The cattle market this year is topsy-turvy as heavier cattle are fetching better prices. Apparently with the high price of corn due to ethanol feedlots that want heavier cattle so they don't have to finish off the cattle's weight with as much corn. Not only does it take as much or more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol as one gets from that gallon, but ethanol's demand for corn is playing havoc with the price of crops and those dependent on a reasonable price. But the Minnesota and Iowa farmers and politicians have gotten ethanol considered to be a "good" fuel and Congress is granting subsides left and right. Now places where growing corn doesn't make sense are planting corn and building ethanol plants. Bah!
Dan was concerned the prices cattle are getting are dropping and he wanted to sell now. I still have plenty of grass and even green grass, especially down by the river. But it was easier to have our entire combined herd go at once. And then I wouldn't have to hassle with transporting them to Rich's place later.
But I was torn as I watched the noon market report and with the release of Friday's report on the number of cattle in feedlots as being a record low amount for July, and that the Billings livestock auction and other markets were going higher, I wanted to wait. But by then events were in motion.
Dan and I worked our phone calls in between his visit to a doctor to find out what kind of surgery he will need for his shoulder.
I waited for the cattle to finish their noon siesta. Instead of coming to the house to check for apples, they split and roamed the south pasture. While waiting for the cattle's siesta to end I had gone to the neighbor's place and got apples. They have more than they want and give me the rest. Every few days I gather the ones that have fallen to the ground. Today I filled two large boxes.
I spread the apples around the corral and barn area then went with a 5 gallon bucket of apples to get the cattle. The cattle trust me. This morning when Dan looked the herd over they were wary and antsy. When I wasn't near Dan a number of cattle came over to me, and one of my steers wanted his head scratched.
With my bucket of apples in hand the herd came together and followed me back to the corral. I then called Rich and it wasn't too long before he came over with his 24 ft cattle trailer.
I herded the cattle into the loading corral and Rich backed his trailer up to my head gate. He wasn't quite even with the gate so I stood on one side so no cattle would take a hard left and not enter the trailer.
We decided to take the herd in two loads. Rich herded 15 cattle through the loading ramp part of the corral while I watched the gap. It went fairly smooth except for one which ran back past Rich. Before Rich could retrieve this one, it jumped over the gate that separates the loading ramp from the holding area. The gate was wood and high enough that it could not get cleanly over and it's weight broke the top board.
We had plenty of room in the trailer so Rich herded three more cattle and the loading of them went smooth.
The floor of Rich's trailer was thick with manure from previous transport and when I leaned out to encourage the cattle to move deeper into the trailer to make room for more cattle the cattle's hooves kicked up some manure and my arm and shirt got splattered. We'll see if I can get these stains out.
Dan arrived from his doctor's visit just as we leaving and we all rode together over to Rich's place. While we waited at the first stoplight just down the road the driver of the car behind us come running up to tell us the back door was unlatched. Man, you never saw three guys get out of a pickup and run back as fast as we did. What a nightmare it would have been if the cattle had gotten out! We latched the door securely this time. Rich and I had forgotten to latch the second latch after loading them and pulling away from the head gate doors. We must have feeling too good at how smooth the loading went.
We had hauled 17 cattle and both Rich and I had counted 12 head left in the corral before we left. Did we count right or was one missing? When we returned I stood up on the side of the loading ramp recounted several times the herd. Finally I got 13. A smaller one would get "lost" in the middle when the herd milled around.
It was the same deal when Rich backed his trailer up. It was not straight to the gate so I stood by the gap to discourage any cattle from slipping out the side.
Rich again herded the cattle while Dan maneuvered around the loading area. The cattle balked at going through the head gate and into the trailer. Instead of letting them get accustomed to the idea Dan and Rich yelled and swatted the cattle. The cattle surged simultaneously and the sides of my loading ramp bulged outward. Some cattle entered the trailer, others stopped, and others turned around and ran backward towards and past Rich. The ones that ran past Rich then jumped the ramp/holding area gate breaking it down.
Another try and we got all but three head in the trailer. When Rich and Dan herded the last three head one heifer jumped up and over the side of the loading ramp and ran off. In the chaos of the attempts to load the cattle the top boards on one section came down, and while the side was still high, this heifer made it over.
I closed the trailer door to keep the cattle inside and ran to get the heifer. It was along the chain link fence south of the barn. Earlier I had closed the gate east of the barn. Dan was attempting to open the gate when the heifer came around. He got it partway open before he ran. I tried to herd the heifer through the gate but it turned and charged at me. This is a big heifer, and while it was not a big bull, the end result would have been the same if it ran over me. I ran out of the way and let it pass by me.
The heifer was wild-eyed and saliva was dripping from its mouth as it ran to the west chain link fence. I walked to herd it. Running would only further agitate her. She was looking to get over the fence but it was a little too high thanks to the help my Aunt Cathy and Diane did in helping me attach long poles along the top of the chain link fence.
The heifer ran along the east fence and was again stymied, again due to the help my Aunts did in attaching poles.
