It's been the most cloudy rainy summer I've been in NW MT this year. It won't stop raining long enough to get the hay crop off. My neighbor said they are 50% average yield this year on the little he did take off and it's crap quality with some rust. A few ranchers I know are already trying to source more winter hay because it's going to be such a bad year.

It's July 18 and I haven't watered my lawn once. A normal year I'm watering by Early/mid June. And it's currently raining again. I hope the guys east of the divide are in better shape or there's going to be a lot of cow in this falls auctions.

All the rye grass and clover fields around our place were cut a couple weeks ago. Hasn't been sunny since and has rained or sprinkled every day. Very little has been baled. Looks like they keep turning it.

Gonna be some cheap beef this fall? I cut up and grind my own deer, I wonder how much harder it would be to butcher a cow?

It's not too much harder. Just make sure you shoot one of your neighbor's calves instead of a full-grown steer or cow. Damn sure don't shoot his bull-too tough. If you have to get in and out of the pasture quickly, especially at night, make sure your chainsaw is running good and has a sharp chain.

It’s been good here in southeast Texas. Three cuttings, maybe 4.

Bull makes some good burger ... really some of the best. I've been eating burger from a friends bull that had a jaw problem for months now, I like it better than steer burger. Everyone else seems to think so too because he has waiting list now for the next bull to kick over.

Any idiot knows that the weather can change.

No sympathy.

In this part of the Midwest we lost nearly the entire month of May for haying.. Normally, first crop's cut between 5/13-5/23.. Not this year - first crop was cut 5/30.. And this last winter caused severe winter kill on many farms.. One guy north of me had to order 400 BAGS of alfalfa seed to replace what he lost.. The farm I work for part-time only lost 170A out of about 700 - so he was a bit lucky.. Even so, first crop barely made 50% of normal.. Second was better. Third crop will be cut in 9 days - IF it stops raining.. I've had 3.5" here in the last 5 days.. But at least they're getting enough feed - thanks to a bumper crop last year allowing some in reserve for this year..

The good thing about this rain is it's fanTASTIC for the corn crops.. Even getting 'em in as late as it was this year, that crop seems to gain 6" a day.. If it all holds together it could be a very, very good year for the corn..

The 1st cutting here was late but it's been pretty good weather since Memorial Day, although not as hot as usual. They might not get a 4th cutting this year, though.

And use vegetable oil for the bar lube.....I heard.

I think there is a "You might be a redneck if you use vegetable oil on you chain saw bar" illustrations right there

Dewalt 20v sawzall with rough wood blade is the quiet option ... hint ...

EthanEdwards I always heard if you can clamp a hose on your chainsaws exhaust and submerge the opposite end in a bucket of water you have a silenced chainsaw .

I prefer a Milwaukee. If you're gonna do a whole steer, make sure you've charged the battery all of the way.

Bad year? What the Hay!!!

Up in this corner of the world, farmers are just getting finished with the first cutting due to wet, wet spring, Some farmers dug up their fields pretty seriously due to soft ground.. Last year, that's all they got, 1 cutting. Most are a little paranoid about a 2nd cutting as we're continuing to to get regular rain storms.

This/\/\/\/\. Works VERY well. Sharp knife and a sawzall, all ya need.

And be careful. A guy got killed mowing ditches the other day.

We are about a month late with 1st cutting alfalfa and maybe a couple weeks late on our hay barley.

Late spring and we have had record moisture the last 4 weeks.

It has been amazing to watch the country side stay green this far into July. It's literally like May in July...



Just crawled out of the swather, no rain in the forecast and pending a break down I'm gonna knock a BUNCH of stuff down in the next 5-6 days.


The barley is so thick and green in places I'm only taking a partial swath in hopes that it will dry out faster. You can see where the really heavy stuff lodged...

Uber potential for great feed if the weather cooperates!






This was a couple evenings ago.

Good luck with it Sam. That barley looks great.

Richard, no spray on the barley but there weeds hiding underneath, it's pretty clean though....

