burnt
Well-known member
Gotta make some choices. Since we have a rebuilding clause in our insurance policy (no surprise) we are in the process of trying to figure out what kind of building will best suit our purposes. This is a little more complicated than one might expect since we are having a hard time deciding what our "purpose" is right now.
Even before the fire, I had pretty well decided to cull hard in order to have a good herd to offer for sale. We could no longer economically justify having cows, and that is putting it very kindly. The only thing that was keeping the girls here this long was my stubbornness at quitting the cow business. And if you don't understand that, try sitting down right now and thinking about selling your cows. All of them. Tomorrow!
Now we are faced with the choice of what kind of building to put up in the spring. My first thought was to build a barn that is the kind of barn that I dreamed of every time I hit my head on a low timber while cleaning loose pens or broke through the second story floor with the tractor while storing round bales upstairs in the old barn.
I think the best choice would be to build a large, monolithic, versatile structure. I envision a building that would be about 50' x 150', running east and west with the south side completely open toward a yard that would allow livestock to run in and out. One could put a curtain on the south side if necessary in the winter. One end would be used for bale storage while the rest would be loose pens with a manger running down the inside of the closed wall.
But how does one justify spending a lot of money with cattle prices being mired in 30 year old levels? Maybe I'll just build a doghouse with a good couch and receptacle for a T.V. . . . . . :wink:
What would your ideas be if you were in this situation?
Even before the fire, I had pretty well decided to cull hard in order to have a good herd to offer for sale. We could no longer economically justify having cows, and that is putting it very kindly. The only thing that was keeping the girls here this long was my stubbornness at quitting the cow business. And if you don't understand that, try sitting down right now and thinking about selling your cows. All of them. Tomorrow!
Now we are faced with the choice of what kind of building to put up in the spring. My first thought was to build a barn that is the kind of barn that I dreamed of every time I hit my head on a low timber while cleaning loose pens or broke through the second story floor with the tractor while storing round bales upstairs in the old barn.
I think the best choice would be to build a large, monolithic, versatile structure. I envision a building that would be about 50' x 150', running east and west with the south side completely open toward a yard that would allow livestock to run in and out. One could put a curtain on the south side if necessary in the winter. One end would be used for bale storage while the rest would be loose pens with a manger running down the inside of the closed wall.
But how does one justify spending a lot of money with cattle prices being mired in 30 year old levels? Maybe I'll just build a doghouse with a good couch and receptacle for a T.V. . . . . . :wink:
What would your ideas be if you were in this situation?
bad news in that regard.