Things you just have to have to start farming...

[rox]

Sure do wish we had the Pat's Easy Change system. My husband really struggles to change the 3PH attachments.

Curious if you use a slaughter house when selling your beef. You said you are selling direct to restaurants and the public, do you have a local slaughter house?

 

[Spiveyman]

OK... it cost me years to learn and untold $$ ... and all my experience is now brought to you via the joy of TBN....

High tensile wire is superb... but you MUST learn how to handle it... there are special knots (trust me) that you need to learn about.. for splicing wire and tying off at a post. Also for how to cut it without a wire cutter....
...Look this stuff up on the web, etc... if you can't find it, PM me.

Awesome! Thanks so much. Never thought of the FEL to DRIVE the T-posts, and also appreciate the warning to stand back. When I get into this I'll probably PM you here or there for some details. TBN really is a great deal.

 

[Spiveyman]

One observation, spiveyman, disposition is highly inheritable.

Sorry to tell you that if your bull is a jumper, his calves will likely show that tendency, too. Took me a while to figure this out....

Yeah... I've heard that as well. My hope on this one is that he was 3 when we bought him and had NEVER been so much as loaded or moved to another field. He was just in a field with another bull. Besides being a moron with his cattle the seller also had about 3 1/2 foot 3 plank fences, boards on the outside of the posts, no outside vertical board to help secure them (not sure what this is called). And the guy, after guzzling 4 beers in about 15 minutes, jumped in front of the bull with a rod iron and hit him in the eye to try to get him on the trailer. The bull freaked out, and hopped through the fence. The other two times he'd already done it and knew he could. We finally put him in the barn, and he walked right on the trailer. Since then we've tamed him considerably. He'll let you rub his head while he's eating a "treat" (some grain every now and then for handling). He'll follow the bucket from one field to the next and is generally pretty calm. Here's some shots of my partner with him (at the bottom)

By the way, the photo of your area looks IDEAL for smooth wire electric fence. Since you already have horses, I'd just run out with a hackamore, put it on and ride bareback whereever you wanted to go to check on things.. That's what I did when growing up. My horse was trained to ground tie... I just would drop the reins and go do what I needed, then go back to him. You can't believe how handy this is.

Very cool, ground tie. Have to work on that one for sure!

Regarding roping.... I'd concentrate on learning how to rope a 100 to 150 lb calf on foot... one that has wandered into the wrong pasture and you need to return him to where he belongs. That's the best use of a rope. Yes, you can cowboy it up with your stock... but no point in it on your place where you can find and pen them at will.

Yep, so far I've only roped on foot, smaller animals. The only time we've had trouble crossing fence, as soon as we got over to the neighbor's field they made a b-line for the bad spot in the fence and came right back home like they knew they'd been bad. It was kind of cute actually.

 

[Spiveyman]

Sure do wish we had the Pat's Easy Change system. My husband really struggles to change the 3PH attachments.

Curious if you use a slaughter house when selling your beef. You said you are selling direct to restaurants and the public, do you have a local slaughter house?

Yeah, changing 3ph stuff can be a bear. I'm starting to get better at it. The Ford 6610 has a deal where the lower lift arm ball's will detach, so you can get close, detach them and hook them up, then just back your tractor up and they click right in. That helps an amateur like me not look so foolish.

Yes on the local slaughter house, best one in Central KY, Boone's Abattoir (you probably know what an abattoir is). Because we sell retail and direct we use an FDA inspected facility for slaughter and direct sales packaging. For retail stuff we use the same slaughter house, but have an FDA inspected butcher pick up the sides and package them very nicely with a roll stock machine (about a $120K machine). If you'd like any more details feel free to PM me.

 

[JoeinTX]

Sorry, but I've gotten in on this thread late in the game.

What do you need?

For 170 acres, you don't have a "big spread." One tractor, 40-50hp will handle your needs. If your aim is cattle for sale, then set back and let them graze your property...........no need for multiple tractors and shredders....let the cattle have it!

