Cows...

They are the life and livelihood of a cattle farmer…apart from pasture, we would consider them our top priority.

 They are the cogs in the machine...

And these little fellas are part of the production line...

With the late arrival of the season again and numbers high we lightened off in Spring. The Grazing Chart told us it probably wasn't going to look pretty if we didn't but more importantly our visual of the paddocks, even though rested for a number of months, needed rain and more rest, Summer rest.

We also anticipated  better calving results with our cows. We are into our 3rd year vaccinating for Pesti Virus. There has been a decrease of between 7-8% in losses from Pregnancy Testing to Branding. We have also kept our maiden heifers having their first calf, separate to our main breeder mobs. We did this in order to be able to manage them as their own mob. It meant we could shift them out to the steer paddocks if need be in one muster if we didn't get rain. It meant we could monitor the supplement more accurately than if they were with the main breeder mob. Thirdly and most importantly, it was so we could go out there on any given day check pastures, monitor their condition and make a decision about them before it was too late.

We live on coastal country, some of it is highly fertile marine plain, good fattening country, with a strong stand of parra-grass, water couch and marine couch. Some of it is higher plain, it doesn't carry the parra-grass because the water just doesn't sit there for as long. It is also very copper deficient. The ridge is coastal forest country, this time of year it grows a heap of grass so we've increased the stocking rate for the next 6 weeks. But like everywhere it all depends on the rainfall. Sometimes the country can be flooded, we need to have the cows close to the ridge if there is a big dump of rain overnight. We experienced that with Cyclone Oswald. It dropped 13 inches overnight...in our hearts we know it's not a good scenario for cows and young calves to be out in the middle of that.

Like all farmers we talk about our cows and calves all of the time...I liken it to running a boarding school. They are under our care. Their nutrition, their education, their welfare…it is our responsibility.

The first big round of branding was finished a couple of weeks ago.

The rain, yes it has fallen...we consider ourselves one of the lucky ones...

And with new life, brings new hopes and dreams...

And we are still thinking of all of those farmers so desperately hanging on despite the adversity they are being faced with.

xxx

Things are a little quiet

One child in a cast with a break to his left Humerus...things are a little quiet around here and well not that humerous...the rough road to and from town is about the extent of his travels, thank goodness he loves to read and we can buy books for the iPad (no tax deduction there)!

 

In saying that L is still working on his fence....alone!

I am trying to finish my big list of things before school goes back in what 10 days...

The kids spotted my list after a disagreement with each other to which I intervened so they kicked off the cleaning of the kitchen...I was so taken back I gave them a big squeezy hug...their cleaning however only lasted 1/2 an hour. I finished around 4.30pm (all day) and note to self never to leave it that long again. Kitchen cupboards were scrubbed inside and out, items that I never use collected and will see one of the many charity bins in town. With the Australian Open on however, this may also account for the length of time it took me.

A couple of long term, planned projects are underway and close to finish...

We've managed to service the bike's, the manual kind...and deal with a red-back spider who had quite happily made her web and sack in the spokes...

A new accounting program, quite rightly advised by my brother-in-law to try it for 6 months before recommending it. I'll blog before the end of Financial Year about that one...but just quickly I haven't been this excited about my books for a long time!

Branding next week will be interesting with the heat but like all farmers we are just going to have to roll with it...

 

Girls, Girls, Girls!

Not quite the Elvis Presley Californian girls,

but they are our girls...

Yesterday was spent checking cow condition.

I am pretty sure I haven't got my grass budgeting quite right but going on cow condition I don't think it's a dismal fail either. The wet years have thrown us a bit out of whack, but we're drought kids right...through the 90s it never rained much either. I was a bean counter, punching numbers into a computer in Rockvegas in those days. Lach remembers only to well. We've been bullish in the wet, given that there are still few strategies open to us...which way we go will decide how much rain falls out of the sky this week.

This next lot of cows are destined for the meatworks after they raise their calves. Unfortunately learning their mother's bad character traits along the way.

Culling for temperament continues...our pet hate is an animal with a bad temperament. It looks like this cow has been left in charge of calf playgroup.

 

And then there is the 2013 heifer drop who have freshened up nicely from the plain and now forage on the green grass from Spring rain (grateful for that rain too I might add) in the forest country around the house.

We are still a mixed bag of composites, but every year we are improving the genetics and temperament.

And as for the chooks, well the old birds are completely off the lay, I don't think I have secured an egg from them in 2 months...

And these young birds are a little way off from laying but with six of them (maybe five if Roger really is a Roger) there will be an influx of eggs they...obviously before Roger has his way with them...chook experts when will I know that?

Fencing and water

The man of the house is the planner, the one in the coal face...reading other blogs I think at times I have the easy job, get off lightly...teaching the kids...cough, cough, splutter!

The loss of two Angus bulls in the 2012/13 breeding season meant a change of strategy.

The idea of another laneway had always been in the pipeline but with a few more helicopter musters under our belt the idea of another square to muster into, equipped with watering points, four in fact was approved. The benefits we could both see outweighed the cost. I think I'll name this one Heifer Dingo square...original given the paddock we took it from is Heifer Dingo.

 

Kids in the bush get pretty handy, this one appears to be adhering to instructions more, pretty important when driving.

The littlest one likes this job, spray painting the hole with hot pink spray paint, makes it easy for Dad to see.

 

 

 

I can't remember but there must have been 20 strain...Lach does most of it himself except for the odd day when my brother can come up and help...by the way no-one is a fan of the wire gates but since we've been paying the bills its pretty cost effective.

 

A bit of this ridge country was burnt after the rain we had in November...now it just looks terrible. Whether your a fan of burning or not sometimes a fuel load needs to be dealt with in traditional ways.

We are also keeping alive a few hundred roos with this Lake, it's marvellous to have another body of water on the place.

 

This hard ridge is where the watering points are,

 

This fence will act like a funnel from Carlton square,

 

 

Getting a few loads of gravel for gateways helps in the wet season...when it arrives.

 

A purpose built smoko table by my Dad travels with the fencing gear and clearly stumps are in big supply.

 

 

He'll be glad to see an end to this job too...with the heatwave we've just experienced and after a week of festivities at the Sunshine Coast, he could feel his jeans loosening up pretty quickly.