From The Pastures: Consider ewes

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. While our dry weather may be a potential problem for next spring’s crops, it’s been good for grazing of the cover crops. But that’s now coming to a close since the rye and volunteer wheat have been grazed down and all that’s left is the turnips bulbs. Since I like to plant Appin turnips for their top growth, the bulbs are smaller than the purple tops, so hay feeding has commenced.

The ewes are in great body condition for January lambing, so I hope we can have our free concrete (frozen ground) that we lacked last winter. I prefer to feed hay out in the pasture rather than the barn lot. It keeps the lots cleaner and gives ewes some exercise as they follow the truck for hay feeding. We either roll out round bales or flake off big squares from the truck bed.

When the wind blew so hard all night last week, I did get some free bedding since the neighbor sliced his cornstalks on 80 acres west of our place and I ended up with 4-foot drifts in the barnyard. I was able to shove some into the barn and more piles into adjacent fields. Don’t yet know how to clean the woven wire fence. The neighbor baled a dozen round bales from the road ditch so far, so I get them, as well. Just trying to make lemonade out of this lemon experience.

I imagine many of you have been following the record cattle prices and if you aren’t already in the game, you might be wondering if buying cows on this market would pay. 2014 was the last time we saw the high, and I bet each calf of that cow that was purchased then was sold cheaper each year after until now.

If return on investment is considered, buying ewes can offer much quicker payback as well as better rebreeding conception rates. As I said back in 2014, the main reason more graziers choose cows over ewes is that status thing. Get over it and jump in. You can do it.

It looks like January is going to be an exciting time for this country and I hope we all see better times ahead. In the meantime, enjoy this Christmas season. Remember, it’s not about us but about what God sent to us and for us. Happy trails.