "kid, when I was young i had alot of teeth and no bread, now I got alot of bread and no teeth" alot of truth in that saying... When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and HANG ON! Life is one HECK OF A RIDE!

NVBighorn
My condolences on the passing of your Dad.

I too grew up on a farm with cattle (never could bring myself to call it a ranch) over the border from White Pine County in Millard County UT. I remember long days on the baler dreaming about getting out of there and living/working in the city. Now that I'm doing that, I find myself sitting at my desk dreaming about getting back to the farm. Life is funny that way.

Most of the farmers we knew (including us) were always just one lousy year from the being foreclosed by the bankers or the FHA. But somehow they made it through lousy year after lousy year. My dad now leases his ground to some poor young hard working sap with lots of energy and dreams and no income to show for it. But then again, life is about more than income.

Thanks Oakbuck.

I spent many long days doing just what you described. Dreaming of doing anything but farming. I couldn't wait to get out of school, go to college and get a real job. So I went to college and by a very strange, warped, cruel twist of fate ended up back here a few years later. I stayed more out of a sense of duty than anything else. Suffered a lot of years on sub poverty level income. Then I got a good job and took this on as my "hobby" in my "free time". Funny joke, eh? It is a great place to live and was a great place to raise my kids. My kids had their very own hunting preserve, shooting range, swimming hole, driving school, racetrack. You name it.

Couple years ago we took over my Dad's place more to help him out than anything. He needed to retire for health and safety reasons. I still wasn't really happy, even after twenty years of "being back". Then last summer, my wife and son and I went on a vacation and I did like I always do as I'm travelling looking at ranches and farms. When we'd pass one that looked especially nice with fat cattle grazing tall grass in the evening sun I'd think to myself "I wish I could have been born on a place like that". When I got home I took a ride out around our place in the evening sun and noticed how fat the cattle looked and green the grass looked at that time of day. I realized that if I was to drive by my place right then I'd think the same thing. It was a wakeup call.

After all these years I am finally enjoying what I do.

I guess it comes down to the old adage that goes something like;
"Some people live where they have to live to do what they want to do. And some people do what they have to do to live where they want to live".

cows are good food.
Not quite as great as elk, but good.

I think most of us do the same thing can't wait to leave the farm/ranch then spend the next 15-20 years trying to get back to it.Back in the old days we work at the meat plant during the day and farmed in the afternoon and evening just to keep a steady pay check coming in. My wife always ask what I would do if I won the Lottery, I tell her well we tried farming without money I would like to try farming with money LMAO, All my brothers still run 4 ranches/farms(total just over 10,000 acres) in South Dakota so I still get to use the land for hunting and stuff, but I sure do miss it it everytime I go back, for weeks I'm trying out different ways to make a move back then the checks start rolling in from the construction jobs( my company) and I stay here again.Hope to retire in one of those good spots of good hunting and fishing.I know how much hard work and low pay it is. But I do envy you that have stayed and made it work, my hat is off to you.

Have you seen the prices of cattle right now? Holy balls! I went to buy a couple of feeder steers and a couple of cow/calf combos and walked out empty handed. $1.30 a pound liveweight!!!!
Hell, I paid .94 a lb. a couple of years ago and thought that I was getting raped. My neighbor is making a killing right now selling his cattle. Cant wait until they lift the Canadian export ban so the prices will drop a little.




Eric

I own a ranch in Salmon, Idaho. I have been on this ranch for 34 years. I raised my family on this ranch. Yes, it has been hard financially. But the reward of raising a family on a ranch far out weighs the negatives. My children, 3 boys and a daughter, have all learned to work. They have all learned to respect the land and people. They have grown to be honest, repectfully, responsibily adults. I believe that the experience of growning up on the land with a solid work base have helped shaped the lives.
My ranch is a so-called "welfare ranch". I have blm and forest service ground within the operation. But nothing could be farther from the truth. My family worked hard to make this land work. From daylight to dark, my family was up working. A few times when I was busted up, my family picked up the slack and did the irrigation and haying. I believe that by loving the land and animals, my family benefited.
I now just lease out the ranch and work for the blm in the summer time. But I have no desire to sell out. The land just means to much to me. I know that if I sell for the high dollars, I would never have to work again. But it would be the last land that my family will ever own. I think that I owe my family a legacy of land, so they can bring their kids, to learn to love and respect the land.

Crow:
"Welfare ranching" is just a term made up by people who are jealous of something they don't understand. I was the third generation of my family to run cattle on our BLM allotment in SE Idaho. In the end, its "cheaper" to run on private land because of all the work you have to do to run on BLM and the poor pasture most of it provides. The public should be happy that ranchers will pay for some of that stuff.

