I wanted to sneak away for a little while on Thursday to take pictures so I hustled to make cookies (the 9x13 pan is a Honey Bun Cake) before the boys showed up for breakfast:
On Thursday, they were preg checking some cows. Our vet, Dr. Blach, spends the morning at the back-end of 180 cows:
I sent him and his tech home with baggies of cookies:
Sorry gal - if we had grass, we'd keep you and you wouldn't have to endure this indignity
We don't preg check all of our cows, but since we were selling these, we did.
The buyers aren't usually on hand, but this is the first time we've sold bred cows and this buyer was here for this set:
DH always has a 90%+ breed up rate on the cows, but the intense drought means we are selling a lot of bred cows this year. No rain means no grass and no grass means we have to drastically decrease our numbers. It's heartbreaking. Prices are depressing as well, but we'll survive and truly, we're blessed - even in the midst of a drought.
Since the beef cows are on the north side of the ranch, we worked them at the North Camp pens. Working the old chute takes more muscle than the hydraulic chute at headquarters:
We only had 16 open (not bred) cows and the buyer bought the rest at a price that made both parties happy.
DH has built a good program and he raises a good cow and it's nice when that's recognized and appreciated. We'll sell the open cows...they're only 4-6 years old and may be purchased as recip cows (cattle that will be inseminated with an embryo).
As the trucks arrived:
I had to scoot back to the house to put the finishing touch on dinner
Refueling for the afternoon - it always does my heart good to have folks belly up to our table:
And it always does my heart good to capture a shot of this good, honest man that takes pride in a job well done
8 comments:
I always love seeing your pictures Karin. That black and white one is so great. As are most of the them :) Thanks for taking us along, have a great day.
Busy as usual!!! I hope you find some time to quilt! How is Skeet doing? Did he get over his stinkyness? He hasn't been in any pictures lately.
It's hard when we have to sell good animals but I'm glad you got good prices for the bred cows and there is a market for the recips so they don't have to go to butcher. Looks like a fun group at dinner and they all enjoyed the meal too. Hope you get some time for sewing this week.
Not only does the buyer know quality stock, but he knows the man beside him has integrity. Love all the photos.
Doc Blach, does he have racehorses?
WOW! I've watched Dr. Pol do preg checking!! HA He's always got his hand up something's rear end. Mmm, that honey bun cake sounds yummy. So my curiosity makes me wonder where the buyer lives? Has he gotten more rain than you guys that he can afford to buy the cows and bring those trucks into haul em? SO many variables in farming and ranching--glad someone wants to do it. Thanks!!
i've been praying for rain.... so sorry to hear the drought is effecting you this way. Love your photos
I'm so sorry for the drought and your need to sell animals you could keep if it rained. It's good to hear what a good steward your husband is to the animals, that all were healthy and needed no vet care in their new homes. It's a hard job you and your husband do! I enjoy reading about your ranch days. Thanks!
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