Have you thought of bale grazing the Dickerson parcel? If you place bales in a check board pattern and rotate accordingly for the winter; let it rest for at least 100 days, it would result in beautiful pasture.
Love your videos! I started FCE minerals this spring. You will quickly find what your cattle are deficient in. Mine eat a lot of selenium, boron, zinc and depending on the forage phosphorus. A coworkers husband is a large grain farmer and follower of Neil Kinsey. Based on his soil tests he is fertilizing with what my cows are eating. Amazing! My breed up was excellent, 14 out of 17 head got pregnant to one round of fixed time AI, last year was only 50%. I’m in central MN and don’t feed grain.
There’s a little trick to pulling the string on the bags and unwrapping them without having to cut the bag. This avoids all of the plastic fraying and tiny pieces of plastic getting into your minerals. Google and RUclips the topic and you’ll find out how to do it.
Great to have you back. Would you point out the "Lowline" calves and compare them to the regular sized ones. This breed (American Aberdeen Angus) is exciting and it appears to have a real advantage to modify the "Monster Breeds" down to something more profitable and manageable. You also mentioned they were calm and easy to work. Is that true?
Be sure to wear a mask when you spray the neem oil. I spray it on my garden to keep pests away and found it'll irritate your throat and lungs if you breathe in much. It doesn't do any long-term harm that I know of, but doesn't feel good.
I hope it works out better for you than it did for me. Our consumption was about $10/month for each cow. This went for about 6 mons without ever tapering off. They are finishing off the remaining minerals now. They do look good, but not enough to justify the cost. I did learn a few things about my soil, eg. mine were eating a lot of boron. So in the fall we had boron added to fertilizer to get to the high side based on soil samples. Keep in mind each mineral is “flavored” with salt, based on what they should eat. I wanted to believe, but just too expensive. Selenium will flush your cows, pull your bulls for a tighter calving season. BSE your bull.
I completely understand it getting expensive. Luckily, I don't own 3/4 of our herd so the cost mineral is divided. We also see the mineral program as soil fertilizer and that makes the expense a little more worth while. I appreciate your input though and who knows maybe we will feel just like you after a few more months.
From what I could tell when I was using it did seem to help. The problem is I only got to test it for a few summer months then we made plans to switch up our mineral program so I didn't order more garlic to keep testing. Guess I should order more though and add some to one of the minerals we are offering now.
I enjoin your cattle videos thanks for coming back. Are you still running lowlines in your herd? I have 2. 1 bull and 1 heifer looking to buy a lowine cow this spring or summer.
@Grace Homestead Thanks. It's nice to be back. Yes we have 6 lowlines if I remember correctly. We are about to cull some of the older ones though after their current calves are weaned. Glad to hear you got a couple lowlines, they are a blast to raise and super docile to work.
@@GrazingAcresFarm yes I like the lowline breed very much. I dont think I would ever go back to the full size cattle. They fit in are little homestead great. Sorry to hear that your culling some , are you having problems with them?
@Grace Homestead No we are not having issue but we will if we don't start culling some. We have a few pushing 12-13 years old and we know it's time to cull them. Luckily a lot of them produced heifer calves this last time so we will have replacements.
Great video! It is interesting how animals can know what they are deficient in and can self regulate that when given the chance. Very curious for your next video as far as the results with calving. My son has an older heifer named 26 (and every calf is named Scooby Doo for some reason) but she seems to always produce bulls. Do you have any inclination if diet would affect that, or it just is what it is? Good looking herd! Take care! Edit - Love that hat by the way!!
It is indeed interesting they can regulate what they need. As for you sons cow, is it always bred to same bull? It could be a combination of the two's genetic that keep producing bull calves. Or if could be the cows genetics, hard to say for sure but I would look at the situation as a whole, what is the same each time vs what is different. Is the calves all the same color?
The mineral program is working out great. The only real issue is we should have bought the wheels with the feeder. My Polaris Sportsman has been down must of the growing season so I had to use a smaller atv (2 wheel drive) which doesn't like the heavy feeder. This made it so I would move the herd with the atv then have to go get tractor to move feeder. It became a chore real fast. Then it got to where I skipped moving it everyday to every couple days. I'm glad to say I just finished rebuilding the top half of my Polaris so pulling there feeder won't be a problem again but I am still gonna add wheels to feeder.
