I like grassfarmers comments but there are a few oft-repeated misconceptions in this thread.
First of all I'm getting tired about hearing how deer, elk, moose, wild buffalo and just about every other ruminant calves in the spring, looks after its young quite well and so on and so on. The point being that we should work more closely with mother nature and everything would be rosy. The fact is that deer, etc. generally have low conception rates and overall weaning rates of about 60% per animal exposed. Can any of you guys live on that for your cows?
The idea that feeding cows during calving season somehow has a negative impact upon calving is bizarre. Cows can easily be fed in a large field--ours is 85 acres--and the feed can be spread far and wide on that field. I believe in late calving too but let's not reach for reasons that are not sensible to justify it.
Finally, the notion that buying land to make feed is flawed is not borne out by history. I have had silage custom made on my land for close to 20 years and through many of those years it was the cheapest feed around. I have never not had feed, even during our worst droughts.
But more than that I have come to see that the value of the land is really in how it grows in value and increases our net worth. In reality it is not the cows that are going to grow your estate--it's the land and many of us, especially in Alberta, have prospered on the back of our land values rising. Does this relate to farming? Maybe not and maybe it means we have to be investors as well as ranchers but I'll tell you that I'm really glad that I bought land to make feed many years ago--land that has made much more money during the years that I've had the use of it than I ever will make from my cows. So when you're thinking about making feed on your own land, think about the investment merits of buying that land too.
kpb
First of all I'm getting tired about hearing how deer, elk, moose, wild buffalo and just about every other ruminant calves in the spring, looks after its young quite well and so on and so on. The point being that we should work more closely with mother nature and everything would be rosy. The fact is that deer, etc. generally have low conception rates and overall weaning rates of about 60% per animal exposed. Can any of you guys live on that for your cows?
The idea that feeding cows during calving season somehow has a negative impact upon calving is bizarre. Cows can easily be fed in a large field--ours is 85 acres--and the feed can be spread far and wide on that field. I believe in late calving too but let's not reach for reasons that are not sensible to justify it.
Finally, the notion that buying land to make feed is flawed is not borne out by history. I have had silage custom made on my land for close to 20 years and through many of those years it was the cheapest feed around. I have never not had feed, even during our worst droughts.
But more than that I have come to see that the value of the land is really in how it grows in value and increases our net worth. In reality it is not the cows that are going to grow your estate--it's the land and many of us, especially in Alberta, have prospered on the back of our land values rising. Does this relate to farming? Maybe not and maybe it means we have to be investors as well as ranchers but I'll tell you that I'm really glad that I bought land to make feed many years ago--land that has made much more money during the years that I've had the use of it than I ever will make from my cows. So when you're thinking about making feed on your own land, think about the investment merits of buying that land too.
kpb
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