From the Pastures: Smells like money

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. The animals are smelling green grass and are tired of eating their winter vittles. The rye looks great, but the cool temps have slowed its growth enough that I have decided to delay the usual April 10 turnout a few days. By the time of this reading I expect the ewes and lambs to be out there. I will have to put some dry hay out with them to adjust them to the washy rye, but we should get some compensatory gain on the ewes as well as the lambs.

The big steers will get their share, as well. We also have a group of yearling Jersey/Charolais that I will probably have to finish on grain as they aren’t a good candidate for grass finishing. Another group of fall/winter-born bucket calves may be going to market this spring since the demand seems to be good for that weight class. It’s hard to pass up these sky-high prices.

My friend, Elton, is going to try to find out from his contacts if the tariffs on Australian beef include lamb, as well. If so, maybe we can start supplying more of our domestic demand with domestic supplies. Maybe we poor shepherds can ride along on the beef gravy train. Now may be the best time for all of you who have been contemplating adding sheep to your operation to make that jump. We can set you up with a nice flock that will put money in your pockets way before any $5,000 heifer could.

I’ve been reading about the Tenet gene that’s supposed to guarantee tenderness in beef. It’s uncommon in most of the main breeds. Apparently it is 100% accurate unlike the marbling score which I’m told is only about 30% correlation to tenderness. It sounds like a game-changer for the beef industry if it gets going. But just like the A2 milk gene, it would be hard to repopulate to take advantage of the benefits it provides. It’s going to be interesting.

On the home front, my new helper, Nathaniel, and I have taken advantage of recent dry weather to rebuild end walls on one of Ruth’s greenhouses and put new double-wall poly on. It requires a very calm day for that if you don’t want to get carried away. And just in time for the tomato and pepper plants they are transplanting. Opening day was April 14, our anniversary. Forty-six years has gone by too quickly. Happy trails.