I got the east gate open as Dan earlier had tried to move it in a direction it would not go. I eventually got the heifer around and through this gate which made it easier to herd her around the truck to the loading corral. Otherwise she would jump the interior barb wire fence that split the corral. Sometimes she would snag the barb wire. That fence - which I had planned to rebuild - definitely needs work now.
She went to the gate for the loading corral and stood. I tried to herd her further into the corral so I could close the gate and she turned and charged me. I ran out of her way as fast as I could and she missed me and ran over to the loafing shed. Dan and I herded her from the loafing shed back to the loading corral and instead of going into the corral she took a hard left and ran behind the trailer and to the south of the loading corral. Rich had closed the head gate so she had just enough room to somehow squeeze through the small area between the trailer and the head gate.
As I rounded the truck I saw her jump my corral gate to the pasture. She couldn't quite get over the gate and landed on it. The gate is a lightweight metal and not strong steel tubing. Ya, I can hear my uncles now telling me I should have bought those metal tube gates at the auction we attended in May near Whitefish.
When the heifer landed on the gate she broke part of it and pulled it completely off the posts. She untangled herself and ran into the pasture.
*augh!*
I ran after her. She ran past the gate to the middle pasture so I closed it when I reached it. She then ran along north/middle pasture fence. She wanted to get to the south pasture where she had spent the past weeks. I walked along the fence on the middle pasture side. Once she reached the river she turned and circled back looking for an avenue of escape. She was still wild-eyed and held her head high with a twitching tail and ran with a trot.
I circled around and got between her and the river. I followed as she headed back towards the corral. Dan and Rich let one of my cattle out into the corral to entice Dan's heifer to return. However once she got halfway she turned and ran back along the north/middle pasture fence. I tried to head her off but she was much bigger and I again moved out of her way.
Game of chicken: heifer: 3, Me: 0.
I crossed into the middle pasture and before I could get closer to the river she jumped the fence. She got hung up in the fence as her back legs hadn't made it over. I backed off so as not to further excite her (as if that was possible!) and eventually she freed herself and ran into the middle pasture.
She headed for the middle/south pasture fence and I ran to get ahead of her. I did but Dan called for me. I seen my one heifer was now in the north pasture along the fence. Dan called me back as his was too agitated to be herded. With my heifer here we would leave them and let his heifer calm down. Rich will return at 7 am in the morning, earlier than I wanted to get up.
Now to repair the damage. I had get and nail boards to patch up the loading ramp. Not only did I have the section the heifer had jumped and knocked down, but other areas had holes broken through the snow fence.
My goal was to rebuild the loading corral fences, but this summer was way too hot and I put the rebuild on hold. Just as I improved my perimeter fences over the years as the cattle found weaknesses in them, so too have I learned lessons today to use in my corral rebuild. I do learn as you may have noticed that the only jailbreaks this year have been through my neighbor's fence when the cattle were in his pasture, and then yesterday when the cattle found the weak rusty section of barb wire in my other neighbor's fence.
Ah.. the gate. Sure would have been nice to have one of those gates from the auction. But I don't have one. I got out a sledgehammer and drill and set about repairing my mangled gate. After jumping on it, then pounding it with the sledgehammer, I drilled holes to reattach pieces. Then I found a couple of metal plates I had gleaned from somewhere in case I needed them. I am glad now that I did that. I attached the plates to a broken section, and a near broken section. Good as new - or something close to it.
When I carried the gate out to be reattached to the post my heifer was in the corral by the barn. Dan's heifer was outside the corral in the north pasture. She ran off when she saw me coming. By now it was getting dark.
I couldn't get the gate on both pegs. I don't know if the gate got stretched or the posts tipped. It was dark and I was tired. I left the gate along the corral fence. I went to the south pasture with a couple large pails and retrieved the remaining salt blocks. I closed the gate to the middle/north pastures. When I reached the corral it appeared in the dark that there were two black shapes in the corral around the barn.
I closed the damaged gate the best I could then went and got some black rubber bungee cords. I fastened them around the gate to hold it in place. I also got a long thick pole and attached it to the fence posts on each side of the gate. Try jumping over the gate again!
My heifer was calm and even approached me when I put the salt blocks by the water trough. Even Dan's heifer came in the same area as me and my heifer. As I walked back and forth in the corral reinforcing the damaged gate the cattle were relatively calm as I didn't make eye contact with either one of them. I *think* they will remain in the corral overnight. Now Rich doesn't have to bring his horse in the morning. Though I suppose I could have called Colleen and she could have rounded the heifer up for me using her horse. She had offered in the past to do if I ever needed my cattle rounded up. Then I could have seen her in action. That would be sexy!
It was 9:45 pm before I got into the house. Definitely dark outside as we are rapidly losing minutes of daylight each day. Dark before 10 pm! Where has the time gone?!
My back and arm muscles are very sore. I better get these tired and sore muscles to bed so I can get up in time for Rich's arrival.
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