Farm & Ranch
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
By Rayford Pullen
The math is a little scary in the cattle business right now. I don’t know exactly what your calves are bringing, but let’s assume in the neighborhood of $800 and that you can produce that calf at an annual cost of $500 for a net income of $300/head.
Compared to a year ago, our profit has probably been cut in half and compared to two years ago, it has been cut by two thirds. All the while our cost of production hasn’t changed too much, while our cost of living has probably increased. While it didn’t take us long to adjust to the higher prices we were receiving for our calves, adjusting to the two thirds reduction will be tougher.
We hear a lot about selling our calves as preconditioned or natural or both. The fact of the matter is that unless you are selling truck load lots of calves, you are probably whistling in the wind unless you are using a sale facility or marketing agency that will comingle calves and then sell them in truck load lots.
With the average herd size in the 50 head range, the majority of the producers are at the mercy of the buyers at the sale barn the day they sell and that is whether or not they have been vaccinated and weaned.
The beef business is huge and your small lot of calves will be comingled with many others and lose their identity as soon as they are loaded on a truck with calves representing five or 10 other ranches.
So what are we to do when the market deals us a bad hand? About the only thing I can control to any extent at all is my cost associated with producing calves, my weaning weights and quality.
To read more pick up a copy of the November 2016 NTFR issue.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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