Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile back at the ranch…
By Rayford Pullen
Isn’t it nice to be able to complain about all the rain we have had although it does cause us some grief when it comes to baling hay, working cattle, and so forth?
Just five years ago we were wondering if we would still be in the cattle business next year, next month and for some of us, next week.
Many producers did have to sell out their entire herds when the stock tanks and ponds went dry and the extended outlook was bleak.
Cattle prices were getting above our wildest expectations and the outlook was as bright as the sun. We had seen our last poor day, or so we thought.
Fast forward to the spring of 2015 and then to the spring of 2016.
The rains came, the stock tanks and lakes filled up and over flowed, the grass grew, cattle got fat and cattle prices fell about 35 percent or so, and now that’s the hand we have been dealt, and we can either be glad that we got to experience the best cattle market in the history of mankind, or we can be upset that it is not as good as it was.
It is your choice, and just like life itself, it is what you make of it. At our place, the ride was great but we are now dealing with the hand we were dealt and will hopefully be making the best of it. Let’s just look around at the beautiful landscape that is in front of us from all the rains and enjoy the moment. Life is good. To read more pick up a copy of the July 2016 NTFR issue.
By Tressa Lawrence
Babies are tucked away in every nook and cranny. Many ranchers across Wyoming have baby animals popping up all over this time of year.
By Lindsey Monk
Another load of grain in to keep feeding the calves until the green grass can really start popping.
By Rayford Pullen | [email protected]
Spring has sprung and hopefully the rains will continue where our country will heal from the previous droughts and our grasses will thrive. We are especially hopeful for the Panhandle of Texas where our neighbors and friends have been dealt a deadly blow to homes, ranges, livestock, and people. Keep them in your prayers as they will not be able to return to normal for many years if at all. Having lost their ability to benefit from this great cattle market is a double whammy for all of them.
Now is the time of year when we need to take care of business as it relates to our new calves that have been hitting the ground this spring. First and foremost is vaccinating for Blackleg followed by deworming with a white wormer and the IBR complex. Blackleg is a soil-born disease and with pastures extremely short this spring our calves have been grazing the green grass as soon as it shows itself, making them even more vulnerable to picking contaminates from the soil.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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