this is exactly what I love about this channel.... the honestly and brutal truth about Ranch Life such as it is.... Thanks for doing what you do keeping everyone informed
Mike, this is probably the best video you have ever made! I'm so happy you also decide to cover the business aspect of ranching! People often forget the farms and ranches are business entities no different than any other business that is intended to be profitable. I'm glad you decided to cover this topic because many other ranchers I personally know are contemplating similar decisions. I'm glad you decided to wean you calves and sell them after being weaned. I would also suggest another round of vaccinations before weaning. Cattle feeders definitely pay premiums for weaned calves over truck weaned or "bawling" calves. I would suggest using fall grazing and fenceline weaning for the least amount of stress. As a purebred breeder, we always have to sell our bulls and heifers after weaning to other ranchers. Also our calves that don't make the standards to stay intact, become steers and are sold after preconditioning. Also coming from a cattle feeding background, I have dealt with non-weaned and weaned calves and the weaned calves generally are easier to start on feeding programs. I ultimately believe that while your decision may bring more work to your operation you will see a better paycheck on sale day because you will be selling more weight and a higher demanded product to stocker operators and feedyards. Also perhaps consider bangs vaccinating your heifer calves to make them more appealing to buyers who are looking for heifers to breed. I also notice you utilize Red Angus herd sires, perhaps consider in the future using a Red Angus Association of America Feeder Calf program to capture more value for your genetics. I know this is quite a bit of information and a lot of my opinion but I have quite a bit of opinion on this topic and in today's world of tight margins cow/calf producers need to use every tool in the toolbox to take nature's gifts and produce a product that commands a higher premium. Thanks so much again!
Finally an ACTIVE farm life youtube channel that posts honest, educational videos. We want a little farm one day, and have no idea how to start or where to begin but these videos give us a great idea what we are in store for!
Mike you guys work so hard to make a go of it. Most people have no idea what it takes to put their food on the shelves. Your videos show a lot of folks theirs a lot of hard labor , planing and sleepless nights in raising livestock.
As of Tuesday, I will be one month into my weening process, life is good now! It’s been really noisy around here. In Iowa where I am, neighbors are much closer. Had one stop a month ago, not knowing anything about cattle, and asked, “if I was torturing the my calves?” I had to answer, yes.
Im from northeastern Iowa ...you mention about " one month into weaning " ? I weaned my calves two weeks ago. After the third day.....it was silent. So...... yours take a month to quiet down ? Why the difference ? Any ideas ?
A goal without a plan is just a wish. Very well said. I have been known to wish quite a bit, but once I make a plan, (good or bad) I follow through and get results. Keeping any business alive and prosperous is hard work. Thanks for sharing.😀
We never know what tomorrow will bring,I've heard the elders say millions of times. They lived threw things I hope none of us have to worry about. Hope yall can hold em to just the right time to get the best price. Good luck. This time of year is a nailbighter😳😊.
Without a side job in town or some extra income it’s just nearly impossible to sustain a ranch. What a shame 😔 Best wishes to you and your family Mike 👍🏻
the more the rest of the food industry gets automated the harder it is for smaller scale operations. As such it's ridiculous that he manages that many cows and that much land by himself. Back in the 50s he would have had a whole team of ranch hands. So much for all of the progress our society has made.
Leandro Zuniga I have to question that, calf prices continue to slump, and very very soon us ranchers will be competing against synthetic beef that is made even cheaper, aka the impossible whooper, synthetic beef will cause the continued decline in beef prices until ranching is extinct, after that land prices will drastically fall leaving our only asset basically worthless
Thanks for sharing the intimate details of your financial situation. It adds so much to our understanding of your operations and that of many other ranchers and farmers. You have a gift for breaking down the complexities so urbanites like myself can understand.
“ The Cost of Ranching “was your first video I saw , “The dollars and the CENTS and not the common sense bc after this video you’ll be wondering if I have any SENSE at all” loved it!! Classic👌
I didn't realize how much goes into the whole ranch process. There is much more than I thought. Raising a family on a ranch has to be very rewarding also. I wish you guys the best. Thanks, JohnG
This is without a doubt one of the, no...THE BEST farming videos I have seen on RUclips. No crap, and it's heartening to see that the pitfalls of cattle raising are universal, not just confined to one location. In Australia we have some occasional respite when live exports to Asian and middle eastern markets jump, but mostly it is the same old grind.
I enjoy when you break down the cost and such. Most channels wont give the bad side of ranching, but you guys ain't afraid to show the good and the bad. Your honesty is what keeps me watching. Thank you for being brutally honest!! Keep up the good work!!
