Rain in the area

[Trinity man]

Not yet for us, but to our north they have had 3 tornado's and hail up to 4 inches in size. Come on rain PLEASE!!!!!

 

[Faster horses]

Have you ran to the barn nekkid yet?

 

[Whitewing]

If it makes you feel any better T-Man, I had boiled crawfsh on Saturday.

 

[Trinity man]

No I would have airplanes landing with my white legs. :lol: Just think of the whites think you can think of and my legs are 10 times more. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Whitewing that looks good eating there. The guy hasn't start filling the ponds yet. He would have to fill the cracks all the way down to china before they would hold water. They said on the radio the other morning its the dries it been since 1895. :shock:

 

[Carter]

whitewing somebody played a bad trick on you with the name they put on your cup!!! :wink:

 

[Trinity man]

whitewing somebody played a bad trick on you with the name they put on your cup!!! :wink:

Should it be beer in that cup?

 

[Whitewing]

whitewing somebody played a bad trick on you with the name they put on your cup!!! :wink:

Indeed. Before that I had no idea I had a cue ball for a head.

 

[Whitewing]

TM, how'd you guys do? Lafayette, LA got a good soaking this morning and it was much-needed.

 

[allen57]

Well....the end is getting closer....Sorted out 1/3 of the herd (that I have left) today....oldest cows 8 years and above and their calves....I'll do a final desision on several of the heavy breds Tuesday before I haul them off. Herd size will fall under national average....

Had 4/10ths of an inch over the last 110 days....nothing in April, 1/10th in March and 3/10ths in February.

 

[Nicky]

I sure hope and pray that you all get some rain soon, and enough to do some good. Allen57...my heart goes out to you, that has got to be so hard.

 

[Faster horses]

I'm with Nicky. That has to be heart-breaking.
We've been in drought plenty of times, but never had to sell
off because of it.
Praying for rain for you.

 

[jodywy]

blizzard here this evening

 

[allen57]

Definitly having mixed emotions...selling out would definitly be an opportunity to explore other things. The cattle bussiness isn't what it used to be... Margins are extremely thin and the return on investment...certainly aren't earning a living. Taking some time off may be just what I need.

I've been feeding threw every drough. Fed thru 2008 and thought we had it licked...NOT!...I still have hay, just not going to feed threw the summer again.

 

[Faster horses]

This is a terrible thing for me to say on a ranching forum, and I don't know
how old you are, But.....I have never talked to an older rancher yet that
was sorry he sold his cows.

That is so different than what I thought it would be.

 

[Justin]

the biggest downfall of most ranchers is feeling "married" to thier cows. you have to look at the big picture, most times if you do the math and be honest about it, you will see that you can't afford to not sell them. i've seen situations where an outfit would have been better off to sell the cows and go on vacation for a year than stay home and feed, but sometimes pride gets in the way of that. just remember cows are like nachos, they're always makin' more :wink:

 

[allen57]

the biggest downfall of most ranchers is feeling "married" to thier cows. you have to look at the big picture, most times if you do the math and be honest about it, you will see that you can't afford to not sell them. i've seen situations where an outfit would have been better off to sell the cows and go on vacation for a year than stay home and feed, but sometimes pride gets in the way of that. just remember cows are like nachos, they're always makin' more :wink:

You nailed that!

FH...I guess my body is older than I am... I began planning the paycheck retirement since the early 90s. Just remembered, 6 years yesterday was the last one I earned. Would have kept working if I could have done both without becoming mad and T'd off every morning as soon as I woke up. Spent a lot of time and money the first 4 years making repairs and "upgrading" equipment...my motto has always been "Work hard and save while I'm young and able so I don't have to work hard when I'm old and can't". And in the 90s, cash flow estimates looked favorable...problem is the input cost have greatly out paced expected returns....

Justin....I've been seeing the writing on the wall for several years... little reward for the hard work and monetary risks involved. Thankfully my plan never included counting on the ranch to provide a living...however it is supposed to be self sufficient, provide and enjoyable livelihood and be worth the efforts exerted. Past couple years it been like something has been trying to drive me away from here...and last November I came to grips with the fact that I do not have to do this just because that was "the plan" I made 20 years ago. Yes it bothers me a little that I may shut it down, that it hasn't rained. Family has worked this piece of ground for 110 years. I've worked my butt of the past 20 years instead of enjoying life. That's been the BIG mistake but it did help get me where I am now... I'm now ready to live and enjoy life, find someone to share it with. I'm 53, in decent health and shape, but we all know how fast that can change. Folks in my family either died young (late 40s) or "old" (late 80's and 90's). Barring anything catastrophic, I'll be able to hold on the the land...it's never been in the plan to sell to fund retirement, but I now know and accept the fact that if the path to happiness leads away from here, it's OK.

 

[Trinity man]

I sold out our herd back in Dec. and started running yearlings for people and have been making more money than we have ever made in cow/calf operation. But it all needs water to still make it work. So if you ever want to get back in the cattle business after it rains one day, running yearlings maybe to the. Here is a link you can list you place one for grazing cows or yearlings.

http://www.noble.org/WebApps/WebListings/HayandPasture/index.aspx