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What can I say? It has been a day or two since the last episode of the podcast was released and there has been a thing or two that has happened. On the other hand there is very much on the farm that is the same as it was 12 months ago. But, since it is the first episode in what we will call, “quite some time”, I thought it would be best if I spent some time sharing some updates from the farm! That means episode is all about the livestock on the farm … how they’ve been handling the summer, what I’ve been doing with them, and whether or not we still have a farm period! Hopefully you enjoy the show!
Do You Want to Know More about My Cool New Boots?
These days I’m rocking LaCrosse Brand Alpha Range Boots (that’s the link to the LaCrosse website) … you can even pick them up on Amazon (affiliate link)! They are by far the most comfortable mud boots that I have ever owned. I love the gusseted back because I like to tuck my insulated bibs into the boots, and did I mention the are super comfortable! Check out the links if you are looking for some good boots this winter, and I’ll share more as I see how they stand up to to the life of an Iowa pig farmer.
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As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I’m thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn.
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I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with “The Beginning Farmer” and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links …
Years ago, I built a loafing shed during a drought and had to dig ten holes just like you describe. The posthole digger would dig down about six inches, I’d fill it with water so I could dig a little deeper the next day. It took days and days of filling the hole with water, waiting and digging until the holes were deep enough. Then, about a week or so after I finally had the holes all dug, it started raining. I don’t know if I should have just waited until it rained or if struggling to dig holes makes it rain in the same way that washing your car does.
On the Cattle Conundrum of 2017, I mainly have a cow/calf operation selling weaned calves, but I’ve finished a handful of steers over the years (to give you a little idea about where I’m coming from). For my farm, cows are good at grazing rougher pastures with lower quality grasses during the summer and eating grass hay over the winter to produce a calf every year. In a drought or over a tough winter, they might lose some condition, but they’ll gain it back as soon as the grass greens up. That’s why I think a cow/calf operation works best for me.
But my gut feeling is that if I had limited acres, but had grass that was high enough quality to finish a steer, I think I’d just buy calves instead of having a small cow herd. I’d probably want to find a reliable source of healthy, properly weaned calves before I sold all my cows if I was going this route.
I’d also want to get an accurate idea about how much it costs to produce a calf from your cows to get an idea about how much you can pay for a weaned calf. Sometimes that’s easier said than done, every time I try to do it, I seem to come up with a different number.
There is a lot more that would go into the decision about whether to keep raising calves or start buying calves instead, but that’s probably where I’d start.