I love your videos Mike you are still doing a great job with your farm and animals , you takes care of them healthy animals and pretty land. I love your family, your wife with the beautiful crops that I loves ,you all are doing an amazing job. Way To Go Mike !
Down here in East Texas, we avoid October sales because the market is glutted with everybody else's stock, and the price is down. So we might sell earlier or later to catch the higher prices. As always, a good presentation.
Ranchers and farmers should be watching your channel, good info that many have never looked at in such a manner. Keep it up! The open market is really not open, owned and operated by the packing house, it has become a noose around all the ag industry! You have roots in the corporate world, you must realise the injustice. The plight of our food producers, that are at the bottom of the food chain, by design, needs to be exposed!
Rancher here. We do watch and go through the same dilemas. Mike has a great way of openly sharing the difficult decisions we all have to go through every year. Thanks, Mike!
Enjoyed your presentation, spot on. Here in S Texas during the same time as the market report you referenced we're getting $1-$1.20 for heavy weight steers and bull calves. We'd be jumping for joy to be getting your average per head. Our prices peaked in April at an average $1.40-$1.55 for 500# plus steer/bull calves. From June it was until the 1st of September before we received any rain. Prices haven't rebounded. Good video, enjoyed.
Beef it is what s for dinner, I get some tougher cuts of steak and put rub on them and throw them in the crock pot, in a few hours I have the most tender roast beef you can imagine, toss in a few taters and veggies and I got a feast. Pour out any fats over the feast and add some butter and you have a very tasty meal. Keep raising them for us.
I think everyone will need to make some changes in the next few years. Frankly and honestly, I foresee a change in our eating habits, so I'm glad you keep a finger in more than one pot on this Wyoming Life. Lots of love from S Carolina 🌎
We have had good results with our pre-conditioning program for calves. That, along with selling them as "naturals" when possible has increased our sales proceeds. We have the feed to hold them over for 90-120 days. We feel it's a win-win!
Down here in Louisiana a Cattle Rancher came up with an idea. He opened his own Slaughter House and sales “Grass-Fed” Beef. He has meat deals of 50, 75, 100-lb, half cow or whole cow. Stock your Freezer with good natural grass fed beef. He employs locals and keeps people working to slaughter & meet the many orders. Someone at my daughter’s office over heard her place he order for “Grass-Fed” Beef and five other women wanted the phone number to do the same. This could be a way to profit. People will drive for miles for Grass-Fed Beef.
I do understand the farming life, I only wish more people would understand,I'm so happy that you're able to come onto RUclips and to be able to make these videos to show people what it's like financially for Farmers we depend on you we don't have you we don't eat me I love to eat beef thank you. Lisa in East Central Ohio
Another great video Mike. You and Erin work so hard for every dollar the ranch makes!! Thanks for showing us ALL of it!! I sure appreciate where my food comes from more because of it...!! Hope the sale goes well.🙏
Wow Mike, I had never thought about the price break for ranchers. Hearing how little you get for calves is like knowing how small our milk check is going to be. The farm costs the same to operate, the girls still need to eat all winter, (late November to late April) but the CWT for milk is still low and going lower. We can expect just a little over $15 per hundred weight of milk, Roughly 11 gallons. That same 11 gallons being sold in the local grocery yields approx. $49.30. Given that milk, I presume like beef, needs a lot of fossil fuel to get it from point A to point B then back accounts for a fairly significant chunk of the difference. It is a great irony that Vermont is known as a dairy state but virtually all, (except a very small number of independent bottlers) our milk is trucked an average of 600 miles round trip. Knowing that, those numbers in pricing are not surprising. Thanks for taking the time to educate and make these videos. More folks ought to know the how and why of food production.
Great job Mike and I been in the same place over the years but some how God has help me get throght it all. Godbless yall and he will watch over yall also. Love Cliff
My dad always said, “when a door is shut, God will open a window ... but sometimes it’s hard to find!” Hail shut a door but now you have an opportunity to keep the calves a bit longer and hopefully make the market work in your favor!
When I was a kid I worked on a small farm. One week I got to go along to the sales barn. They had pigs on this farm ,no cattle. We on loaded the pigs and went in the sales barn. We were probably in there and hour. When we came out to the pickup to leave. We had a small calf in the box of the pickup and 2 in the trailer. This was back in the 80's.
