It's Sunday morning. It's quiet. A special day. God's blessings to all.
Yesterday, after feeding the Spring herd, the fall herd, the weaned calves, the bulls, the dogs, etc. I was thinking about the upcoming sale of my calves, who are eating me out of house and home which it a good thing as opposed to them being sick. I've got a ballpark idea of what they will bring and what my expenses are. It's a little scary. My question is: What percent of the income generated by your cow herd goes directly back into the herd? I'm talking about mineral, vaccinations, feed. Anything that would not pro-rate out over a longer period of time. Do you think about it? I know management varies and that is a big factor. But, do you (on an individual basis) return 50%? 70%? 80%? No dollar amounts, just a percentage, is all I'm interested in.
Also, I had a really poor doing calf. I discovered he had ticks. We've had a foot of snow, it's been -21 (wind chill) and this guy had ticks.