Gathered and hauled today

[webfoot]

I helped, well sort of helped. B and company gathered about 350-400 out of a field and took them down the road a half mile to the corral. There is calves bound for the sale, registered calves which will get sorted off, and some fallers that just got stuck into that field when they came out of the hills. Finally got them all on the road and headed in the right direction. Second picture we are almost there. The corral is off to the right about where that semi is parked. They are in the corral now and getting sorted. Three semi loads and an assortment of goose neck trailers loads.

 

[webfoot]

And today turned into a cluster. The critters were all into the corral. Sorting went well. By then it was 10:00. Two big trucks were scheduled to be there at 10:00. No trucks. B called the dispatch to find out when the trucks would be there. Dispatch said what trucks? B said the ones I scheduled with you a week ago. Hmmmm no trucks available. On it went for a while. The two he had scheduled have the longer 3 axcel trailers that can haul 63,000. His truck is the standard older truck that hauls 49,000 pounds. He is like well lets get started with what we have. Put 80 calves on his truck. At some point during this B gets a call. One truck will be there in about 2 hours. I had taken my trailer because I had 3 calves in the mess. Forget my calves for now. Put a load on my trailer. I took off. While unloading his semi backs in. The driver tells me that B loaded a trailer and is on his way. The other truck had arrived and was loading. When I got back to the corral there was 68 calves still in the pen. B's semi gets to make another trip. While all this was going on B's banker was coming to make an inspection of B's cow numbers. Not one of those things you can't cancel if you want to stay in good graces with the banker.

But you have to admire someone who cusses about someone eloquently. I heard him say that XX trucking company had a dispatcher who was a one legged blind lesbian midget and she never had an issue getting trucks there on time. He didn't say that directly to the dispatcher because at that point he was still trying to get trucks.

 

[leanin' H]

That's happened a time or two out here. When you're a long ways from anywhere, it's not a simple thing when trucks don't show up. Or get lost. Or just don't come. One year when the association sold their calves, they had 21 trucks scheduled. 4 didn't show up. The guys made a bunch of truck and stock trailer trips from the corrals to Salina so the calves could go with the rest of the bunch. If them four truckers had shown up, there may of been four graves dug and filled that day. Glad ya got your mess sorted out without too much consternation.

 

[webfoot]

Some years ago I went to visit a daughter in Montana. They were helping a neighbor ship calves and I went along. Calves all sorted and no trucks. We were at Musselshell the dispatcher sent the trucks the Missoula. That is about 3/4 of the way across Montana. We got the last calf loaded it was nearly dark. And those freshly weaned calves had an all night trip to SE Kansas. I wonder how many of those calves got sick.