Hi again MIKE! Point positive it's a tough business because there are so many variables. Transport is tricky as some measure of weight is lost. Wondering if you've ever sold right from the ranch which would save both ship fees and weight loss. Happy you have all your new sources that will help out. Looking forward to the next things coming soon. Hope you All are finally well. Take good care and we'll hope the bad snows hold off a bit longer!! Thx as always Mike...
I really must say I'm impressed at your delivery, candor, and ability to explain how the economics of a cattle ranch work. I am not a farmer, nor will I ever be, but that doesn't make this ANY less fascinating. Your video production quality skills are excellent. You've got a new subscriber. Excellent stuff. With brutal economics such as this, acquisition and amortization of major equipment such as tractors, etc, as expensive as they are, must be daunting at best.
Being a data wonk I LOVE videos like this. Wish more people would take the time to understand that ranching/farming isn't a hobby but a serious business!!
Great video, it was really interesting to see the market prices for steers and heifers while you explained what we were seeing. Hope weaning and your new plan goes well. Thanks for sharing your family's story and promoting agriculture.
Good 2nd cutting grass hay in Middle Southern Tennessee. Is running $25-$40 for round bales . It's good for us.last year if you could find it was up to $90.
Man..... Great story.....it's good to see that you can see the future .....to some extent....and deal with it.....farming is like anything else( business wise) except it's not😟.....you can't eat steel..... concrete.... plastic.....but times are changing.....( If you can buy calves cheaper than you can produce them..... Then someone else is also taking a loss.....) It takes a deep pocket sometimes to stay in business.....it's our Turkey day in Canada 🇨🇦( Thanksgiving) giving....best off luck....
Just loaded all of our calves up and took them to the sale yesterday (10/17) In addition to asking if you can afford to sell, you also gotta ask "can you afford to keep".
Good luck Mike I know you have been talking about selling off some of the cows about a year now . Your a great rancher / family man We will say a special prayer for your ranch / family Best of luck sir 👍
Thanks. Very interesting and informative. My maternal grandparents, and one son were small farmers in central VA when I was a kid. They raised tobacco and wheat for cash and grains for animal feed. My grandfather raised black Angus for fun. With mostly year round pastures winter feeding not such an issue. Think all of that is why I value your work.
I'm subscribed. I like to see what you do and how Wyoming Ranching works. You make great videos and the quality is really good. Great work Mike, keeps it up.
Mike, we have a small farm in East TN. We buy cattle, feed/condition them for slaughter and sell to the public for beef. (USDA and Custom). I'm sure I can't tell you anything you don't already know, but I'm curious if you could increase the volume of your custom or USDA sales. This way ...at least to a certain extent you can make your own price for your cattle instead of being at the mercy of the stock market. Just a thought. Love your channel.
you are doing a great job....i just hope those without a clue how hard it is to ranch/farm see this channel and start repecting how hard it is for you to put that food on the table for them
In the ranch life there are always hard decisions to be made, gotta rob from Peter to pay Paul but ya always seem to make things work. Another informative and great video Mike thanks for taking us along with ya. God Bless & have a great week.
Thanks for the inside look at ranching numbers. Makes me think about my 23 head of black angus heading to market soon. Big or small we all face the same decisions. Good luck Mike and Erin.
I feel your pain having around 150 broad cows in South western VA. we are looking at 4 years in a row at a loss. I used to background my calves and also buy 5 weight bulls to add to the heard castrated those and back grounded and would sell 50 thousand pounds at a time. In this part of the country we get less per pound than the western states even with verification of source and shots. When times were good I could expect to make additional 100 dollars per head profit. When times were harder maybe 50 but that did not include my labor or death loss. I have also lost money in similar markets. Good luck just remember you can only do what your gut tells you in this business. You never know how the market will turn.
If they were mine. I would sort of the heavy end and sell them. Anything over 700 lbs can go straight to a finishing program. Then when you sell the rest the biggest draft will be first cut cattle and get the best price. Instead of the biggest draft being second cut.
@@jwhitley101whitleyfarms9 . I think the difference here is the cooler weather in October and November. Warm weather in the calf run makes for dead calves. As a seller we would not even consider getting discounted for fresh calves. Being close to feedlot alley helped. Lots of calves are bought in Saskatchewan and backrounded halfway to feedlot alley somewhere for 100 days and then moved to the big feedyards in Alberta.
