Working at the Stockyards LOTS of PICS

[randiliana]

Yesterday we had a 2500 head presorted yearling sale. Prices were really good finally. Anyways, here are some pictures of my day.

First off a view of the Mural from the street

And a view of the East side from the cat walk

These pens are usually full overnight, but due to the mud situations the cattle were moved to somewhat cleaner pens (as much as possible)

Bringing a bunch up to the sale barn, these ones are a graded bunch, and will be sorted before going through the ring. There are about 4 different cuts here.

Same bunch, waiting at the barn, they will go through the gate on the side and be sorted over there. The cuts are Herefords, Black and Black Baldies, Red and Red baldies and I think one single grey one.

A close up of the same bunch

Some black and black baldies that were just sold and are coming out of the barn to be penned again.

Reds that have been sold and are leaving the barn

The Mural

Cattle leaving the barn, a Weigh Back and some workers. The horse and rider follow the cattle down the alley to their 'new' pen after they are sold, with the paper saying what pen they are to go to and who bought the animals.

The tail end of the black group leaving the barn. You can see the riders on the north side, they are bringing some large one owner groups around from that side to be run through the ring. The cattle in the middle pens have already been sold.

Some sold cattle

A group of red steers waiting their turn. My horse and the partners horse.

Going in for another pen, it sure is mucky. 2 cuts in this pen.

Some white and black steers

A one owner group in the barn, they will go through shortly. Notice the red ones coming in from behind.

Some red Limos that have been sorted, and are going into the barn.

A bunch being sorted, herefords from the blacks

Fixing a mix up, these ones were NOT quiet and easy to sort.

Bringin a bunch out of their pen, I sure am glad I had a horse....

Taking a bigger bunch up the easier way, that catwalk is our nemisis, the cattle hate going under it, especially if there are people on it....

The last bunch waiting their turn.

Some pretty nice Char heifers, in the 750 lb range

The sale ring, I don't get in here very often, usually too busy working.

Most bunches are sorted on color. But these were pretty little, so they just sorted them all together.

 

[WyomingRancher]

That was interesting, thanks for letting us ride along... without having to get muddy . I really like the mural, it looks nice. The facility looks fancy, and sturdy.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

That sale ring started with a bunch of ranchers going to the Cypress hills to cut rails and the built it as the Mankota Stockman's Weigh Company.
My Dad had been to a sale there every year for fifty years. Just missed some the last couple of years. My uncle bought 17 car loads of calves one sale. It used to be a outside ring. Got pretty cold late in the fall. The buyers stood around a pot belly stove. They have really modernized the yards and sale barn. Friends clerked the sale for many years. I know lots of the people around there. The fellow sorting cattle on for sporting a beard is the manager. Good guy. The ranchettes have a great cook shack. Good burgers and pie. The food must be good as 10,000 flys couldn't be wrong. :wink: At least that's what the sign says. :lol: :lol:

We used to price our yearlings based on how they sold in Makota at the first yearling sale in October.

 

[little bow rancher]

Evening randiliana it's D'

Good to see that the snow is leaving your country and has left you with muck.:wink: :wave:

Some of those critters look like they will be happy when the green grass shows up.

Hope your calving has been good to ya!!

 

[randiliana]

That sale ring started with a bunch of ranchers going to the Cypress hills to cut rails and the built it as the Mankota Stockman's Weigh Company.
My Dad had been to a sale there every year for fifty years. Just missed some the last couple of years. My uncle bought 17 car loads of calves one sale. It used to be a outside ring. Got pretty cold late in the fall. The buyers stood around a pot belly stove. They have really modernized the yards and sale barn. Friends clerked the sale for many years. I know lots of the people around there. The fellow sorting cattle on for sporting a beard is the manager. Good guy. The ranchettes have a great cook shack. Good burgers and pie. The food must be good as 10,000 flys couldn't be wrong. :wink: At least that's what the sign says. :lol: :lol:

We used to price our yearlings based on how they sold in Makota at the first yearling sale in October.

Actually, the guy sorting isn't the Manager, he's another good guy though. Manager is in the sale ring on sale day, and figuring out who the weigh backs belong to.

There is quite a story behind MSWC, a good place to sell or buy cattle.

Can't go wrong with a piece of the Ranchettes pie!!

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

That sale ring started with a bunch of ranchers going to the Cypress hills to cut rails and the built it as the Mankota Stockman's Weigh Company.
My Dad had been to a sale there every year for fifty years. Just missed some the last couple of years. My uncle bought 17 car loads of calves one sale. It used to be a outside ring. Got pretty cold late in the fall. The buyers stood around a pot belly stove. They have really modernized the yards and sale barn. Friends clerked the sale for many years. I know lots of the people around there. The fellow sorting cattle on for sporting a beard is the manager. Good guy. The ranchettes have a great cook shack. Good burgers and pie. The food must be good as 10,000 flys couldn't be wrong. :wink: At least that's what the sign says. :lol: :lol:

We used to price our yearlings based on how they sold in Makota at the first yearling sale in October.

Actually, the guy sorting isn't the Manager, he's another good guy though. Manager is in the sale ring on sale day, and figuring out who the weigh backs belong to.

There is quite a story behind MSWC, a good place to sell or buy cattle.

Can't go wrong with a piece of the Ranchettes pie!!

I thought that was John in the pic. Glasses and a beard and a hat.

 

[randiliana]

WR, glad to take you along. The yards have just been upgraded and enlarged over the last 10 years or so. We can handle up to 4000 calves in the fall, pretty full at that, but we can squeeze them in.

D' Those critters just can't wait for the green grass, neither can we :wink: . Calving is going quite well, have about 35 left to go, and we are 1 short of 100% right now (better find some wood to knock on :wink: )

How's your calving going? You've gotten some snow too lately or so I heard??

