5BarX

I think the most important first step is to make sure you are at least adequate in your resources and mgt. processes. If you are deficient in some area, a few dollars spent can yield some pretty big paybacks. Here I had trouble with producing decent forage yields from much of the land. My Dad had fertilized and had spread hundreds of tons of lime over the years. I finally got to talking to a neighbor that farms organic. He had found that his farm was very low in calcium. When he had spread some high-calcium lime, his yields went way up. Our local lime dealer only sold high-mag lime all those years. Our ph was OK, but we were way short in calcium after I tested for it. I got some calcium lime spread, and my forage production went up about 2 tons dry matter per acre by appling a ton of calcium lime per acre.

Graybull, I didn't know Chip had a book out...I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

TIME TO CHANGE by CHIP HINES. A book that explains why a new direction is needed in the cattle industry and how to start the changes needed. Our industry is appraised from a slantwise viewpoint that is critical of present unsustainable practices. $26.00 (includes shipping and handling). Send check to: Bunkhouse Marketing, Box 469, Yuma, CO, 80759.

Too bad someone doesn't republish Bonsma's writings.

Republish it as of when? I have a copy of "Man must Measure" that was printed in 1983 and reprinted in 2001 - I got it a few years ago through Stockmangrassfarmer. Is this what you are saying is out of print or are there further writings that haven't been published?

develop a commercially profitable cow herd that works for me instead of me working for them.

In a couple of years, I will sell you a bunch of Deewall x Ohlde baldy heifers and you can breed them to your Auroch bulls.

I dont want to buy them, i want to make them. and they are AUBRACS! not Aurochs.

now i am considering a Longhorn-Aubrac cross for F1's.

After Yankton, British Whites are neck and neck with Aubrac in the race for my choice to F1 with my Angus. Hereford has been the preference long term, and there are good Herefords 6 miles from here. Maybe it's whatever I've seen last or whoever gives me a really good pocket knife.

Good thread here. As usual I'm late in responding



MV if your selling calves in the fall from our area we have found that going South to Winchester or Weston will get you much better prices. Our local sale barns being dairy oriented aren't paying top dollar for feeders.



If I were to cross our Angus to make F1's Hereford would still be the way to go for me. However I would like to use a Lents horned bull on some Octoraro/Keeney cows. Both linebred from different breeds. Those F1 calves should be dandies I would think with lots of hybrid vigor, right?

If we were still selling feeders and who knows maybe we will again in the near future you either sell calves light 4 or 5 weights, 6 weights in our area get hit pretty hard. Calve in April/May and sell them in Oct. as light feeders. The other possibility that intrigues me is calving later like in June/early July and keeping those calves on the cows through the winter and sell them right now at green up for stockers. Does that make any sense to anybody?

For instance, managing fescue can either be seen as a terrible problem- or a tremendous winter feed resource. Here tall wheatgrass grows very well in our high PH soils. It will crowd out weeds with its enormous root system. The problem is that is a fairly coarse forage that becomes very unpalatable when it grows four feet tall. Learning how to manage it is a challenge but also a tremendous opportunity. The alternative are grasses less productive but more palatable with higher input costs. Canadian thistle are a big problem- except that cows love their flowers. I have some riparian pasture that provide a lot of grazing when the thistles are blooming and the cottonwood and willow trees are in full leaf. Unfortunately this realization only came about after years of mowing and spraying.

My Canadian cows don't have a Canada thistle problem - they find them quite delicious

Selectively grazed Canada thistle in a lush July pasture.

Aero, a Longhorn-aubrac cross is a kid with a Sears Christmas cataloge type of mating. I saw a few herds built that way when A.I . first hit this country. Man of man do those animals look good on paper. The perfict experiment. Now topping a market , or even getting average prices for those criters is a different story. Course you can always eat them or sell the horns.

many, most cattlemen want to be known for their indepence and self reliance. My more charitable and pc side says that is why you would choose to breed such a knuckle headed choice.

The anti-PC side of me has to ask why Matt needs your approval???????????????????????

dont forget... Aubracs change color according to the season. : )

uhh.. polled longhorns? : )

i like approval from others for something weird i came up with... but almost anybody will tell you i dont require outside approval. : )