My wife is from salmon and her sister/in-laws and father still live there. Beautiful country and my hat is off to you for not selling out to the big money folks.

glad to finally find some people on here who don't mind cattle on BLM. I grew up somewhat in the ranching life style and now my WIfe, 2 daguthers and I help run my inlaws ranch in central Wyoming. We have 400 acres at the home place and 2100 acres surrounded by BLM where we summer graze about 350 cow calf pairs and about 400 yearlings. I love being able to raise my kids in this life style. you should check out the discussion I started in the general hunting section about cattle on BLM. lots of interesting opinions. I also am an avid walleye fisherman and bowhunter.

I have a place here in Nebraska, to small to be a ranch and I only plant alfalfa and forages, so I'm a stockman. I raise cattle and sheep. I didn't grow up on a farm, did road construction then teacher for a few years. I feel fortunate to be able to make a living with this life-style, sparse though it may be. How else could a man have the oportunity to spend an entire day out in a blizzard rescueing calves or be shearing when its 85 (poor planning on that one). Polar bite your tongue I need these good years once in a while. You'll see those 50 cent calves before I want it to happen. Just curious what the pasture rent is for a pair where you are? Around here $30 a month is minimum.

I wound up sneaking into a sweet deal on some Hereford/Angus cow/calf combos a couple of weeks ago. I did wind up with all bull calves though. I will a.i. them in a couple of months and get the ball rolling again. I am lucky with the pasture land. I have my own and also am running them on my neighbors section for free. I just keep up the fences and keep down the thistle, dandilion and tansy.


Eric

To answer the question of whether you are a farmer or a rancher - the rancher has the ##### on the outside of his boots.

I grew up on a ranch in western ND, and still help outmy dad and uncle as much as I can, my uncle is gettin' ready to retire, and I think I'll be takin his place. About six years ago (I'm 24 by the way) I wouldn't have said that, but since I'm done with school and been workin for someone else for a couple of years, I'm ready to go back. Sure, the $$$ is tough, but that's only part of it. That's the life I want and I want my kids to grow up like I did, where you know what work is. I think that the American Cowboy (the real ones) should be at the top of the endangered species list. Oh, by the way we run about 300 of the most beautiful registered black angus cow around, on about 4500 acres of ground - some of that's crop ground too. AND KEEP THE BORDER CLOSED - we could make a decent profit from our cattle this year for once. I also wanted to say thanks to Crow for the great post too.

Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face

Its great to know that there are people like me out there. I have enjoyed reading of of your posts. I grew up on a ranch I am 24 years old. helping my grandpa and uncles. Back when I was younger we had 500 head of cattle we ran on BLM,Forest and State permits and a bunch of private all connected from the winter range to the summer range. I allways had dreams of running the outfit. But It got broke up between the family. But now I run 85 head of mostly hereford angus cross cows with limousin bulls. and a few longhorns just for fun. We just hauled a semi load of pairs to the mountain to graze on some pasture that I leased. I love ranching and the way of life that it provides. Oh yeah we ranch down in southeat utah. well tahnk for the great posts..

Bigsnort

Poloarbear,

Im glad to see ranchers are getting a little better price out of their herds for I remember all the other years when they didnt. Im fine with the price of beef tody, now, about that petroleum.

life IS good

I don't raise any but about once a week there's a few that show up at my house.
They come in, eat all my groceries and yap with my wife for a few hours before I have to prod them out of the house so I can go to sleep.

dutch
" Man who excels at putting worm on hook is Master Baiter"

They moo a lot an poop all over the place. They smell kinda funny after it rains too.

AZG&F is the downfall of hunting in Arizona!!!!!

That's funny dutch!

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

dutch,
woman who loves to fish is pro-hooker.

NVBighorn
Sorry for your loss.
I do not farm or ranch, but many of the Crown land areas I hunt have cattle. I find the deer don't pay much attention to them and they can actually help you close the distance because they won't be smelling/hearing anything but cow.










If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?

I raise 20 head here in wisconsin and I don't mind seeing cattle on blm land at all they are actually quite good for the land. Most of the ranchers I know take very good care of their leased land probably better care than our government wolud take of it. I fish for walleyes too but the smallmouth bass has me smittened.
Driftersifter

Great thread! Grew up in a city, moved to the country/muontains and have horses just for hunting. I envy those of you that had the opportunity to grow up working the land. i work with several people that ranch and work to make ends meet. Love listening to their stories and experences.

Horses and German Wired Haired Pointers = dead elk and chukars.

I like to eat cows.

I never even scroll this far down so I forgot this thread existed. It did me a lot of good to re-read it. Lot of water under the bridge since I last posted on it.