Thank you for this channel it's helpful over coming our human tendency to get stuck in complaints & into a possable solution LOL I still don't want to move back into that kind of weather but I do practice what I peach so I'm happily looking forward to the move & really lucky yucky weather gives more packing time in nice weather = ya uhalls going from Oregon to Wyoming is not a smart winter travel plan yet I can be ready for spring travel before the miserable heat LOL 🙋
5000Acres is a Huge Farm for here in West Europe/France, here if you have a 200-400Acre Farm you can have easily 100Beef/Milk Cows with buying a little grain from the outside
Here in Scotland it’s similar do I sell now or wait for spring but then you remember the costs of straw and feed plus the unseen costs like vets bills and the occasional death.
Another great video. Most people including me go buy a pound of beef not realising how much really goes into the process. OWL makes me think of those things now.
Time for “Our Irish Life” videos. I would be a viewer! It would be interesting to see the difference. Got to visit Ireland and NI in 2018. Loved every minute!
I have been doing preconditioned calves for a few years now. Here in western New York state we usually don't get good prices for calves, and I don't think the extra work(weaned, vaccinated, wormed, bunk broke) is worth the little extra we get but there are a few of us trying to build a reputation for good healthy calves that new York is not known for currently. It also feels good to send a calf to its next owner that is ready to go to work for them
that is a great plan less shipping fees and culling cows that were freeloafer by not having a calf this year …… you might get a feedlot buyer to buy weanded calves at ranch not stressed by weaning and trucking to the sales barn in belle fouche SD...…..failing to plan is a plan to fail ……. it will work esp. CHINA trade and their need for pork and beef...….. jim
james a Joachim I don't understand so Chinese f..s buy our good beef and pork and same time we buy their toxic pork and beef back ????? Am I missing something ???? Excuse my French 🙊
@@lauranyc4966 in north central MO we have huge hog production and bought out by them. Yes we buy back processed pork, beef,and chickens. It's the junk left over. Look at your packages for where meat comes from. I'm proud farmers daughter and mother and it makes me sick all our farmers are being driven out in our own country. And the scary thing is they have substandards compaired to our Country. We have almost driven out Dairy farms with stupid governmental regulations. A farmers life depends on all they produce and our animals mean life for our family's sake. 💜
Excellent video Mike , Over this direction we have a few late calves that hopefully we can keep them good and healthy . I believe there was one that i had sent you a picture of. The weather is not helping the young stock at all. I guess as far as the auction prices go , do you think it maybe better to wait till possibly Dec. Over this way there are some special feeder cattle auctions that bring in more buyers and sometimes that helps.
this is exactly what I love about this channel.... the honestly and brutal truth about Ranch Life such as it is.... Thanks for doing what you do keeping everyone informed
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Mike, this is probably the best video you have ever made! I'm so happy you also decide to cover the business aspect of ranching! People often forget the farms and ranches are business entities no different than any other business that is intended to be profitable. I'm glad you decided to cover this topic because many other ranchers I personally know are contemplating similar decisions. I'm glad you decided to wean you calves and sell them after being weaned. I would also suggest another round of vaccinations before weaning. Cattle feeders definitely pay premiums for weaned calves over truck weaned or "bawling" calves. I would suggest using fall grazing and fenceline weaning for the least amount of stress. As a purebred breeder, we always have to sell our bulls and heifers after weaning to other ranchers. Also our calves that don't make the standards to stay intact, become steers and are sold after preconditioning. Also coming from a cattle feeding background, I have dealt with non-weaned and weaned calves and the weaned calves generally are easier to start on feeding programs. I ultimately believe that while your decision may bring more work to your operation you will see a better paycheck on sale day because you will be selling more weight and a higher demanded product to stocker operators and feedyards. Also perhaps consider bangs vaccinating your heifer calves to make them more appealing to buyers who are looking for heifers to breed. I also notice you utilize Red Angus herd sires, perhaps consider in the future using a Red Angus Association of America Feeder Calf program to capture more value for your genetics. I know this is quite a bit of information and a lot of my opinion but I have quite a bit of opinion on this topic and in today's world of tight margins cow/calf producers need to use every tool in the toolbox to take nature's gifts and produce a product that commands a higher premium. Thanks so much again!
Finally an ACTIVE farm life youtube channel that posts honest, educational videos.
We want a little farm one day, and have no idea how to start or where to begin but these videos give us a great idea what we are in store for!
Thank you very much. Glad you found us. I hope we can help. -Mike
Never give up on that dream. All the best to you!
Another example of "nothing is as easy as it seems". A lot more goes into the process than most people realize. Thanks for the explanation.
May God bless all you farmers/ ranchers Without you all we wouldn't have beef to eat.
Mike you guys work so hard to make a go of it. Most people have no idea what it takes to put their food on the shelves. Your videos show a lot of folks theirs a lot of hard labor , planing and sleepless nights in raising livestock.
