Well, Fall was a rush! So many things needed be decided and acted upon. I was only able to sell one of our 2016 calf arrivals but he turned out to be a winner for the new owner. The mid-summer rains were a welcome aberration that carried both good and not-so-good ramifications. I had much more grass than I could use and the pastures got taller than I could manage. More on tghis later since there were some really god lesson learned.
Training and selling show animals proved to be more than this one old guy could handle. Maybe one or two would have been OK but seven were a real trial. I like training since it allows me to create animals that are tamed, easy to handle, and fun to be around. But the time it takes to do this well is significant and onerous if your the only one doing it.
It might be easier if I were raising my animals in a penned area where I have access to new calves early-on and on a daily basis. However, I prefer to have my calves raised on the pastures, surrounded by a herd, amid grass and sun.
I have decided to re-focus my ranch plan towards gourmet grass-fed beef. I have always had some beef sales but they were incidental to raising animals for show. (Something I'm not suited for or good at anyway it turns out.) This change had prompted a vast change in animal nutrition and management as well as pasture soil management and nutrient capability. Of course the marketing aspect will be challenging as well.
My first class of animals for harvest are turning one year old this Spring. It will be another year before I have a product that will gauge the progress of my efforts. I'll be posting some thoughts about what these changes entail and the problems I encounter in subsequent posts.
Happy New Year