As an update to my life here on the "farm":

After my Dad died my Mom followed him in June 2004 (tough year). Our land has, in theory, become worth that fortune but with the housing slump it is impossible to sell. So what does that mean? Since I last added to this thread I decided trying to balance the full time "paying" job and and farming was making me old before my time. So I quit! My job that is. Yep, gave up a perfectly good job that gave me a nice paycheck twice a month, bought some more cows, leased some more land, and now I'm trying to figure out how I will live next year. But I am still the envy of every wannabe cowman that I used to work with. They just haven't seen my checkbook. We are still having fun and that's what counts.

NVBighorn, What a coincidence. Last Friday I turned in my two weeks notice at my job to start full-time at the ranch with my Dad and Uncle. They are getting kinda tired of doing everything themselves and I'm tired of working for someone else. So I'll be working the rest of my life to pay for the place and the cattle, but I can't think of anything I'd rather do. Glad to hear you took the plunge too, keep us posted on how its going.

Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face

They say misery loves company. Glad to hear it. On some warped level I do believe it is a heritage we need to preserve, at any cost. It isn't going to be easy, I know that, but there is no greater satisfaction in the working world than seeing what you have planted grow or that baby calf mothering up with his first-calf-heifer-mom on a frosty morning or putting that load of cattle on the truck bound for the feedlot. People who haven't done never will understand it. Now if the damn price of corn would drop and the cattle prices rebound a little I have some calves to sell in a few weeks. ;-)


If I ever get to North Dakota I'm looking you up.

Hard to beleive that corn is up around $3.65 a bushell there goes that cheap feed for the feedlots, un-beleivable how many cow are getting shipped to the midwest fedlots this year. My nephew say he could haul 24/7 and still have poeple asking for a trailer to put steers in to,Buy corn now if your going to feed out some steers this fall.

Well, tomorrow is my last day of work at the office. Come monday morning my office will have one of the best views in the world in my opinion. Where I sit right now - I can't see a window - after tomorrow - who needs windows. I'll miss the steady paycheck and the people I work with, but that's not such a bad tradeoff, I guess. Probably won't hear much form me for the next couple months - no more office - no more computer at office. Don't have internet at home yet, but I'll have to get it as soon as possible - I'm addicted to this site. About the corn situation, I know why the price is the way it is because there's one of reasons about to fire up about 15 miles form our place - Ethanol Plants. I was at a seminar the other day and the General Manager for the one closest to us said that there are 40 more plants in construction in the US right now. That uses up a lot of corn - he also said that they can make ethanol out of a lot of things - but corn is the easiest, so they are going to use it until the price gets up high enough where they can't make a buck anymore. I think cattle feeders will get outbid before ethanol plants will. We have to feed our calves for more than just a few weeks too - we sell registered bulls and heifers and feed them from October until April when we sell them - I hope the price of corn comes down too - but I wouldn't bet on it. Hey NV if you ever get up this way for some reason - definitely look me up - Visitors are always welcome at the ranch.

Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face

I like to eat cows. A toast to all of you who raise them!


"Tenderloins - a carnivores' candy"

LAST EDITED ON Dec-07-06 AT 10:08AM (MST)[p]I had 7. Black Angus and Hereford. Used to grow their hay in
the pasture. Sure loved to stack it in the barn. Was a wonderful day when the first calf was born. Had to sell them
because I got divorced. That was the absolute worst part of getting divorced was selling my cows.

>wondering if anybody here had cattle.
> i like cows.
>no one seems to talk
>about them much. if you
>gotta ranch that you run
>cattle on, tell me something
>about it

You wanna talk cattle and ranching? go to www,ranchers.net their talk forum is the "bull session" good site.

I have 2-3 steers going at all times. This is strictly a hobby and most likely much more expensive meat than if i bought it at the market.

I was raised on a farm and it is in my blood. Luckily i can raise them as a hobby and i butcher all of my own animals. Recently bought a couple of lambs from a local rancher and cut them up a couple of weekends ago.

For the record i like having cattle on BLM and forest land. It maintains water sources in the arid areas and if not overgrazed is good for the land.

Hats off to the full time ranchers out there.

Our cattle get divided up into single-bull groups or "herds" of 25 to 35 pair for breeding and summer pasture. Each group tends to either get named for the bull from each group or the pastures they run on. The bulls all tend to get some name that relates to where they came from or maybe some humorous story related to their acquisition.

I tell you this only because this evening I am sitting on my deck watching the cattle around me, having a drink, enjoying the evening.

Right in front of the house is "Switch's" herd. Maybe 30 pairs, mostly red in color, various backgrounds. Switch is a big black Angus bull. He was named Switch because when we went to pick out a bull the one we liked was already promised. So we picked our second choice. But the gal I buy bulls from was so accommodating she talked to the guy who had selected the bull we liked as our first choice and he agreed to "switch" with us. Hence the name Switch. Switch?s herd is grazing the fall triticale right in front of the house. I like it when they are in there because I can watch them graze. My brother, who lives just a few yards away from me also likes to watch them there. He is the real cowman of the family. He knows every cow, every calf, who they are bred to and when they will calve. He has a truly amazing mind for cattle. He?s sitting on his front porch tonight doing the same thing I am.