You talk of implements, but, what haying will you be doing while your cattle are on the place? No need to hay an area, for your own cattle, when they're the ultimate recipients of the work invovled.

Quite seriously, on 170 acres, you need one tractor that can do a variety of jobs, mount a seeder/spreader, and not cost you a great deal. Fencing, vaccination, working, and watching the market are far more important to you than equipment............which you don't need.

 

[texasjohn]

another thread swears that a T-Post Popper is a must have. With so many endorsements, it sounds like a great value.

 

[Spiveyman]

another thread swears that a T-Post Popper is a must have. With so many endorsements, it sounds like a great value.

Been reading up on those, sounds like it'd be smart to have one with the amount of fencing I'll be doing.

I'm also looking at getting a backhoe. Not that I'd have to have one for raising cattle, but reading Eddie's posts about how much easier it is to remove trees with a backhoe than a chainsaw has me pretty much convinced. I want to put in a pond in the back field and have many trees to clear. When I get ready to start this project, I'll probably start a new thread because I'll have many questions. My plan is to take the trees out of a little valley, build a dam (this I'll hire out a dozer guy for), and flood the low section between the two fields. Here's a picture of the tree line between the two fields and a sat view of the area so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[heymack]

Sorry, but I've gotten in on this thread late in the game.

What do you need?

For 170 acres, you don't have a "big spread." One tractor, 40-50hp will handle your needs. If your aim is cattle for sale, then set back and let them graze your property...........no need for multiple tractors and shredders....let the cattle have it!

You talk of implements, but, what haying will you be doing while your cattle are on the place? No need to hay an area, for your own cattle, when they're the ultimate recipients of the work invovled.

Quite seriously, on 170 acres, you need one tractor that can do a variety of jobs, mount a seeder/spreader, and not cost you a great deal. Fencing, vaccination, working, and watching the market are far more important to you than equipment............which you don't need.

This is exactly right. Unless money is not an object, there's no need for multiple tractors with tons of implements for a cattle operation.....especially when just starting. Heck, we had cattle on our place for years with no tractors and no implements. Now once you've established youself and start making some money, the more toys the better.

As for pulling fence posts, one can do it with a FEL or 3pt, but the little jack pullers are all you really need and are much faster.

 

[texasjohn]

Harbor Freight has a T Post Puller on sale now.(I think it's a post popper by another name, looks similar).. just got the flyer in the mail yesterday... LOT 3844= 45% off= $18.99 and the back of the flyer has a 15% off any single item.. not a bad deal. Sale ends 8/27/07. Being a Preferred Customer has its rewards!

Not telling you how to manage your place... but brush/trees make great cover for fish. If you intensively graze just that area.. I mean, really put the stock to it, then you will be surprised at how they will eat up/tromp down the undergrowth, leaving just the larger stuff. You might consider leaving some of the material there as part of your pond management plan.

 

[Spiveyman]

Harbor Freight has a T Post Puller on sale now.(I think it's a post popper by another name, looks similar).. just got the flyer in the mail yesterday... LOT 3844= 45% off= $18.99 and the back of the flyer has a 15% off any single item.. not a bad deal. Sale ends 8/27/07. Being a Preferred Customer has its rewards!

Not telling you how to manage your place... but brush/trees make great cover for fish. If you intensively graze just that area.. I mean, really put the stock to it, then you will be surprised at how they will eat up/tromp down the undergrowth, leaving just the larger stuff. You might consider leaving some of the material there as part of your pond management plan.

Great, there's a HF in the next town. I'll have to check thet out, although that may be a local promotion.

No problem on the "telling me how to manage my place" - that's why I'm here, looking for advice. That is a good point about the cover for fish. That's one of the main reasons I want to put the pond in. A bare bottom pond isn't the best for the fish. Some of those trees are huge though and would not be covered in the pond. I will have the local pond expert out from the NRCS before I get going too far.

Thanks!