Farms.com Home   News

Cattle Producers Dealing With Desperate Situation

Dry conditions continue to create challenges for many cattle producers.

Allan Munroe is owner of Killarney Auction Mart.

"We're getting these little shots of rain that green things up and give us a little bit of optimism but the crops are slow emerging, the pastures are very slow, there's a lot of guys still feeding their cows, not wanting to throw them out on the pasture and damage what is there. The rule always was 'a day in the spring can give you a week in the fall' as far as grazing. Guys are being very cautious but it's just very, very slow coming and we're seeing a lot of action at the market this June that we normally wouldn't."

He notes it's a little bit of survival mode right now, because the feed is not out there.

"You can't just go buy a load of round bales right now. The grass isn't growing. There's a lot of these guys that have been through this before, with talk of 1988 and going back to 1959. You talk to some of the older fellows and it's just a matter of making sure you don't run out and moving some cattle and making those tough choices and those deep cuts early and a head of time so you don't end up completely against the wall with no feed for your animals at all."

Munroe says they plan to put a sale on June 28th because of the high number of cattle booked for the 14th.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Fendt Slicer - Automated adjustment of the conditioner intensity

Video: Fendt Slicer - Automated adjustment of the conditioner intensity

The Fendt Slicer explained: Grassland and forage stands show a high heterogeneous biomass growth when cut, which leads to different initial dry masses and drying speeds. The aim is to have a consistent dry matter content of 30 to 40% across the entire field. The Fendt Slicer 960/1010 Pro models with optional tine conditioner offer variable adjustment of the conditioner intensity thanks to the innovative ISOBUS control. The automatic adjustment is made using sensors in real time measurements or using application data based on the position registration of the biomass.