Off to my right I can see ?Dana?s? herd at the place next door that we rent. Dana is also a big black Angus I bought this year. He?s only two but going to be a bruiser. His cows are also mostly red of mixed background. They are maybe a quarter mile away and grazing peacefully. We named him Dana because that was the name of the guy who raised him, a guy I have known since first grade.

Down to my left, to the east, ?Chuck?s? herd is grazing the ?Rancho? pastures. It's part of my Dad?s original place. The place he built with his own two hands and his own four kids. It was his pride and joy. Chuck is a big white Charolais bull. And I mean big. He has a way of going where ever he wants to go. He?s not mean, just determined. His cows are mostly black hided and quite varied in their background too. The calves are mostly his from last year and they are awesome. Today is the Chuck herd?s first day on pasture this year. I will close the gates at the highway tonight in case they get to wandering.

In the corral immediately to the east of the house, maybe 150 feet away, I can see ?Bob?s? herd. Bob is also a BIG Charolais bull and his herd is all black, nearly all raised right here, and very consistent in type. In a week or so they will get hauled up to the ?Tucker? place for the summer. Not quite enough feed there yet. The calves are Bob?s from last year and they may very well be the best I have ever had. I'm sure that's been said before but this time, I swear?

We bought Chuck from a family I have known my entire life. They treated me well. Since he was a Charolais, we almost called him Charlie but it got shortened to Chuck. The first day Chuck was here he jumped a fence and bred three heifers he wasn?t supposed to. Can you say libido? Bob came from the same place after we got Chuck home and liked him so well. We just thought ?Chuck & Bob? sound good together, like morning DJs or something.

Also out in the corral I can see ?Superman? and the replacement heifers. They will go on pasture tomorrow or the next day. Superman got his name because the lady I bought him from, the same lady who sold me Switch and several before him, said compared to the rest of his cohorts he was ?super?. He is a big Red Angus who is a proven calving ease bull, ideal for first calf heifers. He weighed 48 pounds at birth. He weighs 2400 pounds today. That's what we pay the big money for ? genetics.

So the only group I can't see is ?Frederick?s? herd. Frederick is another black Angus, from the same place as Switch and Superman. He is only a year and half old. His herd is my wife?s Beefmasters. Several years ago I bought my wife seven Beefmaster heifers from my brother-in-law for Christmas. She said she wanted something different, her own herd. She calls them her ?diamond ring?. Since that time her herd has grown from 7 to over 20. She loves them all. Names them all. Only reason I can't see them right now is they are over at the ?other corral? because their pastures are wet. It's about a half mile away. I could see them if I really looked I suppose but I really can't SEE them. I just know where they are.

Oh, and right now there are three VERY nice Charolais-Angus cross calves standing in my front yard. They are some of Bob?s boys. Every night they crawl out of the manger and screw around. It's aggravating and I can't wait for them to get on pasture but it's kind of funny. Yesterday morning they were almost under the carport.

Sorry this was so long. Anyway, this is how I spend my evenings.

Life is good.

supper time.....











IMG]http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p15/buckhunt/CowHurd4.jpg[/IMG]

Just found this thread and enjoyed reading it. I grew up on a 3000 acre ranch in northern Nevada and loved every minute of it. What a great way to grow up. We had (and still have) about 2500 head of cattle (Angus-Limousine Cross) that we graze on a 150,000 acre BLM/Forest Service permitt. I spent the majority of my youth and teens on the back of a horse moving cattle, fixing fence, roping and all that. It always cracked me up cause I was an athlete in school and always dressed causally. I always felt that cowboy boots and hats were made for riding and thats when I wore them, not sitting in class. You always see these wanna-be cowboys that dress the part and don't know the first thing about cattle and sittin a horse. People would always give me crap cause I would be wandering around in the summer in my flip flops and shorts and they would say "your no cowboy!" Funny thing is, I couldn't be any more cowboy if I tried. I knew how to ride before I knew how to walk!

I left for school and have since gone on to get my Master's Degree in fisheries and am working as a Biologist. I make it home as much as possible and dust off the boots and sadle to help brand or move some cows. I really love the place and could see myself taking it over someday. I just needed to get away for awhile. I didn't want to live my whole life only knowing that and nothing else. I haven't regretted the path I've taken as doing fisheries research takes you to some of the coolest places in the country.

Nothing beats growing up on a 300 acre playground though!!

falloutwest,

From your profile I'm pretty sure I know where you grew up and have met some of your family. Good pioneer stock.