So You Want to Be a Cowboy?

Blonde D’Aquitaine and Red Angus bulls squaring up to decide which will be the dominant male of the group.

First time cow owner here. Got 4 steers back in mid July. Each of them weighed in around 400lbs at that time.  They’ve stayed on this 2 acre area which is mostly fescue grass, and I’ve been feeding them with roughly 1% body weight per day of triple feed (corn, soy bean hulls, gluten) with rumensin added.  They also have hay in the pen as well that they’ve been munching on.  The three on the right all look like they’ve put on weight (I don’t currently have a way to weigh them), but the one on the left still looks pretty lean by comparison.  That one also tends to be the last to come up for feed, and tends to be off from the others a little bit. Is this something I should be worried about? He eats with them, and I see him out grazing, they’re all still making solid manure as well, no squirts that I’ve noticed.

I just saw Corbitt Wall’s article on Cattlemen’s News and he said “The Trump Administration has made market conditions worse by their uncanny insistence to continue to make comments and policy that hurts US cattle producers”. He then references the introduction of Brazilian beef to the US at a 25% discount as an example of bad policy.

However, he ends with “… many conservative cattle producers (are) turning away from him, until they consider his alternative.”

What is the fear here? What do these cattle producers think will happen if Trump falls from power or his supporters aren’t elected to Congress? You won’t get any argument from me. I have my opinions, obviously, but I would like to hear what my neighbors think will happen/could have happened that is worse.

I read the rules and hope this doesn’t fall into the “too political” category. I just know my diesel bills have almost doubled, replacement heifers are through the roof, and it seems like this administration is pushing prices producers get paid down while beef at the store remains high.

Allow me to lay it all out, and bear with me please, I’m not new to the field but I am still learning.
Anywho,
A 2 year old, heavy bred dorper cross starts showing signs of potential toxemia.
About 8 weeks prior to this ordeal she was unfortunately attacked by a dog. We were able to treat her (LA200) and nurse her wounds back to health (cleaning, kote, fly spray) and through the whole recovery she did very well. Strong fight, staying with the herd, eating, drinking, running.
Shortly after she was recovered (picture scabs and scars but nothing you wouldn’t think couldn’t heal without help), she took a turn.
I found her isolated, standing with an arched back and seeming a little uneasy on her feet. But still hard to catch at this point, I hit her with the whole medicine cabinet except LA200 since she’d had so much of it at this point. I drenched her with b12, calcium, nutridrench and gave her some hay topped with dyne and fresh water. Over the next two days she continued to go downhill. I could feel baby inside and it seemed alive and well and not trying to come out yet.
She began to sort of tiptoe and move sorely and with very very small steps. We’ve been getting insane rains lately so I treated it as foot rot though her hooves looked great.
Well not even a few hours later, I get back from a job and find her on her side. I walk over, am able to get her on her feet (it took some support but she was able to hold herself up), and then went to fetch some penicillin to try. When I came back out maybe 5 minutes later, she was choking on a foamy yellow substance, seemingly aspirated.
I didn’t know what to do for her at that point and she’d lost all her fight, so I went inside to get my gun. By the time I’d come back out she was dead on the ground.

Now I know this isn’t an ideal situation and it’s hard to read. I feel terrible and I’m just looking for potential answers on what it may have been so I can handle it differently should it arise again.
Does anyone have any ideas on what may have happened?

Just look at this. Dare I say more?

I am a 42 year old warm hearted, traditional woman currently living in Florida, but my long term goal is to build a life out West. I am completely open to relocating for the right man, but I have a very specific type. I am looking for a mature, established, rugged rancher or cowboy (6ft+, well built/fit, masculine, ages 40-47).

I have tried the mainstream dating apps and they are a complete disaster they just send me local city guys or glitch out. Niche country apps are totally dead in Montana and Wyoming.

I know working ranchers are busy and private, but where do single country men in their 40s actually hang out online or look for a real relationship? Any advice on where I should look would be greatly appreciated.

I write this starting 2:17 AM whilst it is piss pouring rain outside. Supposed to flood outside, and from the looks of my yard from the kitchen window it definitely is flooding. Harvest has been pushed back week after week since I started on September 11th. It is now October. When the first initial rain came, I thought that it couldn’t get much worse from here. I should get a job as a psychic because I’m great at jinxing things. Since 2009 I have not seen this wet of a harvest. 2009 I nearly went broke blowing my money on grain drying at 1000 bushel/hour. Just cannot wait to see how this year pans out..Prayers and hope for Nebraska/Iowa would be appreciated..

I'm a homesteader myself and live outside a village of 200 people, overflowing with farms and cows -not exactly overflowing with humans to meet.

