Questions to cattle guys on here....

[bucket]

If you have a herd of 300 cows....take the recommended tax deferral and sell down to 150 cows in a down market ...use the money to live for a couple years ...your calf herd is only 150 next year so you are short income ....

If you buy 150 bred heifers it will cost you more than the cull of your herd...


How is this a win for a few years...I call it a shit kicking...


Thoughts...I had this conversation with the neighbour who is hauling water....

Not being argumentative that isn't my point because for some this may be the only answer...but I dont have enough cattle to make a difference so I am curious what others thoughts are.

Some one that is all cattle...

[DaneG]

There are several ways to approach this drought with cattle. 1.Sell all cows and calves and sell what ever feed you have and make use of any deferral, 2. Sell off enough cows to match feed supply and make use of and deferral, 3. Sell some cows and keep replacement heifers to match feed use deferral and livestock cash advance on replacements to stabilize income, 4. Sell calves, preg check cows and cull hard, buy in DDG to supplement hay supply. #4 is what I intend on doing ordered DDG’s today, there is probably several more scenarios that could be implemented to get through this mess.

[woodland]

Bucket………… it ******* sucks when you’re dry.

There’s alway other options……….
We like to swim upstream and usually it seems to blow up in our face. Back in the 2002 drought we doubled down keeping every cow and breeding more heifers. We burned up our reserve silage gambling that we could sell pairs in the spring of ‘03. Guess what ………….. we were just as dry and BSE really kicked the stuffing out of our plans and pocketbook.

Hmmmmmm I guess we must love these cows since we’re keeping all of them and breeding more heifers than last year. There is plenty of “aged” silage here and the corn got a half inch on the weekend so it doesn’t look too dead anymore so we’re all in. Probably will regret it later but who needs Vegas………….


The hayfields are pretty dusty that we’re grazing. On the bright side we’re saving money since we got enough net wrap left over for next year😉

[bucket]

Thanks for the input ....now when Air Canada had a passenger drought did they really get rid of many planes and take a tax deferral or lay off / downsize ????

No ...they waited it out for the government to give the company and employees wages subsidies and an 8 billion dollar bail out.


I admire the solutions you guys have presented...but with a wide angle view , respectfully, your farms will pay for the airline tickets, the wages of airline employees and the bailout of Air Canada.


While you receive nothing but more attacks on the way "beef is bad" by SJWs.


I believe that western Canadian farmers are worth more than Air Canada, Algoma and the aerospace industry that have received over 12 billion since January 2020. And if you look back at the history of those three entities they have been on the government tit since their beginnings.

Farmers have been duped again by bad leadership. Period.

[Old Cowzilla]

DaneG #4 option might work best easier to feed a few more replacement heifers than cows if set up for it anyway. Hard to avoid income loss of some sort and if still short of grass in spring sell heifers in area where they did get rain. Hard not to take a loss if feed is higher priced and a long ways away.
Feed listed on net tends to start high priced than tapers off after a few weeks as more listing show and first stuff is still listed. See how much sees a combine and not a discbine .

[Hamloc]

Thanks for the input ....now when Air Canada had a passenger drought did they really get rid of many planes and take a tax deferral or lay off / downsize ????

No ...they waited it out for the government to give the company and employees wages subsidies and an 8 billion dollar bail out.


I admire the solutions you guys have presented...but with a wide angle view , respectfully, your farms will pay for the airline tickets, the wages of airline employees and the bailout of Air Canada.


While you receive nothing but more attacks on the way "beef is bad" by SJWs.


I believe that western Canadian farmers are worth more than Air Canada, Algoma and the aerospace industry that have received over 12 billion since January 2020. And if you look back at the history of those three entities they have been on the government tit since their beginnings.

Farmers have been duped again by bad leadership. Period.

It would be interesting to know how much taxpayer money has went into Air Canada over the years, the number would be shocking I am sure.

I still think the political question remains for Trudeau, how many votes will I get if I help western Canadian farmers through this drought?

[bucket]

It would be interesting to know how much taxpayer money has went into Air Canada over the years, the number would be shocking I am sure.

I still think the political question remains for Trudeau, how many votes will I get if I help western Canadian farmers through this drought?

If people take off their rose coloured glasses about the conservative party , I think if Trudeau sent out a bailout it could actually gain him votes.

You have to remember it was the conservatives that gutted farm programs and no one has put an adequate disaster program in place.

I remember 1988 better than 2002 .

In 1988 Grant Devine mortgaged the province on agriculture ...a bet well placed.

The saskparty are dancing around the issue. The federal conservatives are silent.

I know what to expect from the liberals, so anything will be an improvement.

No average canadian was left out when the pandemic hit and leaving farmers hang out to dry , pun intended, is bad policy for an exporting country like Canada.

[blackpowder]

Not too far south of here the old school ranches have a supply of old surplus feed laying around every year. How it is.

[furrowtickler]

How much DDG’s will even be available though ?

[bucket]

Not too far south of here the old school ranches have a supply of old surplus feed laying around every year. How it is.

Same around here but the last couple years have dwindled stacks and a couple late winter storms reduced it quicker and guys haven't made the tough decisions they maybe should have in a better market. Now they are forced to in a collapsing market.

[blackjack]

Our ranch will have enough grass and feed to get through till next year with carry over but what I’m concerned about are the folks that buy our backgrounded calves have the feed.

[DaneG]

DDG’s are available right now but every month going foreword there is a price increase, and late fall they tell me some plants are all booked for sales,