'Bout time Jason! Jeez... I think you've got something like Greg Judy if you just keep up with the videos. Skip the editing and send out a couple a week to make it easy. How's the broken leg calf doing?
I know, I know! lol I am hoping to stick with it this time and see how the channel grows. The calf that broke his leg is doing great. He's not on my farm anymore, he was sent back to his owners farm last spring. Before he left though he was running and bucking like any normal steer would do. It sure made me feel good to see him do so well.
Don't take this too negatively Jason but they may be too overweight causing your breeding problems. I was talking to the breeder I bought mine from this afternoon and he was telling me to be careful about how much high quality hay I feed because he made the mistake early on, of over feeding and maintaining his breeders too heavy and started having a lot of reproductive issues. He said once they started managing their weight better most of the issues went away. I don't know that yours are too heavy, I like them being so fleshy but man they are heavy from what I am seeing in the vid. It's a nice problem to have, they're not always easy to get fleshed out. You're doing a great job with them. I'm just trying to help by passing along info given to me, take it for what it's worth. I already know what you've found on the breeding issues from FB conversations and I don't want to spoil it here in the comments so maybe their weight isn't an issue but it's something to keep in mind. I like the FCE mineral feeder, I like it better all the time. Mine started using it heavier now that we're in winter. The concept is awesome for sure.
@Brent Don't you take this the wrong way but I don't know rather to believe your being serious or piling on a load of crap. 😉 I mean we do kid each other a lot so it's not unreal to think maybe, just maybe this is complete BS. On the other hand, I can see where being overweight could interfere with getting bred. You have me so confused as to what to believe. Damn it, Brent! lol Thanks for not spoiling the results you know. That means a lot.
@@GrazingAcresFarm Ha, I hear ya that's my fault for kidding around with you so much. No man I'm serious this time. Weight can effect breeding and birthing both from what I've been told by people I trust to be straight with me. I don't have enough experience to speak from it but when good breeders I know who have been in business for 30+ years tell me something like that then there must be something to it. It might be worth asking a vet. Also there's a difference between well fleshed but in "good shape" with muscle tone and just being fat...that's a point that a lot of people I see posting on Greg's channel completely miss. Where Greg's get so much exercise from twice a day moves and long distance travel, they are physically fit rather than being fat from high quality and abundant food. It's like the difference between a 6' tall athletic football player that weighs 220# with a bodyfat score of 12% vs an average joe that's 6', 220 with a bodyfat score of 30% with a desk job. Muscle tone/fat%...fat deposits around in areas that hinder breeding and birthing from what I gather. Just thought I'd mention it. Take care.
after 45 years in the cattle bussiness i can tell you this if you want to have a short calving season bull in for 45 days pull bulls follow up by preg check in 30 days cull non breeders my cows are not pets its a bussiness and you have to treat it as such to market a like set of calves cows are of like size nothing over 1400 at calving i keep my frame size to 4-5 just sent heifers ave 678 to market green of cows all natural and bulls sm end ave 686 large end 786 same way i do not creep feed mom does the work i live in northern MN ps always semen test your bulls before breeding season i learned that the hard way after missing to heat cycles one year! how your year is blessed and we all have a good market in the future!
Have you thought of bale grazing the Dickerson parcel? If you place bales in a check board pattern and rotate accordingly for the winter; let it rest for at least 100 days, it would result in beautiful pasture.
Love your videos! I started FCE minerals this spring. You will quickly find what your cattle are deficient in. Mine eat a lot of selenium, boron, zinc and depending on the forage phosphorus. A coworkers husband is a large grain farmer and follower of Neil Kinsey. Based on his soil tests he is fertilizing with what my cows are eating. Amazing! My breed up was excellent, 14 out of 17 head got pregnant to one round of fixed time AI, last year was only 50%. I’m in central MN and don’t feed grain.
That is awesome!
I'm glad your back buddy! Really missed the content.