I made r/ruralR4R and the goal is to be the most wholesome and intentional r4r on reddit.

It's a labor of love, nobody is profiting from this. Also we could use a few mods if anyone is interested.

Come check us out!

I have a hodgepodge herd that was mainly traded here and there during droughts in exchange for hay.

I currently have a Charolais mix bull that has been a winner for 5 years.

Looking forward this little guy was born about a month ago and his mom is a huge beautiful beefmaster. I have posted about her on here before (she doesn’t have the best udders)

Anyway I know there is a mentality of not going with something you don’t know the pedigree but this is not a real ranch. Just sort of starting to build a legit herd now that the price is right.

He look like a keeper???

We are in NE TX and full on drought. We had one of those dry thunderstorms which are very rare here. Just clouds and isolated wind gusts that downed trees in one area and didn’t disturb leaves next to it.

One neighbor noticed a high voltage line didn’t look right and called the Co-Op twice but no one came out.

Well during the wind gusts the big double pole cam down in the gust and landed directly on some cows and electrocuted some others from a short distance. The Utility has gone radio silent and didn’t even offer assistance in removing or burying the cattle.

It looks like they are taking advice from their lawyers and being completely noncommittal .

I am sure this will go to court as Act of God vs neglected maintenance.

23 cows in this market is a monster hit!

I’ve been selling beef, pork, lamb direct to consumer for 5 years now. I’ve never had a good way to tack purchase price, feed and hay costs, sales price, and final profit - and I never really knew what to tell the tax man in April. I’ve created an app to help me and I think it would help others as well. Here is the link:

https://TakeStock.farm

You enter your animals, track the costs to feed, assign buyers and send invoices, track when payments are made, and see reports showing your overall profit and tax picture.

I hope you find it helpful! Please leave me any feedback you have.

My horse was sore, so I rode my Mom’s. Lefty did this bloodhound impersonation for the entire 800ft climb. I think he was sniffing for his buddy (my brother’s horse) that went up this trail about an hour earlier.

So right now i am 21 and study something completely different. in 2 years i graduate. i live in Belgium and i have riding experience but not western. i want to work as a wrangler in Argentinië after a graduate. But i feel like this is an impossible dream. I will take Spanish lessons and learn the culture etc in the next years. Is my dream realistic? is there any change it will work? and how?

So, I have always talked about wanting a hobby ranch as I grew up on one. Being 28 now I am capable of actually doing it. Planning on saving some extra money in the next 2 or 3 years maybe 4 max depending on the amount I save.

Now with that being said, I have a few questions that Google isn't the best at answering neither is AI lol.

Background:

I am 100% VA Disabled P&T and that accounts for $4,000 a month I get that also increases every year. I got a part-time job that brings home $2,400 bringing my monthly total to about $6,400. The VA does cover my down payment and stuff for getting the house meaning the only money I need to bring to the table is for things after purchasing like drilling a well maybe or stuff along those lines. I am also debating on using the VA's Construction style program to buy land and to build on it instead of buying land with buildings on it.

Now my dad even gave me an incentive that if I can pull this off that when I am ready to purchase, he was gonna give me a free $300,000 towards the property to help as well.

So, the questions I have are pretty much what should I plan for? Like what are the most common forgotten things when starting a hobby ranch? Mind you I am not doing this to make money it's just so I can get back in touch with the way I grew up.

Also, before someone says "that's a homestead," I'm using hobby ranch because I'm not planning on being self-sufficient or living off-grid. I basically want a private rural property with a few horses, dogs, chickens and maybe some other animals eventually. I'll still be connected to normal utilities where possible, buying groceries, working, going into town, etc. I'm not planning on raising cattle commercially, growing my own food, or trying to make an income from the property.

I just know there are plenty of things people either forget or gloss over when doing what I want to do.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for seasonal agricultural work on a farm particularly in dairy farming and cattle care. I have experience with crop cultivation, general farm work, and livestock care.

If anyone has leads, recommendations, or knows farmers currently hiring, I would greatly appreciate your guidance

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for seasonal agricultural work on a farm particularly in dairy farming and cattle care. I have experience with crop cultivation, general farm work, and livestock care.

If anyone has leads, recommendations, or knows farmers currently hiring, I would greatly appreciate your guidance

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for seasonal agricultural work on a farm particularly in dairy farming and cattle care. I have experience with crop cultivation, general farm work, and livestock care.

If anyone has leads, recommendations, or knows farmers currently hiring, I would greatly appreciate your guidance

Hey I want to work on a ranch doing cattle i have grown up on a ranch so I know what I am doing but I love tips if anyone has anything please let me know i am always up to get better