As of Tuesday, I will be one month into my weening process, life is good now! It’s been really noisy around here. In Iowa where I am, neighbors are much closer. Had one stop a month ago, not knowing anything about cattle, and asked, “if I was torturing the my calves?” I had to answer, yes.
Hahahaha
Im from northeastern Iowa ...you mention about " one month into weaning " ? I weaned my calves two weeks ago. After the third day.....it was silent. So...... yours take a month to quiet down ? Why the difference ? Any ideas ?
Irv Farmer agree mine normally quite down on the third day
A goal without a plan is just a wish. Very well said. I have been known to wish quite a bit, but once I make a plan, (good or bad) I follow through and get results. Keeping any business alive and prosperous is hard work. Thanks for sharing.😀
We never know what tomorrow will bring,I've heard the elders say millions of times. They lived threw things I hope none of us have to worry about. Hope yall can hold em to just the right time to get the best price. Good luck. This time of year is a nailbighter😳😊.
Fellow Rancher here, you explained it well.
Without a side job in town or some extra income it’s just nearly impossible to sustain a ranch. What a shame 😔 Best wishes to you and your family Mike 👍🏻
Things are getting better for American ranchers now.
@@HERBALNATUMAN1 how?
the more the rest of the food industry gets automated the harder it is for smaller scale operations. As such it's ridiculous that he manages that many cows and that much land by himself. Back in the 50s he would have had a whole team of ranch hands. So much for all of the progress our society has made.
The packers are squeezing them its ridiculous.
Leandro Zuniga I have to question that, calf prices continue to slump, and very very soon us ranchers will be competing against synthetic beef that is made even cheaper, aka the impossible whooper, synthetic beef will cause the continued decline in beef prices until ranching is extinct, after that land prices will drastically fall leaving our only asset basically worthless
Thanks for sharing the intimate details of your financial situation. It adds so much to our understanding of your operations and that of many other ranchers and farmers. You have a gift for breaking down the complexities so urbanites like myself can understand.
That's a good move on your part Mike, always wean my calves and bring them to a desireble weight. This year I averaged 700 lbs on steers
“ The Cost of Ranching “was your first video I saw , “The dollars and the CENTS and not the common sense bc after this video you’ll be wondering if I have any SENSE at all” loved it!! Classic👌
I didn't realize how much goes into the whole ranch process. There is much more than I thought. Raising a family on a ranch has to be very rewarding also. I wish you guys the best. Thanks, JohnG
Farmers and a Ranchers are some of the smartest people on the planet. Thanks for sharing
This is without a doubt one of the, no...THE BEST farming videos I have seen on RUclips. No crap, and it's heartening to see that the pitfalls of cattle raising are universal, not just confined to one location. In Australia we have some occasional respite when live exports to Asian and middle eastern markets jump, but mostly it is the same old grind.
Shalom! Mike and Miss Erin, thank you so much for sharing with u, how to cattle. Blessings to you all, grandma and the girls!
I enjoy when you break down the cost and such. Most channels wont give the bad side of ranching, but you guys ain't afraid to show the good and the bad. Your honesty is what keeps me watching. Thank you for being brutally honest!! Keep up the good work!!
Thank you for bringing truth to the internet Mike, along with ranching's hard choices and decisions! -Bob...
Ain’t that the truth, thanks Bob - Mike
I love your videos Mike you are still doing a great job with your farm and animals , you takes care of them healthy animals and pretty land. I love your family, your wife with the beautiful crops that I loves ,you all are doing an amazing job. Way To Go Mike !
Down here in East Texas, we avoid October sales because
the market is glutted with everybody else's stock, and the price is down. So we
might sell earlier or later to catch the higher prices.
As always, a good presentation.
Thanks for explaining the cattle battle
God Bless you and your Family 🦋
Thank You for the food supply that you raise 🙏🇺🇸💕 Lupita Macedo from California
Ranchers and farmers should be watching your channel, good info that many have never looked at in such a manner. Keep it up! The open market is really not open, owned and operated by the packing house, it has become a noose around all the ag industry! You have roots in the corporate world, you must realise the injustice. The plight of our food producers, that are at the bottom of the food chain, by design, needs to be exposed!
Rancher here. We do watch and go through the same dilemas. Mike has a great way of openly sharing the difficult decisions we all have to go through every year. Thanks, Mike!
Thanks Mike...a great look at the reality of Ranch Life! A great time for us to purchase cattle for our farm!