So awesome see you back have missed your vids
Nice to see you back. Keep them videos coming sir.
Welcome back, missed your videos!
Good to see you back
great content, love your cattle basics content. good job
Looking forward to the mineral results!
It’s great to see you again! You were missed during your hiatus. Please keep the videos coming...you have a lot to offer. Tim @ Cliffside Acres
There’s a little trick to pulling the string on the bags and unwrapping them without having to cut the bag. This avoids all of the plastic fraying and tiny pieces of plastic getting into your minerals.
Google and RUclips the topic and you’ll find out how to do it.
Good to see you back my friend! Just put out some mineral today. Have looked into it can't afford right now
Thanks! It feels good to be back. I understand about not being able to afford the mineral program it adds up fast.
Great to have you back. Would you point out the "Lowline" calves and compare them to the regular sized ones. This breed (American Aberdeen Angus) is exciting and it appears to have a real advantage to modify the "Monster Breeds" down to something more profitable and manageable. You also mentioned they were calm and easy to work. Is that true?
Give me a little time and I will make a video comparing the 2 different sized cattle. Yes, the lowlines are very docile and easy to work.
Be sure to wear a mask when you spray the neem oil. I spray it on my garden to keep pests away and found it'll irritate your throat and lungs if you breathe in much. It doesn't do any long-term harm that I know of, but doesn't feel good.
Good to know, thanks!
I hope it works out better for you than it did for me. Our consumption was about $10/month for each cow. This went for about 6 mons without ever tapering off. They are finishing off the remaining minerals now. They do look good, but not enough to justify the cost. I did learn a few things about my soil, eg. mine were eating a lot of boron. So in the fall we had boron added to fertilizer to get to the high side based on soil samples. Keep in mind each mineral is “flavored” with salt, based on what they should eat. I wanted to believe, but just too expensive. Selenium will flush your cows, pull your bulls for a tighter calving season. BSE your bull.
I completely understand it getting expensive. Luckily, I don't own 3/4 of our herd so the cost mineral is divided. We also see the mineral program as soil fertilizer and that makes the expense a little more worth while. I appreciate your input though and who knows maybe we will feel just like you after a few more months.
So the minerals with the garlic...did it keep the flies off of the cattle?
From what I could tell when I was using it did seem to help. The problem is I only got to test it for a few summer months then we made plans to switch up our mineral program so I didn't order more garlic to keep testing. Guess I should order more though and add some to one of the minerals we are offering now.
I enjoin your cattle videos thanks for coming back. Are you still running lowlines in your herd? I have 2. 1 bull and 1 heifer looking to buy a lowine cow this spring or summer.
@Grace Homestead Thanks. It's nice to be back. Yes we have 6 lowlines if I remember correctly. We are about to cull some of the older ones though after their current calves are weaned. Glad to hear you got a couple lowlines, they are a blast to raise and super docile to work.
@@GrazingAcresFarm yes I like the lowline breed very much. I dont think I would ever go back to the full size cattle. They fit in are little homestead great. Sorry to hear that your culling some , are you having problems with them?
@Grace Homestead No we are not having issue but we will if we don't start culling some. We have a few pushing 12-13 years old and we know it's time to cull them. Luckily a lot of them produced heifer calves this last time so we will have replacements.
Great video! It is interesting how animals can know what they are deficient in and can self regulate that when given the chance. Very curious for your next video as far as the results with calving. My son has an older heifer named 26 (and every calf is named Scooby Doo for some reason) but she seems to always produce bulls. Do you have any inclination if diet would affect that, or it just is what it is?
Good looking herd! Take care!
Edit - Love that hat by the way!!
It is indeed interesting they can regulate what they need. As for you sons cow, is it always bred to same bull? It could be a combination of the two's genetic that keep producing bull calves. Or if could be the cows genetics, hard to say for sure but I would look at the situation as a whole, what is the same each time vs what is different.
Is the calves all the same color?
Hey how is the mineral program working out?
