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Dry East Texas

Trinity man

Well-known member
Here what it looks like around here at least in the river bottom. Our other place looks like a different word compare to this.

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No water in the front of our pasture.
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Who said we didn't have earthquakes in east Texas.
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The cattle stay in the shade all day and graze at night. They are around our other water well here. It never stops running. Maybe I better not say never if this keeps up.
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This is some grass that we just started seeing the past couple of years. The cows sure love it. It is a very fine leaves on it to.
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It tough cutting hay in a tractor with no AC when its like this.


Whats really bad they got 2-3 inches of rain about 15 miles north of us the other day. We just got some cool air out of it. :roll:
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
I feel for ya pal! Those pictures look pretty familiar most years. Hope it cools off and you get inches of rain. Take plenty of ice in your cooler when your baling!
 

Trinity man

Well-known member
In 2005 it was real bad. We sold about 100 hd of cows when and drop hd count down to about 120. We still have grass I don't know how but we do. Our other place is in a lot better shape and it’s about a mile west of this place. The funny thing is the cattle are fat at the river bottom place with big calves on them to. I always hear that the grass is stronger when it’s like this than it being a wet year. I don't know if this is true or no but I know the cattle look better now than it being wet years. Our hay baler is having a hard time baling because it so short. When he stops to ty it look like he left a bale under the baler from it turning in the baler. He can just about bale right behind me cutting in fact we might try to do a bale or two, but it will not go into the barn.

In 2005 there was over 350,000 hd of cattle sold at the three sale barn I report in this area. So most ranchers have never recover from that year and some have totally sold out and are now leasing the land out. I don't think the cattle will ever get back to what it was before that year and this year has pushed more ranchers out already. One ranch sold close to 400 hd just last week at one barn. Another one will be selling out next week. Dry condition and land prices are taken a total on the cattle industry around here. We have one Packing house from NC buying cattle here now. He told me the same thing dry conditions and land prices have pushed some of the cattle out there to. If this keeps up our market prices will have no choice but go up with the hd counts getting smaller. We just have to make it though the tuff time to have good times ahead. If that ever happens.
 

jcummins

Well-known member
Farmers almanac says:

Summer temperatures will be two to three degrees above normal, on average, with the hottest periods in late June, the greater part of July, and early August. Expect a hurricane in late July or early August.

September and October will be slightly rainier than normal, with temperatures below normal in the north and above normal in the south.

http://www.almanac.com/weatherforecast/us/11

The above normal rain predicted in Sept and Oct can't come to soon.

If I had the money earlier in the year, I would have bought some cows....now glad I did not. I'm under grazing and it's the only thing that has saved me...thus far. Notice a neighbor has sold everything.
 

Trinity man

Well-known member
jcummins said:
Farmers almanac says:

Summer temperatures will be two to three degrees above normal, on average, with the hottest periods in late June, the greater part of July, and early August. Expect a hurricane in late July or early August.

September and October will be slightly rainier than normal, with temperatures below normal in the north and above normal in the south.

http://www.almanac.com/weatherforecast/us/11

The above normal rain predicted in Sept and Oct can't come to soon.

If I had the money earlier in the year, I would have bought some cows....now glad I did not. I'm under grazing and it's the only thing that has saved me...thus far. Notice a neighbor has sold everything.

When was your last rain fall? Our was first of May and it was a half inch. I Know Huntsville to the south and Palestine to the north has gotten good rain fall.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Trinity man said:
jcummins said:
Farmers almanac says:

Summer temperatures will be two to three degrees above normal, on average, with the hottest periods in late June, the greater part of July, and early August. Expect a hurricane in late July or early August.

September and October will be slightly rainier than normal, with temperatures below normal in the north and above normal in the south.

http://www.almanac.com/weatherforecast/us/11

The above normal rain predicted in Sept and Oct can't come to soon.

If I had the money earlier in the year, I would have bought some cows....now glad I did not. I'm under grazing and it's the only thing that has saved me...thus far. Notice a neighbor has sold everything.

When was your last rain fall? Our was first of May and it was a half inch. I Know Huntsville to the south and Palestine to the north has gotten good rain fall.
I got zero rain in June, but was lucky to get just over an inch this past Monday. My pastures were looking a lot like yours. After Katrina, it hard to wish for a hurricane, but....
 

jcummins

Well-known member
Trinity man said:
jcummins said:
Farmers almanac says:

Summer temperatures will be two to three degrees above normal, on average, with the hottest periods in late June, the greater part of July, and early August. Expect a hurricane in late July or early August.

September and October will be slightly rainier than normal, with temperatures below normal in the north and above normal in the south.

http://www.almanac.com/weatherforecast/us/11

The above normal rain predicted in Sept and Oct can't come to soon.

If I had the money earlier in the year, I would have bought some cows....now glad I did not. I'm under grazing and it's the only thing that has saved me...thus far. Notice a neighbor has sold everything.

When was your last rain fall? Our was first of May and it was a half inch. I Know Huntsville to the south and Palestine to the north has gotten good rain fall.

05/03 got 1.9"....05/11 got .3"....and that was the last.

3-4 days ago, a rain came so close I had rainbows just south of my place....but nothing but a spit here and there here. I'm 8 miles west of Trinity off FM230, I think about 14 miles as the crow flies from you.

About a week ago, I moved some hay equipment to near Cold Spring...there was water in the ditches. They had a very good rain that morning.

The kind of rains you get now, reminds me of once when I was on 249 near HP's headquarters. The cars going south had their windshield wipers on. The ones going north, dry as a bone.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
I really feel bad for you folks that are having to sell livestock.
I hope and pray that you get rain soon. We know it will change eventually, just would be nice if it was soon!!!

Our weather has been real enjoyable (cooler and wetter than normal) and we're finally able to get some hay up.
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
Never known Midway to be that dry. Really looks bad this time. From Crockett northward to Tyler they've been getting loads of rain. Looks like the garden of Eden.
 

Jassy

Well-known member
the_jersey_lilly_2000 said:
We are shippin all the calves and some cows tomorrow mornin :cry:


Dang I hate to hear that Lilly...it was so lush when I was there in May...Hope ya got good prices for the calves though, to help out with all the other drought problems...ya need to come up here for a vacation...it's been in the 80's all week...perfect weather! Hang in there...
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allen57

Well-known member
Trinityman, that is what we looked like before we got rain 10 days ago, except you have a bit more dry grass right there. Our pasture grass has been in short supply since last year and never did get very far ahead of the cows.

I know my cows are in good shape for the shape the grass is in. The cows look to be in better shape this year even with shorter and thinner grass. Last year I was feeding a lot protein supplement, not so much this year (yet). So far I have just put a little hay out every three or 4 days to let the fill up and take a rest from hustling. The dried up grass is slowly disappearing.

Only cut 35 acres of hay (out of 110) that made less than half of what it normally would make.
 

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