Enjoyed your presentation, spot on. Here in S Texas during the same time as the market report you referenced we're getting $1-$1.20 for heavy weight steers and bull calves. We'd be jumping for joy to be getting your average per head. Our prices peaked in April at an average $1.40-$1.55 for 500# plus steer/bull calves. From June it was until the 1st of September before we received any rain. Prices haven't rebounded. Good video, enjoyed.
Beef it is what s for dinner, I get some tougher cuts of steak and put rub on them and throw them in the crock pot, in a few hours I have the most tender roast beef you can imagine, toss in a few taters and veggies and I got a feast. Pour out any fats over the feast and add some butter and you have a very tasty meal. Keep raising them for us.
I think everyone will need to make some changes in the next few years. Frankly and honestly, I foresee a change in our eating habits, so I'm glad you keep a finger in more than one pot on this Wyoming Life. Lots of love from S Carolina 🌎
We have had good results with our pre-conditioning program for calves. That, along with selling them as "naturals" when possible has increased our sales proceeds. We have the feed to hold them over for 90-120 days. We feel it's a win-win!
Good analysis. Hoping for better markets. You lay it all out there. Good luck.
There is no escaping reality. Thankfully you do not sugar coat your presentation Mike. All the best, in all regards, to you and your family.
Awesome video mike hope an pray all goes well an the market turns up
Down here in Louisiana a Cattle Rancher came up with an idea. He opened his own Slaughter House and sales “Grass-Fed” Beef. He has meat deals of 50, 75, 100-lb, half cow or whole cow. Stock your Freezer with good natural grass fed beef. He employs locals and keeps people working to slaughter & meet the many orders. Someone at my daughter’s office over heard her place he order for “Grass-Fed” Beef and five other women wanted the phone number to do the same. This could be a way to profit. People will drive for miles for Grass-Fed Beef.
I do understand the farming life, I only wish more people would understand,I'm so happy that you're able to come onto RUclips and to be able to make these videos to show people what it's like financially for Farmers we depend on you we don't have you we don't eat me I love to eat beef thank you. Lisa in East Central Ohio
Another great video Mike. You and Erin work so hard for every dollar the ranch makes!! Thanks for showing us ALL of it!! I sure appreciate where my food comes from more because of it...!! Hope the sale goes well.🙏
Good luck at the market
Thank you Mike! Hope all goes well and your cost as well! Take care and have a warm winter.
More to ranching than I thought ! City guy here
Wow Mike, I had never thought about the price break for ranchers. Hearing how little you get for calves is like knowing how small our milk check is going to be. The farm costs the same to operate, the girls still need to eat all winter, (late November to late April) but the CWT for milk is still low and going lower. We can expect just a little over $15 per hundred weight of milk, Roughly 11 gallons. That same 11 gallons being sold in the local grocery yields approx. $49.30. Given that milk, I presume like beef, needs a lot of fossil fuel to get it from point A to point B then back accounts for a fairly significant chunk of the difference.
It is a great irony that Vermont is known as a dairy state but virtually all, (except a very small number of independent bottlers) our milk is trucked an average of 600 miles round trip. Knowing that, those numbers in pricing are not surprising.
Thanks for taking the time to educate and make these videos. More folks ought to know the how and why of food production.
Great job Mike and I been in the same place over the years but some how God has help me get throght it all.
Godbless yall and he will watch over yall also.
Love Cliff
Another great and informative video Mike.
My dad always said, “when a door is shut, God will open a window ... but sometimes it’s hard to find!” Hail shut a door but now you have an opportunity to keep the calves a bit longer and hopefully make the market work in your favor!
When I was a kid I worked on a small farm. One week I got to go along to the sales barn. They had pigs on this farm ,no cattle. We on loaded the pigs and went in the sales barn. We were probably in there and hour. When we came out to the pickup to leave. We had a small calf in the box of the pickup and 2 in the trailer. This was back in the 80's.
Mike/Erin,
Very informative, educational, excellent video presentation, thank you!
Hi again MIKE! Point positive it's a tough business because there are so many variables. Transport is tricky as some measure of weight is lost. Wondering if you've ever sold right from the ranch which would save both ship fees and weight loss. Happy you have all your new sources that will help out. Looking forward to the next things coming soon. Hope you All are finally well. Take good care and we'll hope the bad snows hold off a bit longer!! Thx as always Mike...
I’m glad you have a plan to beat the odds. I wish you the best of luck to you and your family. Thank you.
There's always ups and downs in agriculture. I hope everything will turn out better for you.
