Ranching isn't for sissies, a discussion of the realities.

This is the time of year that's hard.  REAALY hard.  The weather is tough, the costs are high & the finances are low.  Is also the time of year that most of us farmers & ranchers make our farm payments... (can you hear the scary music?)  And all of that creates tons of stress for all of us farmers & ranchers.

First, the weather.  Right now, I'm sitting inside in my jammies watching it blow ICE & snow horizontally.  Yes really, horizontally.  Earlier, covered in 80million layers, I was outside feeding & watering all the animals.  And again in an hour, I'll be covered in 100million layers & feeding & rolling out fresh hay so everyone will be cozy & safe for the night.  But I love it!  I really couldn't imagine a day like this without going outside & choring (&playing) in this weather.

The costs.  This time of year, we have to feed almost all of our animals.  Feed is really expensive this year.  Its the second highest corn prices in history; and most other feeds follow the corn pricing.  We don't feed much grain, but we do go through more than usual in the winter to keep the energy in the calves.  We are feeding hay to most every bunch of animals on the ranch.  We do have a large group of calves that are still stockpile grazing, but the ice will probably stop that for a few days in the next week.

Finances.  If you've been following along for any length of time, you know I'm not scared of any topic.  Even finances.  When you're a rancher, you typically make your money one time each year when you sell your calves, & get to hold your breath & pennies the rest of the year.  Most people look forward to tax returns.  We get to pay Uncle Sam for the privlidge of living & ranching in the great US & State of Iowa.

Then we get to talk about farm payments. Dum, Dum, Dum! (thats the scary music) Since most farmers & ranchers make most of their money once a year, we get to make all of our payments once a year.  Let me just put this in perspective for you.  Take your mortgage payment, then double it, add 2x your insurance payments, your vehicle payments & all of your montly expenses and that is our Farm Payment. Huge huh? But that is our reality, and the choice that we have made.

That being said, we do choose to think differently about most things.  This year, we're trying to keep all of our calves & not sell any at the sale barn.  We'd like to sell all of them as Beef, Bulls, or heifers.  So, I'm offering all of our beef for sale now and harvested beginning in May.  This will allow us to make our farm payment (if we reserve enough calves) without selling any of my calves at the sale barn.  We're also saving plenty of heifers to offer as Bred Heifers next year, or a calf for the kids to show this summer.  We have a couple of bulls for sale too.

So, I ask you this, if your freezer is getting low on beef, give me or your local rancher a call now.  Reserve your beef in advance, & help a rancher make the cash flow & farm payment a little easier.

Thank you from all of us farmers & ranchers out there braving the snow.  If you'd like some beef.  Check us out on Facebook.

Making Breakfast

Dude - "Mom"
Momma - Yes?
Dude - You Makin Breakfast?
Momma - Yes
Dude - Fore MEEE!!!
Momma - No, for PJ
Dude (with confused sour face) - PJ tant tome in the house to eat...?  I eat it.
Momma - Little Man I'm making you some oatmeal, but this is for PJ
Dude - Otay
moments later
J.ustaCowgirl - It smells good, whatcha cookin for breakfast Mom?
Momma - PJ's food, want some?
J.ustaCowgirl - Ummmm, no.  But its wierd, it really does smell good, but looks nasty.

So, you guessed it, my house is filled with yummy smelling food.  Its just not people food.  PJ is somewhere over 26 years old.  He's the rope horse that tought tons of guys around here to rope.  He taught me the right way to rate a steer.  He was the babysitter for A.Cowgirl & J.ustaCowgirl while we bred literally thousands of cows.  He has severe arthritis & now his teeth are getting pretty thin.

So, I cook a hot breakfast for him. I don't cook a hot breakfast for my family every day, but I do for PJ.  He also gets a hot lunch & supper too.  We're taking Beet Pulp (very high energy) and Equine Senior and cooking it in the crock pot to heat it up & serving it warm to him. 3 to 5 times a day.  The water is also warm from the automatic waterer in the run that he shares with the show calves.  This has made a huge difference in his energy level & hopefully will make it easier for him to get through another winter.

