by Robert McCrory, DVM
- A cull is a cull no matter what the pa-
pers say. Too many animals of all types
are kept simply because they are regis-
tered.
- Make excuses for a heifer and you will have
to apologize for the herd. To make prog-
ress you must subtract as well as add.
- The time to sell is when someone wants
to buy. It’s better to sell a good one too
high than a poor one too cheap.
- A steer an inch longer is an inch heavier. A
steer an inch taller is an inch taller.
- If you pick over a man’s herd and select
his biggest, he will be happy.
- The herdsman will tell you which animal is
best if you lead him right.
- Check the performance and production
history of a registered animal before
you look at the animal.
- Energy is the most lacking nutrient. Don’t
work yourself to death paying for conve-
nience.
- It’s hard to cut hay too early.
- Too much hay is seldom a problem.
- All hay is not created equal.
- Buying hay by the bale is like buying bulls
by color.
- Get pasture before you get animals.
- Reduce the herd to fit your feed supply.
- The time to fatten a cow is before she
gets too poor.
- A thin cow may be a credit to her and a
discredit to you.
- Enter winter with flesh on the cow and
cover on the pasture. Stockpiled forage
is as good as stored hay.
- Learning about the cattle business from a
cow trader is like learning about poker from
a gambler.
- If she has pones she should be gone.
- If it is not convenient, it won’t get done.
- Put the working pens where cows want
to go.
- Filter material and rock to prevent mud are
good long-term investments.
- A $6.00 bucket is better than a $10,000
Quarter Horse for rounding up cattle.
- Long feet and corns should be treated with
a ride in the stock trailer.
- Cattle handling equipment is sometimes
made for ease of construction and not
for safety and efficient use.
- If your customer fails to make money on
your cattle so will you.
- You can afford to pay for a bull what five
cows cost.
- Lease a good bull or co-op with a neighbor
but by all means get the best bull possible.
- A feedlot grain-tested bull will never
live long enough to overcome the bad
effects of the experience.
- A cheap bull is the most expensive animal
on the place.
- Everyone brags on your cattle to your
face.
- Aged cows may be a good way to get into
some good animals.
- Your neighbor won’t buy from you be-
cause it infers that your animals are bet-
ter than his.
- Eternal vigilance is the price of AI.
- The ugliest cow is always the best pro-
ducer - otherwise you would have sold
her.
- People with thin cattle worry about foun-
dering. People with obese animals claim
they never feed them.
- Inconvenience has lost many an ani-
mal.
- The owning of one cow requires the pres-
ence of a pen and head catcher.
- The smaller heifer typically calves okay
and the big old cow dies in labor.
- The eye of the master fatteneth the cattle.
It’s all about skill.
- The falling tree always hits the newest
fence.
- Build a bull proof fence then add a hot wire
on both sides. Good fences make good
neighbors. Everybody has an SOB for a
neighbor. Even your neighbor!
- Sale barns are for selling, not buying.
- A good name is better to have than great
riches. Riches can be regained but not a
good name.
- Never deal with a person who thinks ev-
eryone else is a crook.
- The best thing about the cow business is
the people you will meet. Bad cow people
don’t last long.
- Job grazing saves bush hogging fuel
and labor and improves the pasture.
- Some people feel guilty if they are not
working themselves to death in the cattle
business. The smart ones let the cows do
the work.
(Courtesy of The Stockman GrassFarmer, The
Grazier’s Edge, October, 2009, Volume 10, #9)
For a free issue of The Stock GrassFarmer call
1-800-748-9808.
