I don’t know where to begin on expressing my thoughts about the article I just read. An animal scientist, here in the United State, is conducting stem cell research in an effort to make the supply of bull semen inexhaustible. The basic idea is to serialize young, healthy bulls and … Continue reading
Category Archives: Herd Management
Unspoken encouragement
Durning pregnancy checks last week, Dr. V. commented on the good body condition of the girls. He knows our stock is exclusively grass-fed, and his next comment was about the longevity of grass-fed operations compared to the longevity and profitability of high input grain-fed operations. Dr. V.’s compliment on the … Continue reading
Large frames and feeding grain.
“Are you looking for a bull?” My mind thought “no” as my voice said, “Tell me about him.” I was killing some time at a purebred association’s sanctioned auction and ranchers were standing by to answer questions about their consignments. “How much does he weigh”, I asked. The response was … Continue reading
Just an observation.
I read few ranching and farming trade publications. Actually, read might be a little strong of a word. Skim is probably a better description. My interest in their articles is passing because they don’t often apply to our small operation. For the last two months however, I’ve noticed a change … Continue reading
…this heifer is no exception
One of our purchased heifers calved today. Her herd is in a large area which we haven’t divided into lots yet. This is unfortunate because cows are excellent at placing their new calves where they are sure to not be found and this heifer is no exception. The grass in … Continue reading
Parasite Control
We were recently contacted by an upstate South Carolina rancher about our use of Ecto-phyte and Neem oil for external parasite control. He asked what type of oil we mix with the Ecto-phyte and water, do we mix Neem oil and Ecto-phyte together, do we rotate the use of these … Continue reading
“We’ll take that one.”
About a week ago, Mason sold a bull to some folks in the Holliday area. We thought the day might end with one of our bulls being sold though. The buyers started looking at the entire group and asked if a younger one, ours, was for sell. Well, yes he … Continue reading
So why did we choose these two heifers?
My only complaint about our herd bull is that he keeps producing bull calves. In the past two years, only two heifer calves have hit the ground. This scenario makes for slow replenishing within a herd so Don and I made a four hour trip to a Red Angus sanctioned … Continue reading
Weaning time is a prime example of low key, low cost management
The calves are coming up on ten months of age. The age at which we wean them from the mamma cows. This morning we gave them their first round of vaccinations. In two more weeks, the calves will be put in a pasture adjacent to one with the cows and … Continue reading
The bull stood for about an hour
The vet likes to see us. Why? We don’t give him a lot of business. It’s the disposition of our stock. We take our cattle to the University of Missouri – Columbia Veterinarian Clinic which is a teaching facility for vet students. Dr. V. usually asks Don to play along … Continue reading