While I'm on this subject I need to talk about animal "comfort".  We have a barn & stalls.  It also has runs that open to the east with hay bale feeders in them.  PJ is really old and its pretty hard for him to get around.  But, he HATES being in a stall.  But he really should be in a stall to feed him & give him some of his own space.  But then, he wouldn't be able to play (or bite at) with 7-up.  He wouldn't be able to have his own choice to go in or out, eat hay or not eat hay.  Its a daily mental battle to put him in a stall or let him be.  Granted, he has his own pen to eat in (the calves & 7-up are locked out). But he should really be in a stall for his best interest.  Right??

No. I don't think so.  He is happier out with 7-up and the calves.  He is happier standing outside.  Does his comfort count for something? I think so.  I will make sure that he's fed well (better than well) and happy.  So remember that when you drive by a pasture & there are cattle & horses out in the snow.  They might like to be there.  (But I do love the option of having my entire herd under a roof).

So, if you stop by the house & it smells really yummy, don't get excited, its just horse food.  But you're welcome to try it, I have.

Hel...loooo! My name is GreenRanchingMom I'd like to re-introduce myself

Hello, My name is GreenRanchingMom.


Just felt the need to introduce myself again, because I've been gone so long. I'm not going to completely bore you with tons of details, but to say that the last couple of months have been long & hard would be an understatement. And, when I'm stressed or upset, I tend to pull back. Instead of reaching for help, I tend to just try to just take everything thats thrown at me one piece at a time by myself. I don't want to burden others with my problems & issues, so I don't. I just keep to myself & take care of the basics for the kids & animals.

So, I'll just start this blog with a short list of the problems projects I'm working on right now.


New Cattle Shed - should all be finished in the next two weeks

Ford Tractor not running again (my front end loader) - (sell it & buy a team)

IH1466 not starting - a $2 bolt on the battery cable fixed it after 3 months of messing with it

IH1066 Engine toasted - Have a guy to work on it (cheap) but he's taking forever to even get it in the shop, sounds like just a "minor" fix of $3000 (really, truly looking to buy a team of horses & get rid of the tractors!)

White Dodge Truck - Transmission toast. Been in the shop for 2+ months, he should get it in next week

Dually not running properly - Appointment for it next Tuesday

Calves all weaned & home - not selling any at the salebarn yet, just need to work on marketing ALL of our calves this year (blog post to come soon - I promise)

"Wrong" mare delivered to new home - papers were for a different mare & we'd been calling her the wrong name for 4 years. Problem figured out - mares soon to play ring-around-the-rosie.

New pond constructed - just need to fence it

Bad fenceline on east side torn out by buldozers - just need to put in a mile of fence

Grassfed beef grew slow this year - scheduled for harvest later this month, we've been supplementing with alfalfa cubes to increase gains



WOW!!! Hmm, that makes mee feel a little better. As you can see - it started out whining, and became a list of things to do. Somehow, when we're upset, our world seems huge, and overwhelming, but if you break it down into babysteps, you can do anything.

I AM really thankful that our little family is starting the year healthy & together. We're praying for another ranching family that is currently being split up today as Mom flys with Dad to Colorado for rehabilitation after a 40 day ICU stay after a nearly fatal truck accident. Luckily Dad is super tough & will prove everyone wrong and walk out of that hospital soon. I'm really thankful for the support of our community and the prayers for their family. Our prayers are with them as they fly to their new hospital & with their family that will take care of the children for several more months. We'll head that way to visit too - we think a train ride might be fun!

I hope all of you are enjoying the New Year, and your family. 

Over here we're going to work on PROGRESS this year, NOT Perfection.