One nice thing about the late start is that the fawns and pheasant chicks should be able to get up and out of the way!

We ere able to get our oats hay up with just a small bit of rain. It looked mostly green when we put up the big squares.

Nice feeling when you finally get it in a bale!

Glad you guys are looking good, with low protein and low yield guys are going to spending more this winter feeding over here. You hate to see that when cattle prices are down.

We haven't even hooked up to the balers yet, just getting started here and I'm kinda nervous!


Hopefully this perfect(dry and sunny) forecast holds true....

Haven't had a break from rain/t-storms in weeks.
(which is a very weird problem here the the desert)

You guys and power equipment.
Knives are stone silent
Split down the back, roll the hide down take the goodest
Leave the hide on the back legs, disjoint, and make a kid drag each to the truck.
You and the old lady carry the good stuff.

Or, get a bucket of feed, lead it to the truck.....

I'm honestly surprised this didn't happen a bunch a couple years ago
when beef was so expensive.


And it all in fun.
I have never stolen a cow.

We had a few stolen last year.

Some die and you never find but I know for sure that one cow/calf pair got 'adopted' by a neighbor. And maybe a couple more..

Yes it has. Been enjoying this incredibly moist, green July. Northern Idaho is high wooded desert most years.

This year has been an exception.

First cutting here can be May. Just talked to a buddy & he sad he's just now getting in his first cut. Rain has been regular to say the least. The Bluegrass region.

Everything's growing like crazy, just can't get to it.

We cut a week or two late, dodging thunderstorms (which is entirely normal for our first cutting). What's not normal is that we didn't water before the first cutting. It happens, but not very darn often. Yield was within 5% of last year, and with no power cost or labor cost for moving pipe, it was a good first cut.

Oats and trit will start coming down tomorrow. The gal that moves pipe has to carry them on her shoulders to be able to move them. She gets to ride in the swather when we cut it.... she'll be glad to see it come down.

Second cutting in a week or two. It's looking very, very nice. Fish poop makes for great hay.....

Side note-

How far spread is cogan grass?

MS is getting bad. No simple fix. Keep disc’ing under. Arsenal.

Never heard of it before, so googled it. It is cogon grass, by the way. Seems like arsenal and roundup is the way, but seems that you need to mow and then spray newer growth. Just a side note, you might need to contact the lawyers shilling for cancer victims. miles

Damn a cow thief anyway!

Ranching out in far W Texas we'd lose 8-10 head a year.

Find where they'd cut the fence way in the back of the ranch, back a trailer up, and use horses to load them.


I'd had enough. We all knew who was doing it, but couldn't catch the guy and his varying accomplices.

Had a buddy that was an investigator at the sheriff's dept. I went to visit him one evening and told him I had been setting up, with my long range rifle, watching in various places all hours of the day and night, and when I caught them, they would find them beside their trailer, a bit worse for the wear...

That guy knew there wasn't any bluff to what I was telling him. He simply said not to call anyone and report anything if that happened.

Funny thing is, the cow stealing stopped after that...

I suspect my deputy friend went and had a talk with that ol' boy and told him I was setting up watching, and meant to cure the problem.

Only thing worse than having a theif, is having a slick prick you can't catch.
But almost certainly can ID.


My pap had a gas theif, kept stealing tractor gas.
He finally let the tractor get almost empty, then filled it with kerosene.
Left sit in the field for a couple days, the fuel level dropped one night.

He drained the fuel, used it to burn brush.

Never had a problem again.

Sugar will leave em stranded and in need of a serious mechanic...

Hi-Line hay report, 7/21/19.


Baled up our 'stackyard' field this morning and I had guessed it would be 30 bales, ended up with 40 or 41.
(2 years ago the same field made 2 bales......)

I even turned up the pressure on the baler so they should go 1500lbs. Curious to weigh one but it should make around 2 ton/acre.

Amazing for dryland crop around here.

Should be in the swather right now as we have a literal jungle left to cut.