RAIN !!!!

[coppertop]

2.5 inches of rain overnight here in west
central AB along with a smattering of snow
but nothing like the snow they are getting
up around Fox Creek.

[grassfarmer]

Thank goodness, just coming in time too here as we have missed a lot of the earlier moisture. We are sitting at two inches now and it's rather sleety at the moment.

[rkaiser]

About an inch and a half here west of Ponoka and still spittin. I'm starting to feel a little bad for the guys who sell hay. With all the cattle gone from the country and now these rains, it may not mean $100.00 a bale next fall.

[coppertop]

Randy, I think lots of hay sellers have had
their TURN so to speak ! We are getting a
light snow this morning. The rain gauge
shows 2.7 " of rain.

[loric]

It's coming down again in Calgary. In High River where we live, we are under a rainfall warning. With a crop-duster husband - we can use a good bit of moisture rather than last year's hail!

How is everyone else making out?

[coppertop]

a light rain here in west central AB. We
were under a heavy rainfall warning but it
didn't materialize. I see that Environment
Canada has removed the warnings for the
entire province.

[grassfarmer]

We got a half inch overnight and it's still raining lightly - got fertilizer floated on yesterday so I got lucky on the timing with that.

[ProFarmer]

Rkaiser what do you think the cow herd numbers will be like after this fall we are breeding 330 females this spring and they will be sold down to less than 200 in the fall. Tired of all the work for little pay, hard on the family life and maybe a guy should get out while the going is good. There was 25% reduction around here this fall and winter. Not just the little guy but 200 to 400 head herds. If the cow price stays at these prices there will be a mass cull of more than another 25%.

[coppertop]

Lots of smaller herds gone in this
immediate area but the larger herds have
gotten larger. In the five mile radius
around my place there are three small
producers left ( under 100 cows), two
large operations have expanded, one at
800 cows and one at 600. Their expansion
from a year ago is equal to the reduced
numbers from people getting out of the
industry. Across this municipality the
mother cow herd is down by 25-30 % over
the past three years. No young producers
getting started that's for sure.

[kato]

Nothing will accelerate the cull like good cow prices. I think there are lots of people who have just been waiting for this so they could get out with a bit of equity left. Dry cows are worth more than breds were not all that long ago.

As for rain....... We have had an enormous amount of rain, especially over the past two days. A long line of heavy thunderstorms lined up lengthways over us and soaked us good. On the radar it was like a train going right over us. It just wouldn't quit.

We don't have a rain gauge, but the creek in our pasture is higher than it was when the snow melted, and the corn field has water standing in it. It's a good thing we got it planted before the rain, because it's going to be a long time before it will be anywhere near to dry enough to do anything with.

At least there will be grass. That's a sure thing. As is the twenty bazillion mosquitoes that should be here very very soon........ LOL I guess you can't have everything.

[rkaiser]

Profarmer---- interesting that you ask your question of me...LOL It makes me think that you have some deep desire to hold on as I honestly consider myself an optimist....

As far as what will happen in the future... HMMM my cquistal ball has not changed for years now. It still says that if we try to change the current conventional system or even hope that it changes and gives us what we need to keep our home life and finances stable ---- Good Luck.

Should you truly love the business, like I do, and want to stay with it for the rest of your career like I do, you need to look at any and all alternatives ---- especially when you get your cheque from the feds when they settle the class action suit. Have you got your 30 names on the petition yet?

It is a simple start to "taking responsibility yourself".

There are lots of people working hard to get us little cheques and changes from the government that will save us as much as looking for change from the conventional chain. Good on em though. We need those people as well.

Has anyone actually thanked ABP for the $3.00 per tag yet. I know it will save my ass.... LOL Sorry for the sarcasm loric but you must know what I mean.

Don't quit on the cows Profarmer, but don't count on the current conventional system to help you either.