Different livestock on the farm??

I saw the posting about sheep down below. That is one animal I have never been around too much. My one Aunt had a few show lambs while she was in FFA. That would have been in the very early 1960s. Those seemed to be the stupidest animals I have ever been around. They where always getting into trouble.

I know that wool had almost zero value around here right now. Used to be guys that traveled around shearing sheep and they would buy the wool. It seems like that market stopped in the mid to late 1980s. Anyone know what caused wool to lose it's value???

It does seem that the market for lambs has improved the last few years. I know of one fellow that converted his confinement hog yards to finishing out slaughter lambs. He seems to be making better money on them than he did on hogs. He is able to keep up with his bills better. He says that the lambs saved him having to quit farming. HE gives the wool away.

As for my question: What are the different animals any of you are raising? I have beef cattle and finish out beef calves. I used to have hogs until about ten years ago. I guess I have some horses now. So I would like to hear about some other animal you guys are raising.

Wool dropped in value because Gov't subsidy was dropped. now people raise hair sheep(no shearing required). Breeds such as Dorper,Kathadin & Barbado are some of the popular breeds. Lamb meat sales is up because of the ethnic population explosion in the USA.

Tried to reply to the sheep post question, but for some unknown reason it continued to kick me out because I'm not registered. Completely baffled. Mentioned we had sheep for at least five generations and we kids hated them. Found out Dad also didn't like them because less than a month after grandfather died they were all gone. Only animal I've found more stupid is a chicken and some also say the domestic turkey. Never been around turkeys. Our sheep always seemed looking for a means to get sick and/or die. Best thing about sheep is that they don't tear stuff up like cattle occasionally do and hogs are constantly doing. Synthetic fibers killed the wool market.

As recently as 1970 there were over 40 million sheep in the USA, today there are roughly 4 millon, wool averages around $1.25 per pound, most domestic wool still goes to South Carolina mills, the same mills import Australian and New Zealand wool. China now has the worlds largest sheep flock and they also lead in textiles, they also use wool from Australia nad New Zealand. Wool has been displaced for many uses by man made cloth that is easier to work with and care for, not many housewives these days are going to hand wash clothes. For many years it was federal law that all US military dress uniforms had to be made of American wool, I am not sure when that ended. Texas has the countries biggest wool markets but many states have wool pools sponsered by sheep associations and state extension service that buy the local wool and arrange for shipping and sale. I worked on a shearing crew many years ago with mostly Scottsmen and a few Kiwis who would come over for the season and several big sheepmen would pitch in and pay their air fare, there are still shearing crews, mostly mexicans, that work their way from Texas to California each season.

ALPACA's. We have over 300 of them. The animals sales are slow because everything else is slow. The Fiber still has a good market. Need more info e-mail me.

I'm stickin with beef and my cow calf for right now. The prices for 600 weights has gone bananas in the last two years.

I've got one neighbor who has been raising a few sheep on about 7 acres, and makes a few bucks on market lamb, but the wool is a give away. Back in WWII it was used for flyers coats, but now they just break a few extra bucks on it. Most of their money comes from market lambs of about 100 pounds.

Big thing around some places here now is goats. Since the etnic crowd has moved into the cities north of here, there is a huge meat market for them and their milk and cheese. Couple of buyers came into the auction last spring, and were buying goats around Easter time. The cattle auction was supposed to start at 6:30, but they sold goats until almost 10:30. Cows didn't finish out until after 2 am.

And a lot of small places are doing horses. Biggest problem is getting paid for the room and board, though. Most horse people are tighter than ticks on a hound dog and are of the opinion someone else really wants to feed their horse for free.

I grew up with goats, and we've had a few over our married years, as well. Wife wanted to get some again, and after we got down on horse numbers, we did have a couple of runs that had goat-proof fences. Lady that she rides with lives next to a goat farm, and goat lady had too many. Wanted to get rid of a few, but knew if she took them to the sale they would get eaten. So she gave us three does, 2 saanen crosses and an oberholser or obenthaler or something like that. A goat is pretty much a goat to me, but I do like them.

Have often wondered how they can be closely related to the sheep, but be so much different. Goats have a great sense of fun, sheep have a great sense of "duh".

Ethnic meat market has been great for both goats and sheep. Synthetic materials and loss of the wool subsidy have pretty much killed the wool market, and my sister got out of them because she said you had to get something for the wool, as well as selling fat lambs, to make anything on them. I do miss buying lamb from her- they fed them just right, and the meat was terrific. I had always said I hated lamb- so one time at sis's for dinner, another great roast as usual, she asked how I liked the meat (they have cattle, too, which I assumed it was). Great, said I. Well, this, and the last two roasts you have had here, and raved about, were lamb. So we bought one every year they were in the business.

I only raise beef steers that I finish out year a round. I used to raise a small group of feeder to finish hogs, but they cost too much when corn prices skyrocketed. I still have a few laying hens around, but they are too old for eggs anymore, if there are any eggs, the dogs or cats have a nice buffet. I have always liked cattle the best and will stay with them until I die or my health fails me.
Kow Farmer

I only have dairy cows (holsteins and one holstein/swiss cross) and my Dad raises holstein and holstein/simental cross steers, but I came close to having bison on my farm today. Got loose from a farm 2 miles north and east, got as far as the line fence between me and the neighbor to the north. Been out there with 7 or 8 other guys trying to get them back for the last two hours. They're getting corral panels right now - going to load and haul them home.

Just got the pic uploaded. I was standing in my pasture looking north when I took this.

Depends on the breed. My sisters has shetlands that are pretty much hairy goats. She also has meat sheep, don't know the breed but big dumb brutes. They are nice in that they don't run away or test fences all the time but so frigging dumb!

Yeah. Let us know how that works. Guy 'bout four miles up the road was raising them. One cow and a bull got out. They shot the bull on the neughbors place. Then the idiots tried horses, four wheelers, helicopters and everything short of a tank for a week to get her back in with the rest. They finally wound up shooting her about fifteen miles from home. Home is anywhere a buffalo wants it to be..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9054677/Driver-surrounded-by-sheep-cyclone-becomes-an-online-hit.html

Come around here, and I"ll let you talk to 52 Shetland sheep, 4 angora goats, and 3 North American llamas. Wonder what my dad would say, he had dairy, chickens and pigs on this farm....

I guess it worked OK. After I posted, I went out to haul manure and then feed and milk. While I was running the barn cleaner, I could see them in the same area as where I took the picture, and I could hear the corral panels being moved around. By the time I got my cows in for milking, the bison were gone. I guess they did have to shoot one that got out a couple years ago. It was on a farm about 3 miles south of me when they found it.

Wool act payments were made directly to the producer and never affected the market price or demand of wool, in fact, the whole point was to try and get people to produce more wool so the more you produced the more your wool act payment. We never took any payments because my Dad never believed in government subsidies or payments of any kind. He would have ate the wool before he would have signed up on anything.

Cattle,meat goats,Guinea Hogs and chickens