Local cattle raisers feeling heat
By DELANIA TRIGG
These days cattle producers are really feeling the heat.
Jim Mosman and his wife Barbara of Moss Lake say they grew up in farming and ranching families. They have one of the largest single-family owned ranches in this part of the state with several thousand acres of land and 450 breeder heifers and bulls.
Extremely dry weather conditions have made things difficult for the couple who said they are already feeding their livestock the hay they would normally have fed during the winter.
This is a change from past summers when cattle had plenty of grass on which to graze.
"I've seen times when I didn't feed 'til Thanksgiving or Christmas," the Moss Lake Volunteer Fire Chief said recently.
He said in the winter he normally feeds about three to four semi-trailer loads per week since cattle require more hay in the winter. During cold weather, he said "cows need to eat more to stay warm,"
And one thing is certain, Mosman said, "You can't make money (in the cattle business) if you have to buy hay."
The price of a round hay bail can be as much as $100, and in many cases, there's no hay to be had at any price.
Mosman said each acre of ranch land will support only a certain number of cattle. The number of cattle that can thrive on one acre of pasture depends upon the quality of the grass that is grown there.
Mosman explained that a native pasture — prairie hay or native grass, for example — will not feed as many cattle as an improved pasture where a grass such as coastal Bermuda is growing.
Right now, Mosman said he is looking to rent more pasture or perhaps a ranch if one is available. "But I don't think I'm going to find any ranches for rent," he added.
Barbara Mosman echoes her husband's feelings on the current draught. She said, like many others, she had always heard of a draught in the late 1950s. For many, that draught is the measuring stick by which other extremely dry years are judged.
But a good many people seem to think this draught is worse than that one, she said.
Even during the heat wave of 1980, Mosman said, there was hay available for sale. Even last year, cattle producers could buy hay from nearby states.
"They're telling me there's no hay in Oklahoma or Kansas. The barns are empty from the draught of last winter," he said.
Mosman said the frustrating part of his job is the fact that no one knows when it will rain again.
"I remember back in 1972 they were seeding the clouds to make it rain," he said. He said the experiment worked and in one field he did see a rain shower.
A July 14 report from the Gainesville Livestock Auction shows that 1,541 head of cattle were sold at the auction that week.
Grade #1 slaughter bulls (1200-2050 pounds) were bringing $50 to $60 per 100 pounds of body weight while slaughter cows, grades 1-3 are currently bringing $42 to $49 per one hundred pounds.
Kenneth Sicking, a cattle rancher based in Myra said he raises yearling cattle and "de-populates" his herd when the grass is scarce.
He said the current draught situation is serious, but not yet dire.
"When grass is short, I ship them out and don't restock until I get grass back," he explained.
Sicking said he has been in the cattle business for seven or eight years.
"Very few people don't need help. If they aren't feeding, they need to. You must justify buying feed or do some liquidation. But you hold on to the core of your herd," he said.
He said most cattle producers can expect to be feeding their livestock from now until next April.
He said he runs anywhere from 300 to 1,000 head of cattle. Right now, his herd is down to about 300.
But he's optimistic that the grass will eventually grow back and things will improve for ranchers.
Jim Mosman, on the other hand, tends to see things a little differently.
"This (the draught) is like a bad dream. Maybe the fall rains will come and the dream will end. But this is the worst I've seen in my lifetime," he said.
By DELANIA TRIGG
These days cattle producers are really feeling the heat.
Jim Mosman and his wife Barbara of Moss Lake say they grew up in farming and ranching families. They have one of the largest single-family owned ranches in this part of the state with several thousand acres of land and 450 breeder heifers and bulls.
Extremely dry weather conditions have made things difficult for the couple who said they are already feeding their livestock the hay they would normally have fed during the winter.
This is a change from past summers when cattle had plenty of grass on which to graze.
"I've seen times when I didn't feed 'til Thanksgiving or Christmas," the Moss Lake Volunteer Fire Chief said recently.
He said in the winter he normally feeds about three to four semi-trailer loads per week since cattle require more hay in the winter. During cold weather, he said "cows need to eat more to stay warm,"
And one thing is certain, Mosman said, "You can't make money (in the cattle business) if you have to buy hay."
The price of a round hay bail can be as much as $100, and in many cases, there's no hay to be had at any price.
Mosman said each acre of ranch land will support only a certain number of cattle. The number of cattle that can thrive on one acre of pasture depends upon the quality of the grass that is grown there.
Mosman explained that a native pasture — prairie hay or native grass, for example — will not feed as many cattle as an improved pasture where a grass such as coastal Bermuda is growing.
Right now, Mosman said he is looking to rent more pasture or perhaps a ranch if one is available. "But I don't think I'm going to find any ranches for rent," he added.
Barbara Mosman echoes her husband's feelings on the current draught. She said, like many others, she had always heard of a draught in the late 1950s. For many, that draught is the measuring stick by which other extremely dry years are judged.
But a good many people seem to think this draught is worse than that one, she said.
Even during the heat wave of 1980, Mosman said, there was hay available for sale. Even last year, cattle producers could buy hay from nearby states.
"They're telling me there's no hay in Oklahoma or Kansas. The barns are empty from the draught of last winter," he said.
Mosman said the frustrating part of his job is the fact that no one knows when it will rain again.
"I remember back in 1972 they were seeding the clouds to make it rain," he said. He said the experiment worked and in one field he did see a rain shower.
A July 14 report from the Gainesville Livestock Auction shows that 1,541 head of cattle were sold at the auction that week.
Grade #1 slaughter bulls (1200-2050 pounds) were bringing $50 to $60 per 100 pounds of body weight while slaughter cows, grades 1-3 are currently bringing $42 to $49 per one hundred pounds.
Kenneth Sicking, a cattle rancher based in Myra said he raises yearling cattle and "de-populates" his herd when the grass is scarce.
He said the current draught situation is serious, but not yet dire.
"When grass is short, I ship them out and don't restock until I get grass back," he explained.
Sicking said he has been in the cattle business for seven or eight years.
"Very few people don't need help. If they aren't feeding, they need to. You must justify buying feed or do some liquidation. But you hold on to the core of your herd," he said.
He said most cattle producers can expect to be feeding their livestock from now until next April.
He said he runs anywhere from 300 to 1,000 head of cattle. Right now, his herd is down to about 300.
But he's optimistic that the grass will eventually grow back and things will improve for ranchers.
Jim Mosman, on the other hand, tends to see things a little differently.
"This (the draught) is like a bad dream. Maybe the fall rains will come and the dream will end. But this is the worst I've seen in my lifetime," he said.