 

[randiliana]

I thought that was John in the pic. Glasses and a beard and a hat.

Nope, but I can sure see how you can mix them up in the picture. They look enough alike at a distance.

 

[Northern Rancher]

Have they ever tried flax straw in the muck-it really works good for tightening up the slop-we have a big presort up here on Thursday.

 

[Trinity man]

I just can't believe the barns up there are not covered. :shock: That has to be hard on those cattle when it's that muddy and cold. One of the barn I cover for the USDA has over 15 ac. under cover for the cattle and can hold over 5000 head easy. It just don't make sense to not have it cover for the cattle up there when yall have the worst weather up there. :roll:

 

[Soapweed]

I just can't believe the barns up there are not covered. :shock: That has to be hard on those cattle when it's that muddy and cold. One of the barn I cover for the USDA has over 15 ac. under cover for the cattle and can hold over 5000 head easy. It just don't make sense to not have it cover for the cattle up there when yall have the worst weather up there. :roll:

But it's a dry cold here in the north. :wink:

 

[Northern Rancher]

You'd have way more health troubles with cattle barned in that wet weather-theirs a 100 years selection for cattle that can take our winters and thrive. I don't see one calf in those pics that isn't healthy and alert. If a cloudy day and a bit of mud make your cattle sick-raise better cattle.

 

[Traks]

You'd have way more health troubles with cattle barned in that wet weather-theirs a 100 years selection for cattle that can take our winters and thrive. I don't see one calf in those pics that isn't healthy and alert. If a cloudy day and a bit of mud make your cattle sick-raise better cattle.

In the barn I work at we have a large "barn" that can house about 1000 stockers undercover on site. The calves are fed the morning of the sale and given time to eat. Ounce given time to eat they are pulled out and put into smaller pins where we sort them. So they might be standing in the mud, but it isnt for very long. I take alot of pride in sorting the calves and believe that the way I handle them can have a direct affect on how healthy they may or may not be the next 48 hours.

Great pictures of the sale barn! BTW, I would be interested to know if this is a weekly sale? and I would be curious to know if the sorting is done similair to how I described above?

 

[Trinity man]

I just can't believe the barns up there are not covered. :shock: That has to be hard on those cattle when it's that muddy and cold. One of the barn I cover for the USDA has over 15 ac. under cover for the cattle and can hold over 5000 head easy. It just don't make sense to not have it cover for the cattle up there when yall have the worst weather up there. :roll:

But it's a dry cold here in the north. :wink:

Cold is cold and yall have dam cold. :lol:

 

[Northern Rancher]

Well we'll builkd barns for every cold day when you build air conditioned ones for the hot weather-cattle can and do thrive outside.

 

[Trinity man]

Well we'll builkd barns for every cold day when you build air conditioned ones for the hot weather-cattle can and do thrive outside.

I hear and don't know if it's true that there are some small barns that are air conditioned. I know the larger barns has fans blowing and misters on the cattle to keep them cool. The 100 degrees with 90% humidity is pretty tough on the cattle. I was always wondering what is worst of them cold or heat. I know the brahman cattle we have down here would be dead in 5 sec., but the angus, hereford and other make it pretty good here.

 

[Northern Rancher]

I have a bunch of rodeo stock-it's amazing how much cold they can take-way more than I thought they could-straight Brahma's might be a different story but halfbloods are pretty darn tough.

 

[randiliana]

Have they ever tried flax straw in the muck-it really works good for tightening up the slop-we have a big presort up here on Thursday.

They have, but our next sale isn't till Apr 24, so I think they weren't too worried about it. In the fall when we have sales every week, things are different.

 

[randiliana]

You'd have way more health troubles with cattle barned in that wet weather-theirs a 100 years selection for cattle that can take our winters and thrive. I don't see one calf in those pics that isn't healthy and alert. If a cloudy day and a bit of mud make your cattle sick-raise better cattle.

This time of the year, they very rarely run into a sick one at the sale barn. It is the fall calf run where we pull out the odd sick one. Yearlings are past all that, and for the most part handle the stress of the stockyards.

I will admit that a barn would be nice on some of those cold winter days, but I don't know that it would be better for the cattle. These cattle aren't used to indoors, they spend their entire lives outside. The sum total of the shelter they have is windbreak.

 

[randiliana]

In the barn I work at we have a large "barn" that can house about 1000 stockers undercover on site. The calves are fed the morning of the sale and given time to eat. Ounce given time to eat they are pulled out and put into smaller pins where we sort them. So they might be standing in the mud, but it isnt for very long. I take alot of pride in sorting the calves and believe that the way I handle them can have a direct affect on how healthy they may or may not be the next 48 hours.

Great pictures of the sale barn! BTW, I would be interested to know if this is a weekly sale? and I would be curious to know if the sorting is done similair to how I described above?

Here is how these sales work. Wednesday and Thursday are the sorting days. People bring their cattle in and they are penned. No feed, no water. They are sorted through in approximately the order they came in, depending on the day, some of the cattle may stand for a few hours, if we have a big backlog. They are brought up to the barn, and usually are roughly sorted outside (sexed and color sorted) Then those groups are brought in under the barn where they sort on size, weighed and then penned (My job). There, if they are not on an overnight stand, they have feed and water for the rest of their stay. Most cattle are weighed with a pencil shrink here. The only exceptions are cull cows and sometimes yearlings, will be on an overnight stand. And, yes we grade cull cows here too.

We rarely have a ton of mud here, we are pretty dry in general. When we do have mud, the cattle are bedded as best as they can be. You can hardly tell from those pics, but those pens were ALL bedded the night before. But, there is still a bunch of snow to melt in some of the pens, we need some warm weather to melt it off and dry things off.