Some large death loss

[wrightcattle]

So far up in the Northern plains on new calves.  Be MT, the Dakotas, MN....etc.  Some folks have lost 25% of em so far.   Winter has overlapped into Spring...so just to long for those that started calving end of march thru April.  Next weeks high temp for 1 day is supposed to be mid 30's....rest of the week colder than that, just to much cold weather and snow to late in the spring.

[wrightcattle]

Another 1 to 3 foot of snow predicted for the weekend...SD NE IA MN ND some of MT and WY too.

[r3020]

We hear this same story every year yet our slaughter numbers continue to climb.

[wrightcattle]

Hear the same story every year,  there's a big diff from cattle folks vs cynical whiney farmers.  MO.

[r3020]

What difference. We're all on the same team. There might be a few poor managers out there that will run a high death loss but will have very little impact on numbers and price.

[BA Deere]

Hey 3020, I drive past many "farmer herds" of 30 cows in mud lots calving now.   The way it appears the mamas are knee deep in mud and new calves laying on cornstalk bales.   Now we got rain, foot of snow highs in the 30`s...all I can say is they better have rolled up 4X the amount of cornstalks they figured they would need and be "handy with the needle" for these calves. 

I calve in February (which some shake their head at) but it`s seeming each year February is the best month to calve in.  A oldtimer would`ve used to say "calve in April! It`s warm, birds singing, flowers blooming, don`t need as much shelter and don`t have to watch as closely".  And that used to be true (before global warming  🙂  )   

But these Wyoming/Dakota guys calving outside in late winter outside always get by.  But that one year (I think 2014) in western South Dakota they got unexpectedly hit with 30" of snow and it was a disaster.  But those western guys are wired differently "lost 30 head of calves this morning ....oh well"   Where us "farmer cowboys" lose one calf and we cry about it for a week.  But to me anyway, losing one calf is probably worse than a big rancher losing 30 head   🙂

[k-289]

Equip  $$$   calving  barn  maybe  -  call it  a  ''' commodity  storage '' -  '' Farm  Storage  Facility  Loan ''  &  maybe  a new  pickup & stock trailer - liken to a new grain trailer &  class 8 truck power unit that falls into the ( F S F L )  15% down -  $500,000.oo  deal --- 

Could  store  corn stalks in side untill calving mayyybbbbeee ---     

[BA Deere]

Usually you`re never sorry for rolling up all the corn stalks you can. But, sometimes like last year the stalks still had some juice in them and not good drying weather.  Sitting outside, cornstalks don`t keep a year very well.   In the summer there`s fly problems, in the fall you`re too busy doing other things plus it can be a wet fall too.   One thing about February, it`s 100% chance the ground is frozen around here, so when you put a cornstalk bale down you get good value.   🙂

[r3020]

Yeah we're calving now too. Some years it's nice, some years it's not. Just like always. These western guys have blizzards every year and know how to deal with them. Will have very little impact on slaughter numbers or price.

[wrightcattle]

On the Northern plains according to recent reports.  Numbers will be way down this fall.  The fall run is going to be more like a jog this year.