Wintering cows with straw

[grassfarmer]

I agree with the other posters Allfarmer you need a
sharper pencil. Picking figures out of the air to make
it work is all well and good but when reality hits you
will be working with a model that is unsustainable.
Maybe a better idea instead is to start designing a
model around the $500 weaned calf prices we had in
recent years. If you could make a system work at
those values then imagine how much more profit you
would be making now. Can't be done with cows fed
mechanically harvested feed for 200 days at
$1.39/day I can tell you that much.

[ALLFARMER]

I personally don't have grain land in this year but
help the neighbor's a bit who do. Using a
Buncher behind the combine is a great idea but
the no till farmers are not interested in that. Then
dont want the risk of a mess being left in their
fields.

As far as BSE goes, bse killed cow prices but it
didn't kill calf prices....that's why there still is a
cattle industry in this province. Ya I sold some
cheap calves, didn't make money on $500 heifers
but the calf market is why everyone didn't shut
the doors.

BSE was bad but you don't go forward looking
backwards constantly. Get past it.

[ASRG]

I might suggest if you don't learn from the past.....you just might repeat it again?
When...... ,not if, FMD hits Canada it will not be pretty?
$500 calves in 2003 didn't leave much money to buy the beans and bacon? How about today?

[gaucho]

Allfarmer... you have heifers not mature cows...Forget the straw rations... these are growing animals and Straw are maintenance rations. Cows are meant to graze and not be fed... Tops is 2.5% OF BW for intake, rarely a bale over 1000 lbs and lets not forget the transport, chop and haul part of the equation. You better learn how to operate a calculator and learn about how to maintain cash flow with all the shopping and building you have been doing around there. The cows tail can only pull you so far

[ALLFARMER]

Rarely a bale over 1000lbs?? Straw bales out of
a JD 530 baler weigh 1000 lbs. My JD 567 has
to be puttin out 1200lb bales.

With land now averaging 300,000 quarter I just
hit a net worth of well over a million so I've done
ok starting only 15 years agoe with nothing. Ya I
will say you've done better than I have Doc but I
hold my own.

B.S.E. Thats the initials to an x wife. Being
gentlemen we won't use her full name. Thankfully
were done with that piece of work! She's left and
that 7 some odd years are behind us. Be the
better person and forget er! Living with bad
memories is no way to live your life. Move on
move along on with bigger and better thing.

210,000 (more people day) x 30 (days month) x
7 months = 44,100,000 more potential beef
buyers! How did I do Doc that maths works?

[kato]

Living with bad memories makes you better prepared to avoid new bad memories. And it's a lot cheaper to learn from someone else's experience than it is than to have to go through it yourself.

What we've learned since 2003 is that we should never say never. I've lost count of the things that would "never happen", that turned around and happened.

I think you're getting some real good advice here, and that everybody's just trying to nudge you into some outside the box thinking to cut your risk. Even if prices are good, it's good business to maximize the profits. If the price stays up, then it's a bonus. Extra money in your pocket.

If they drop, it's a cushion. And that's a good thing to have.

[gaucho]

Net worth does not mean anything with over inflated land prices... Cash is king and I have seen more than enough ranches with lots of value on assets and cash (cash flow) poor. Heed my warnings on trying straw rations for young growing cow

[ALLFARMER]

Ya we can agree on that Doc. I greatly value
your input here.