We all do i worked with my dad for 40 years and if we broke even we felt good and hope next year will be better
Excellent video with honest information. Very informative, thanks Mike
Great explanation. Thanks
Wow I did not know that you would have to keep such records it's very confusing watching those prices your Channel is so educational I really enjoy it
I have learned so much about cattle ranching since I been watching your channel . Didn’t realize that some much went into raising cattle
We normally would be Selling calves but we’re doing the same thing. Thankfully we made enough hay to winter them. Have a good one
Tons of respect. Work with corn farmers daily & it’s just amazing how hard farm work is & the dedication involved.
I really must say I'm impressed at your delivery, candor, and ability to explain how the economics of a cattle ranch work. I am not a farmer, nor will I ever be, but that doesn't make this ANY less fascinating. Your video production quality skills are excellent. You've got a new subscriber. Excellent stuff.
With brutal economics such as this, acquisition and amortization of major equipment such as tractors, etc, as expensive as they are, must be daunting at best.
Being a data wonk I LOVE videos like this. Wish more people would take the time to understand that ranching/farming isn't a hobby but a serious business!!
Im sorry for you herd reduction due to hay and pasture. Been there , really hurts. Bless You.
I plan having my own ranch in 4 years and I've learned alot from your videos man.. thanks
Good luck Mike.
A goal without a plan is just a wish, perfectly said.
I always enjoy your videos there always so informative. I hope everything works out for you and your family.
Great video, it was really interesting to see the market prices for steers and heifers while you explained what we were seeing. Hope weaning and your new plan goes well. Thanks for sharing your family's story and promoting agriculture.
Good 2nd cutting grass hay in Middle Southern Tennessee. Is running $25-$40 for round bales . It's good for us.last year if you could find it was up to $90.
Man..... Great story.....it's good to see that you can see the future .....to some extent....and deal with it.....farming is like anything else( business wise) except it's not😟.....you can't eat steel..... concrete.... plastic.....but times are changing.....( If you can buy calves cheaper than you can produce them..... Then someone else is also taking a loss.....) It takes a deep pocket sometimes to stay in business.....it's our Turkey day in Canada 🇨🇦( Thanksgiving) giving....best off luck....
Wow enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey! 🦃 Yum!
Just loaded all of our calves up and took them to the sale yesterday (10/17) In addition to asking if you can afford to sell, you also gotta ask "can you afford to keep".
Good luck Mike
I know you have been talking about selling off some of the cows about a year now .
Your a great rancher / family man
We will say a special prayer for your ranch / family
Best of luck sir 👍
Thanks. Very interesting and informative. My maternal grandparents, and one son were small farmers in central VA when I was a kid. They raised tobacco and wheat for cash and grains for animal feed. My grandfather raised black Angus for fun. With mostly year round pastures winter feeding not such an issue. Think all of that is why I value your work.
Mike thank you for the wonderful job that you do with your ranch and explaining things everybody I'm a farmer and I have the same issues.
Good luck with your sales plan, the beef problems are the same here in Ireland, calves are selling currently below the cost of production
Thank you Mike!👍👍👍✌
Great attitude Mike. You and Erin have a plan and have worked hard to have alternative income...market garden, RUclips... well done 😃🇨🇦
I'm subscribed. I like to see what you do and how Wyoming Ranching works. You make great videos and the quality is really good. Great work Mike, keeps it up.
Great commentary !😎
Mike, we have a small farm in East TN. We buy cattle, feed/condition them for slaughter and sell to the public for beef. (USDA and Custom). I'm sure I can't tell you anything you don't already know, but I'm curious if you could increase the volume of your custom or USDA sales. This way ...at least to a certain extent you can make your own price for your cattle instead of being at the mercy of the stock market. Just a thought. Love your channel.
We have been slowly ramping up over the years, and we now finish 7 steers at a time. We sell locally. Thanks - Mike
you are doing a great job....i just hope those without a clue how hard it is to ranch/farm see this channel and start repecting how hard it is for you to put that food on the table for them
In the ranch life there are always hard decisions to be made, gotta rob from Peter to pay Paul but ya always seem to make things work. Another informative and great video Mike thanks for taking us along with ya. God Bless & have a great week.
Thank you very much Tricia! - Mike
Thanks for the inside look at ranching numbers. Makes me think about my 23 head of black angus heading to market soon. Big or small we all face the same decisions. Good luck Mike and Erin.