These cute itty bitty puppies are now big & ready to find homes.  There will be no more of this cross because we finally neutered Chilli Dog, so if you need a great pet or an even better working dog, let me know.

ps, you'll have to remember that line and understand that I'm just "talking" and not a perfectionist writer; but at least I'm sharing & blogging again. 

Glad to be back!
GreenRanchingMom

Showing

THIS is why we show. We raise good cattle. They make great beef, & they have even better dispositions. The show-ring thing drives me nutz.
I get really frustrated that a heifer who is rude, or even downright mean or NOT broke can do well in the ring. Disposition IS a culling factor in our herd. More on that subject later.

I also get frustrated with the families that show cattle & the children just walk in, in time to lead the calf in the ring. The child doesn’t WORK with their calf. Then there’s the type that show & get really upset when they don’t win. They are rude & mean when the judge doesn’t pick them.

And another thing that frustrates me is the politics! A judge who has no consistency & just picks the stick that’s leading them, or breeding them. THAT really gets me going.

BUT my Honey loves to show. He grew up showing & loving cattle. Our girls are really doing well with their cattle. But to me, the main thing is that they WORK with their cattle. Each day, they get up before dawn, catch, wash, blow, brush & feed their calves. Then, several times each day, they’re out checking & walking their heifers. Each night, they again work with their heifers to make sure they are fed.

Their calves are calm, tame & broke before they ever step in a showring. Don’t get me wrong, there have been days when Freedom wants to play or Sophie wants to just stand still & not walk. But our heifers would never be mean to a child.

We love to go to shows. I love how the girls get so excited & intense watching the classes & the judge. I actually enjoy the preparation too. I like getting up early on show day, washing & getting the heifers all ready. I LOVE talking with all of the other exhibitors & breeders. The comraderie is awesome.

The thing that I really love about showing is truly the smiles!! I love the smiles on our girls’ faces when they go in the ring. I love how intense A.Cowgirl gets. Each child that smiles and enjoys themselves is really the ONLY reason to go to a show.

 

Smile!! & Eat Happy Beef

~GreenRanchingMom - Mama to the Momma Cows @ the ECC

Wow! We were featured in the latest issue of the AMAA Voice

Thanks to Jennifer Bremer for writing this article & everyone at the American Maine Anjou Association for thinking of us.  With everyone's support our beef business continues to grow & the success of our Ranch is due to all of you who support us!!

I have updated our website recently & will continue to add more pictures.

THANKS for all your support & encouragement!!!

Rancher Respect

So, This is going to be one of those posts I've warned you about. 
This is MY OPINION.
Because....Its MY BLOG.
Plus.... This is something I feel VERRY passionately about!

First, I must refresh your memory...

We haven't always been Wierd Ranchers.  I was raised on a small acreage with Quarter Horses, & Honey was raised with a small cattle herd.  We are both formally educated at Iowa State University with degrees in Animal Science.  After college, I worked in the sales field for a large health insurance agency & Honey persued careers in the cattle industry.  He managed the shipping department at Hawkeye Breeders for several years.  After that he became the manager of a large (1550 head) cow-calf operation.  So we KNOW conventional.  In addition over the past 10 years we've had about 100 of our own cows & anywhere from 30 to 300 Custom cows (we managed other people's cows). I only remind you of this information so you'll remember that we KNOW conventional.  And, now..... we're wierd.  We run our ranch UN-conventionally.

This, my friends, is where the dichotomy lies.

Many un-conventional producers; organic, grass based, natural etc.  feel that it is part of their sales or informational tactics to put down conventional production methods.  Some un-conventional producers think that consumers need to understand that conventional production methods are BAD. 

And some conventional producers, go out of their way to say that un-conventional (organic, grass-based, natural or free range) methods are bad or not good enough.

THIS FRUSTRATES ME!!! (~yes, I know I just screamed, it frustrates me THAT much)

As the saying goes, Why can't we just get along???

