Fenced in

[Texan]

Somebody sent me this pic from the Bastrop fire. Really puts the fear into perspective for any cattleman.

 

[Anonymous]

Really sad- and I've seen hundreds of pictures and seen numerous stories out of there- including some that come from relatives...

Hopefully these folks are looking after their cattle- altho it makes me wonder, when I heard about some Texans sending up 18 loads to some of the roughest country near the Canadian border (about 750 head still alive- when unloaded) of droughted out fall calvers- that according to neighbors look like rails-- and were so stressed some did not make it---- are calving now--- and because of a stronger than last year La Nina pattern--- are now predicatably looking at a winter as severe or greater than our last years "Winter from He77" that led t record breaking snowfall- record long winter conditions- along with record breaking 90+ days of floods :shock: :roll:

Apparently because of the grass lease/grazing he made with them- he is going to run these cattle for them for 3 years (probably because of federal/state land lease rules :???: )- besides his own- and the neighbors are wondering how these stessed out cows- now just calving will survive- when last year he lost hundreds of calves of his own :???: :???: ......

ND ranchers fined, ordered to remove cattle



AgWeek - Sept 13, 2011



BISMARCK, N.D. — The state Board of Animal health has fined two Morton County ranchers $500 and ordered them to send 78 cows and their calves out of state for failing to meet North Dakota's importation requirements.



Authorities say Donald Hatzenbuhler and his son, Brandon, of Solen, bought the cattle from a South Dakota dealer. Documentation found that all but one of the animals were from Texas.



North Dakota rules require cattle from Texas to be tested for bovine tuberculosis prior to being brought into the state...

This is the reason I (and many of the fellows neighbors and others in the county) dislike the mass movement of cattle from one area to another...Too many disregard the rules (especially traders out to make a fast buck) - and even with trying to follow all the rules-- when dealing with cattle that come from so close to areas with no rules ( Mexico ) the chances for spread of diseases goes way up...

 

[eatbeef]

As if the drought wasnt bad enough and now fires again. Bad deal all around. I do agree with old timer on the mass moverment of cattle and spread of diseases. We took some cows out of texas in april all supposed to be bred up for 90 days or less. well they ended up calving in about 130 days. had 5 open out of 80. i am very worried about this because of the problem with trich. them cows were with bulls in texas and with bulls for 90 days here and still not bred. sure worried about how the rest are going to preg. Glad we kept them on a lease away from our cows and now we are keeping the bulls separate and trich testing them just for extra precaution. People need to be more dilegent with pregging and pulling bulls. Trich and other diseases are going to spread worse than wild fires, Our hiefers get bulls in for 45 days and if not bred they dont need to be in out herd. We put bulls in for 60 to 90 days on the cows and then pull bulls at preconditioning. And anything not calved in 60 days goes to town, cant to feed inefficient cattle!

 

[littlejoe]

Somebody sent me this pic from the Bastrop fire. Really puts the fear into perspective for any cattleman.

At least a pair of fencing pliers in every pickup---and every fire truck---sometimes a guy ain't got a whole lotta time and a new hole beats an old gate all to heck. Cooled off now---but phenomenal grass yr and fire season most likely ain't near over. My kid saw one start a week ago, we were on it in ten minutes with 4 trucks, and it ran half a mile.

 

[littlejoe]

Folks, I am hardly an expert, but i gotta say this: You can get killed in a grass fire. I live in an area where we take care of ourselves. Here's how we fight grass fires---from the 'back'. Knock it down and work our way to head of fire. Stay in and fight from-----the 'black'--the burn. Trucks quit, get stuck, drivelines twist off, etc. Do not get in front of the damn thing! We don't run all our water out---keep a little for self defense. Have a 'safety zone' and an 'escape route'. Turn your lights on---might be middle of sunny day, till the wind shifts. Have some gear on---poly melts right into your skin. Shorts and t=shirts don't cut it. Weather changes fast and winds shift---keep your eyes open and use your head. Watch out for each other. Communicate. Don't become part of---or a worse--problem. We'll risk a lot to save a lot---like a life. But we wont risk a lot to save a little--grass grows back and stuff can be rebuilt.