custom grazing.

[Reitnorf]

some info. for you jerryk. Located SE.Sask.I run around 120 cows myself, and have hayfields being converted to grazing. Not much of a market left for hay around here.I also have some native pasture and go-back land, that I have been grazing.Use electric fences and some old barb wire ones. 85 cents is for a british cross cow/april calf.Moose size char.cross/Simm.cross etc. with Jan calves, !.00$ Treatment= drugs 25$. 120 days grazing guarenteed, I'll feed them if I have too. Cows checked weekly, rotated aprox. every 2 weeks or as grass permits. 50% up front/ balance in monthly cheques. oh yea, cobalt salt provided, no cost.

[cowman]

Well I think your deal for a big January "moose char/sim calf" is a good deal! The cow owner would have a 750 lb. calf to sell instead of a 550 lb runt, for only another $4.50/month rent!

[PureCountry]

Cowman, sometimes you just baffle me with your ignorance. Do you realize how strongly you just implied that a char/simm cow is the only cow that can wean a 750lb. calf? And you also are implying that the british cow always raises 550lb 'runts'.

Think it through before you open your mouth. Good lord man.

[PureCountry]

yes cowman, you seem to want to pick on the smaller calves, and over time they seem to have paid their way as well.

You indicated that your herd is getting to have a strong Red Angus influence and the last ones I saw sure as heck weren't 'moose sized cows'.

I have cows that annually wean 750 pound calves, some wean calves over 800 pounds and my herd are purebred limousin cattle. ( WILD< TOUGH EATING you know !!).

[grassfarmer]

Hey PureCountry, don't insult him he's got a BS in Economics you know ;o)
Always makes a profit in cattle no doubt helped by his "free" tractor and "free" straw.

The old argument that big January calving cows have 750lb calves where small April calvers can only rear 550lb calves is engrained in stone. But what age are the 750lb calves? I know our cows calving around April 20th wean calves to average 550lbs on 1st October (160 days)have grown at 3lbs a day plus an 80lb birthweight.
This year the cows have been back on grass since April 3rd so the entire production and rearing of the calf will be done on grazed grass.
No way will your January 20th calf
hit the grass in late May having gained 3lbs a day. Will he weigh 550lbs by July 1st(160 days)? I doubt it.
So we have in the January calving cow on the prairies the model of innefficiency - a cow that costs the maximum to maintain as all the heavy and important production drains on her occur when there is zero grass production, it's usually deep with snow and -20C. Late gestation, calving, milking and conception all take place on conserved feed. Alberta Ag figures show feed requirements for an 1100lb cow producing 22lbs of milk as 22lbs hay, 6.2lbs grain, 1.5lbs protein supplement - we can multiply this by 1.5 to get the requirements for these "good" 1600lb-1800lb cows.
A huge cost even in times of cheap feed and then there is the huge cost of
the infrastructure and labour required to calve cows when it's 40 below.
Come to think of it $ a day is pretty expensive grazing for this cow - she basically needs standing room outdoors as her calf needs little but company from her by the age of 4 months. What would be more appropriate would be a leader follower system where the calves could be creeped ahead onto good grass and the cows got to clear up the rubbish behind them. But I suppose that couldn't work - it would require management.

[smcgrath76]

Whatever works. We have found that most calves will reach $750 pounds at some point. The key is what it costs to get them there.
If you want to sell 750 weight calves in November, then winter calving is a way to go. It makes sense to me for lots of reasons (mostly cash flow).
We don't do that, and the fact others do is our competitive advantage.

[cowman]

Well somehow I am at a loss here? What does anyone care about the guy providing the grass? If you can put that big calf on grass and he charges $1/a day...who cares?
I think you boys haven't grassed many January calves because you obviously don't have a clue how much that big calf can eat? Maybe you are all newbies who never lived in that era?
And furthermore, my darned cows don't weigh 1800 pounds...don't know how often I have to say this!
Maybe come back in one hundred years and tell me how well you are doing?

[cowman]

Sorry if that was a little pissy...a good friend died this morning.

[countryguy]

Cowman,with the amount of abuse you take here sometimes I am surprised you aren't a little "pissy" more often! LOL You are REAL good at giving it,but you can take it too,always being a good sport.

Sorry to hear about your friend.

[countryguy]

sorry about your friend cowman.

Many of the April calves will hit the market this fall at 550 pounds, and if they bring the same dollars they did this past year they should help to pay a few bills.

As far as pasture costs go, producers have to factor in hauling costs, how well the cattle are looked after, checked etc.
Sometimes paying a few cents more per unit is worth if the cattle are closer to home where the operator can spot check once in awhile.

Someone said they supplied cobalt salt as part of the agreement, so the cost of added mineral will have to be factored in to that rental, unless there are still cattle producers that think they can get a herd by on blue salt !!!!!!!

[cowman]

Country guy: No kidding! Why the way grassfarmer, farmers son, pure country, emerald etc. beat me up is nothing short of a scandal! However I have very wide shoulders...and will bare the brunt!
I won't even mention Randy who takes exceptional delight in abusing me! Unfortunately we don't hear too much from him as he is in intensive training right now?
Hey I have a lot of fun on here and despite how I choose to portray myself as a miserable old bugger...I'm taking notes! You can always learn something new?

[cowman]

now, cowman I have never called you a misrable old anything .....

I enjoy your posts and find that they are consistent if nothing else !!!!!!


All kidding aside, cowman, you have a lot of good advice for all of us, and I appreciate reading all your posts !!

[grassfarmer]

Sean, I don't understand your comment about winter calving and selling 750lb calves "It makes sense to me for lots of reasons (mostly cash flow)." What are the cash flow advantages you see?

[cowman]

My own take on 750 lb. calves: Yep you feed them a little more. At one time there was a real premium paid for that big calf...probably not anymore.
Winter calving is not all that hard if you are set up for it. In fact there are some advantages! First you usually are right there when the calf is born and can solve any problems that might pop up, like a calf not sucking, or a malpresentation.
When you sell that big calf in Nov. you get paid without having to mess around with weaning. You don't have the expense of feeding him for a few months. So you can feed the calf after weaning, or you can feed momma a bit more the winter before. In the end it probably works out about the same...in both total feed and total labour?
Just my opinion.

[nicolaas]

I spring calf, but I can see your point cowman.. just like grazing works if the land is paid for (or it is only 30K/quarter..or you get a lot of rain). If you already have a calving barn, and you got nothing else to do, why not calf in the winter... lots of grain farmers do it... frees up their spring for seeding, can utilize aftermath grazing in the fall for the dry cows without supplementation. downside is that you have to feed the cows more in that last trimester, and it will be colder. Remember, there is advantages/disadvantages to either system, and remember there is no free lunch with anything you do.