I know that there are some conventional producers that need to improve their farms.  I know of some un-conventional producers that need to improve the conditions for their animals too.  They're both working to get better.  I don't like ANY conditions that aren't optimal.  But heck, we've experienced times when we'd LOVE to improve the circumstances or environment.

I think I heard that right now, only 2% of our population are farmers or ranchers.  I believe that about 2% of our population is vegetarian.  Now, remember this post is about respect.  We need to make sure that we (meat producers) don't put down meat production in general; because there is an option (vegetarianism) that will allow those alienated people to show they don't want to deal with bad or negative meat circumstances.

We as farmers & ranchers NEED to stick together!  We NEED to respect that there are MANY different ways to raise animals & vegetables.  There are good ways, better ways, & the best ways. 

But, you know what? Good, Better & Best are all OPINIONS!  It is an opinion that one way is better than another.  Because we all have different preferences.  I may prefer to have animal choices in food at the top of my list.  You may have profit at the top of your list so you can stay in business.  I may choose to only feed grass to my ruminants, you may choose to feed a more diverse diet.  I may choose to let my chickens run around our entire ranch, you may choose to have some in a coop.  I could go on & on, but you get the drift, we are all different, because we are inately different people.

As far as "proof" that one way or another is "better", well, you can "prove" anything.  And, you can find anything that may serve as proof for your opinion on the internet too.  Numberous studies prove & disprove nearly everything there is to debate in agriculture (& life in general).

What I BELIEVE we all need to remember is:
That we're all people
We all have families
As American Farmers & Ranchers, we are raising the healthiest, safest food on the planet (the US has the lowest rates of food borne diseases)
We are all trying to be a little better each day & improve our operations
We all (almost all) have limited budgets & we have to work within those budgets
We are all aware that what we DO effects and affects our land and environment

We ALL need to remember that each time we talk negatively about someone, we are in-turn hurting our OWN farm or ranch.

Just as I type this, I'm aware that if I speak negatively about vegetarians in general, I'm putting down a very wonderful friend.  If you think about putting down or disparaging another style of farming or ranching, you MUST realize that you are directly putting down a PERSON and a family.  I know that we all think or are trying to do something "better", but we must NOT prosper at the cost of another's harm.

We CAN do better without putting down another style.

So, if your unconventional THINK about what you say.  THINK about the positives of your operation without saying anything negative about anyone (or thing) else.  When we are promoting ourselves, we need to promote ALL agriculture.  We should just choose to talk about how WE do things.  About why we do these things.

Lest you think I'm throwing stones in a glass house, I'm not.  I KNOW that I'm not perfect.  I was recently showed how I was talking negatives (even when I was trying NOT to) by the reaction on someone's face.  Because, he KNEW the person I was inadvertently putting down.

Please, please, please, we ALL NEED TO GET ALONG!

THINK about what you are saying, and THINK about who you are really affecting with your negative comments.  I encourage you to vote about agriculture 3 times each day.  Each time you pick up your cup, spoon, or fork; T.H.I.N.K. about what you're choosing.  I hope you're choosing healthy american raised food!!! 

And just so you know.  This is my original (un-edited) version.  I made 3 revisions to this post, but decided to let my raw thoughts be broadcast for all to read, because if we don't already know it, I'm as blunt & honest as it gets in real life.

~GreenRanchingMom

Writers Block

You know, this is my PERSONAL BLOG.  They call it that because its MY blog.  My point of view, my perspective .  So, you WILL see my personal rants coming soon.  I've had them in draft for way too long, worrying & obsessing about the way that others might react. 

So, when you read my reflections, just remember that they're MINE.  They aren't rude, just my point of view.  I'm not trying to be mean or disrespectful, because that is THE last thing that I would EVER want to be.  I'm always trying to see others' points of view and learn.

Hope you're having a beautiful fall day!  Its lovely here!  The cows are grazing south of the house & the girls are letting their horses graze in the back yard while they play on the swingset.