I feel your pain having around 150 broad cows in South western VA. we are looking at 4 years in a row at a loss. I used to background my calves and also buy 5 weight bulls to add to the heard castrated those and back grounded and would sell 50 thousand pounds at a time. In this part of the country we get less per pound than the western states even with verification of source and shots. When times were good I could expect to make additional 100 dollars per head profit. When times were harder maybe 50 but that did not include my labor or death loss. I have also lost money in similar markets. Good luck just remember you can only do what your gut tells you in this business. You never know how the market will turn.
If they were mine. I would sort of the heavy end and sell them. Anything over 700 lbs can go straight to a finishing program. Then when you sell the rest the biggest draft will be first cut cattle and get the best price. Instead of the biggest draft being second cut.
But you get docked heavily I wean give shots and background all of our calves
@@jwhitley101whitleyfarms9 . I think the difference here is the cooler weather in October and November. Warm weather in the calf run makes for dead calves. As a seller we would not even consider getting discounted for fresh calves. Being close to feedlot alley helped. Lots of calves are bought in Saskatchewan and backrounded halfway to feedlot alley somewhere for 100 days and then moved to the big feedyards in Alberta.
Great content, thanks for the numbers. Good fortune.
Happy New Year Mike & Erin & Family i enjoy your videos so much about the ranch
Thank you for this channel it's helpful over coming our human tendency to get stuck in complaints & into a possable solution LOL I still don't want to move back into that kind of weather but I do practice what I peach so I'm happily looking forward to the move & really lucky yucky weather gives more packing time in nice weather = ya uhalls going from Oregon to Wyoming is not a smart winter travel plan yet I can be ready for spring travel before the miserable heat LOL 🙋
5000Acres is a Huge Farm for here in West Europe/France, here if you have a 200-400Acre Farm you can have easily 100Beef/Milk Cows with buying a little grain from the outside
Good info Mike for sure.
Here in Scotland it’s similar do I sell now or wait for spring but then you remember the costs of straw and feed plus the unseen costs like vets bills and the occasional death.
Another great video. Most people including me go buy a pound of beef not realising how much really goes into the process. OWL makes me think of those things now.
Here in Ireland our cattle are priced at euro per kg so something similar to you. Unfortunately we have trouble breaking even also.
Always seems to be true John. Best of luck with yours.
Time for “Our Irish Life” videos. I would be a viewer! It would be interesting to see the difference. Got to visit Ireland and NI in 2018. Loved every minute!
I have been doing preconditioned calves for a few years now. Here in western New York state we usually don't get good prices for calves, and I don't think the extra work(weaned, vaccinated, wormed, bunk broke) is worth the little extra we get but there are a few of us trying to build a reputation for good healthy calves that new York is not known for currently. It also feels good to send a calf to its next owner that is ready to go to work for them
THANK YOU FOR SHARING , I FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING
Another excellent informative video, cheers mate.
Mike with your voice, you could be doing voice over or commercials for additional income. Even TV documentaries and such.
I wouldn’t mind, but no on is asking and I dont really have time to chase work :). If you know of anyone looking let me know :). Thanks Robert - Mike
Very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to break it down. Good luck!!
Happy national farmers day to my favorite youtube farming family.
that is a great plan less shipping fees and culling cows that were freeloafer by not having a calf this year …… you might get a feedlot buyer to buy weanded calves at ranch not stressed by weaning and trucking to the sales barn in belle fouche SD...…..failing to plan is a plan to fail
……. it will work esp. CHINA trade and their need for pork and beef...….. jim
james a Joachim I don't understand so Chinese f..s buy our good beef and pork and same time we buy their toxic pork and beef back ????? Am I missing something ????
Excuse my French 🙊
Chinese investors own the biggest pork producers in America
@@lauranyc4966 in north central MO we have huge hog production and bought out by them. Yes we buy back processed pork, beef,and chickens. It's the junk left over. Look at your packages for where meat comes from. I'm proud farmers daughter and mother and it makes me sick all our farmers are being driven out in our own country. And the scary thing is they have substandards compaired to our Country. We have almost driven out Dairy farms with stupid governmental regulations. A farmers life depends on all they produce and our animals mean life for our family's sake. 💜
You should make a book about ranching
i really love the way you break this down. :) makes it so much easier for me to plan my future moves to off-grid farming.
Thanks for explaining the cattle market prices, very interesting
Excellent video Mike , Over this direction we have a few late calves that hopefully we can keep them good and healthy . I believe there was one that i had sent you a picture of. The weather is not helping the young stock at all. I guess as far as the auction prices go , do you think it maybe better to wait till possibly Dec. Over this way there are some special feeder cattle auctions that bring in more buyers and sometimes that helps.
Mike I like videos like this I like how you explained about the beef sales awesome video again