Sold last cow.

I sold my last cow today guess I will have to quit farming. Getting to old an crippled anyway.
I got .65 cents she weighed 1555 so I did pretty good for an old cow. Kind of wounding what I can do next now to keep my farm going. Thought about blue berries I have a great spot for them it stays wet all year they like that.
Or grapes up on the hill to feed the drunks.
Walt

I think it is always a sad day when people have to sell their cattle or anything farm related because of health issues. I dread to think the day I have to do this. I remember when I was knee high to a heifer, my grandpa sold his dairy herd 40 years ago. I will never forget that even though I was only 4 years old. Walt, I wish you the best of luck both in your health and farm circumstances.
Kow Farmer

(quoted from post at 21:51:20 08/25/12)
I sold my last cow today guess I will have to quit farming. Getting to old an crippled anyway.
I got .65 cents she weighed 1555 so I did pretty good for an old cow. Kind of wounding what I can do next now to keep my farm going. Thought about blue berries I have a great spot for them it stays wet all year they like that.
Or grapes up on the hill to feed the drunks.
Walt

Click to expand...

Gee Walt...what you gonna do fer a girl now?????? Jest teasing!

Rick

Life goes through stages and at each stage we have to make changes. I used to take changes real easy, but it gets harder in our old age.

Sorry for this ending! I saw my grandpa go thru this, he had always been super independent, but health slowed him way down!

Just saw a thing on TV a week or so ago where someone switched to small breed (dexter in this case) cut the numbers, and went on... Claim was there is a better market for the small carcass and input was less... I don't know enough to verify. If you don't have a lot of predators and a variety of people, you may look into goats or the shedding sheep. I could see them berries or grapes turning into more work than cows..

Good luck..

Sorry to hear that Mr. Davies. But I did the same thing earlier this year. I had a heart attack the last day of Jan. 2011. Bounced back pretty quick and was back at my off farm job in 2 weeks. I've had cattle of some sorts since I was 6 years old.

In Feb. of this year I saw prices climbing on cows like I'd never seen before so I decided to unload 38 cows and 2 bulls while they were at the peak. Then calf prices went up a little later and I sold those too. Got 4 calves going to freezer beef and hauling them early in the morning. Got one old cow and a bull calf that I'll sell within a month and they'll all be gone.

I'm 60 and still have a full time job off farm. I can't work like I use to, fertilizer is way to high for cattle, diesel fuel is also and the input cost are to much for me to continue with all these drought years we've been through. I've been keeping this farm going and working a full time job for over 35 years now. Got the kids through college and decided to sell high and cut the work load some. I'll miss the cattle and I know how you feel.

The pressure sure was off my shoulders in this years drought. Good to have some stress removed. I'll just tend a little more garden now.Food is getting higher so we'll just can and freeze more.

So far I'm enjoying not being tied down as much.

Sorry to hear that Walt. I sold all of mine a couple of summers ago due to working two off farm jobs and not being able to find any reliable help. I thought I would miss it and I do at times, but it frees up alot of time to do other things. Funny, I seem to have more money in my pocket now! I agree with the other post that berries and grapes can turn into alot of work! Good luck sir!

I hate to hear of someone going out, and fear that my time is coming sooner than I want to think. But, some of that last check ought to buy a nice tackle box and a good rod and reel. At least, you shouldn't go hungry, and the critters don't kick. I only wish your place was near mine; I need more pasture.

If you decide to try a big herd of cats,look me up. I've got a few dozen I'd like to get rid of.

Wife and I raised cattle for about 10 years, but it was never profitable, we both worked full time, and it just got to be more than we wanted to deal with when the kids started having activities.

Grew up on a dairy, dad milked from about 1950 to 1961. Summer of '61, we were closing it out- We had never been able to recover from the price crash of '58. I was 12, and did the milking that summer. Each week another load went out, 5 at a time, on Saturday, for the livestock auction. We'd figure out which 5 were to go that week. Last 3 or 4 were our favorites- and Friday morning, dad said Ernie would be here after milking to pick them up. I asked if he didn't want to wait until Saturday, so he could be here (he was working full time)- he said no, he'd rather not- and he was getting a little teary. I think it was for the best- a 12 year old shouldn't see his dad cry.

A sad day- but by selling out before we were completely broke, folks were able to keep the farm. They split the 110 acres into about 5 parcels, he built houses on a couple of them and sold on contract (he was a carpenter), and they were able to retire while in their early 50's.

Grandpa sold the dairy herd in 1966 and moved to town. Dad is 91 and talks about plowing corn and working in the fields at age 7. We moved to town when I was 8. Hated that move. My only farm memories were made in the three years before the move. I keep them close and maybe can hold on to them as I age. Good Luck.

My cows need to go,sold 75% of the herd three years ago,but 65 is still to many will have been raising cows for 60 years in Oct. I'm 69 and the years are beginning to tell Would like to find someone local to lease them to.The cows have about 40 years of AI. genetics

Gee I guess that makes me stupid......I'm 57, with disabilities and I'm trying to restart the family farm and make my herd bigger.....maybe I sould apply for "mental disabilities".

Rick

Grapes? Blueberries?


Sounds like a lot of manual labor!



How about round bales? Drive tractor to cut, rake, bale, carry...

Sounds like an easy way to justify seat time on a tractor!



My father sold the Holsteins back when I was young. We haven't squeezed a single teet in 30 years. Instead, we sell corn, hay, wheat and soybeans to all those suckers who are still udderly squeezing too much. I find that the balance of seat time in the tractor against the backdrop of havign to lift an occasional 50lb bag of seed corn to uplifting to my soul.


There is something to be said about being able to leave the farm for a week at a time and not worrying about whether an animal will starve, or get hurt. Does it still feel like a farm in the abscence of any animal? Just ask my neighbors if they even noticed the animals were gone. Most of them will say they couldn't tell, based on teh amount of tractor driving I do.


I really hope you don't get down or discouraged with the lack of cows. Honestly, it is teh best feeling in the world to know that if you get a cold or an aching back you can just rest, sleep through the day, and watch tv with some comfy pillows and a glass of juice. No animal will be harmed if you decide you need a day off. It was so hard for us to adjust to that lifestyle after 230 years of family tradition, milking cows 7 days a week on the same farm.


Needless to say, I have more time to read about you and your family and farm life because of the lack of animals.


It's a good thing, don't let your teeth hurt about it.

May you always have cows around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nk8-MqnHlw