The mineral program is working out great. The only real issue is we should have bought the wheels with the feeder. My Polaris Sportsman has been down must of the growing season so I had to use a smaller atv (2 wheel drive) which doesn't like the heavy feeder. This made it so I would move the herd with the atv then have to go get tractor to move feeder. It became a chore real fast. Then it got to where I skipped moving it everyday to every couple days. I'm glad to say I just finished rebuilding the top half of my Polaris so pulling there feeder won't be a problem again but I am still gonna add wheels to feeder.
First step before hard culling
What is the price on that mineral program ?
It was just over $1200 for the 20 minerals to get started and the 20 bin feeder.
Why did you go to bale rings instead of using a bale unroller?
@Tim Skutnik We have been buying a lot of wet tubed hay and it's about impossible to get it to unroll. When I fed dry bales I unroll them down hills.
'Bout time Jason! Jeez... I think you've got something like Greg Judy if you just keep up with the videos. Skip the editing and send out a couple a week to make it easy.
How's the broken leg calf doing?
I know, I know! lol I am hoping to stick with it this time and see how the channel grows.
The calf that broke his leg is doing great. He's not on my farm anymore, he was sent back to his owners farm last spring. Before he left though he was running and bucking like any normal steer would do. It sure made me feel good to see him do so well.
Don't take this too negatively Jason but they may be too overweight causing your breeding problems. I was talking to the breeder I bought mine from this afternoon and he was telling me to be careful about how much high quality hay I feed because he made the mistake early on, of over feeding and maintaining his breeders too heavy and started having a lot of reproductive issues. He said once they started managing their weight better most of the issues went away. I don't know that yours are too heavy, I like them being so fleshy but man they are heavy from what I am seeing in the vid. It's a nice problem to have, they're not always easy to get fleshed out. You're doing a great job with them. I'm just trying to help by passing along info given to me, take it for what it's worth. I already know what you've found on the breeding issues from FB conversations and I don't want to spoil it here in the comments so maybe their weight isn't an issue but it's something to keep in mind.
I like the FCE mineral feeder, I like it better all the time. Mine started using it heavier now that we're in winter. The concept is awesome for sure.
@Brent Don't you take this the wrong way but I don't know rather to believe your being serious or piling on a load of crap. 😉 I mean we do kid each other a lot so it's not unreal to think maybe, just maybe this is complete BS. On the other hand, I can see where being overweight could interfere with getting bred. You have me so confused as to what to believe. Damn it, Brent! lol
Thanks for not spoiling the results you know. That means a lot.
@@GrazingAcresFarm Ha, I hear ya that's my fault for kidding around with you so much. No man I'm serious this time. Weight can effect breeding and birthing both from what I've been told by people I trust to be straight with me. I don't have enough experience to speak from it but when good breeders I know who have been in business for 30+ years tell me something like that then there must be something to it. It might be worth asking a vet. Also there's a difference between well fleshed but in "good shape" with muscle tone and just being fat...that's a point that a lot of people I see posting on Greg's channel completely miss. Where Greg's get so much exercise from twice a day moves and long distance travel, they are physically fit rather than being fat from high quality and abundant food. It's like the difference between a 6' tall athletic football player that weighs 220# with a bodyfat score of 12% vs an average joe that's 6', 220 with a bodyfat score of 30% with a desk job. Muscle tone/fat%...fat deposits around in areas that hinder breeding and birthing from what I gather. Just thought I'd mention it. Take care.
after 45 years in the cattle bussiness i can tell you this if you want to have a short calving season bull in for 45 days pull bulls follow up by preg check in 30 days cull non breeders my cows are not pets its a bussiness and you have to treat it as such to market a like set of calves cows are of like size nothing over 1400 at calving i keep my frame size to 4-5 just sent heifers ave 678 to market green of cows all natural and bulls sm end ave 686 large end 786 same way i do not creep feed mom does the work i live in northern MN ps always semen test your bulls before breeding season i learned that the hard way after missing to heat cycles one year! how your year is blessed and we all have a good market in the future!
I remember u bro.....make morevids.....make more vids
Change your bulls to younger ones .do you not remeber being young yourself .
We have been using young bulls but that didn't matter when the cows were not cycling correctly.
Glad to see you back