July 3, 2006
We have, since the middle of May, been weaning calves, finishing-up with the last bunch in the third week of June. Because we run our cows in fields of 1-2 square foothill miles, we brand and wean a field or two at a time, hauling the calves down to the corrals adjacent to our irrigated pasture where we precondition them before selling them on the stampedecattle.com Internet auction site in the next few weeks. Part of the preconditioning process includes a regime of vaccinations and booster shots that we trust will help bring premium prices from buyers. We do not implant our calves with growth hormones nor have we had to resort to any antibiotics thus far, so with a little luck we will offer an all natural, antibiotic free, choice beef product.
The vaccination program requires that we hold the calves on pasture for a few weeks longer than normal to insure that we not ship any reactors to the modified live virus shots. This year, we have religiously weighed the calves before and after weaning and they will be weighed again after we sort the steers from heifers when both receive their last round of shots and deworming next week. Economically, it’s essential to know the impact of this new program on our weight gains.
As we approach our annual payday in 100+ degree heat, I tend to be a little irritable and tense. We spent this morning fixing fence after feral hog hunters with dogs ran 160 head of calves through three fences just before daylight. Got the calves back together OK, but probably a good thing we didn’t catch the poachers.
At times like this, punching a time clock almost sounds appealing.