Any Ranching Or Farming Knowledge - Experience Here?

[ClassicRockr]

Not that we are going to go into ranching or farming, nope. Apparently there are those on this forum that live in states where both are at. Was wondering if you had ever done any ranching or farming in your life?

During my high school years, I lived on a small Duroc hog farm where we also raised chickens, grew field corn and had ducks, two geese and two goats. Every morning, before breakfast AND during the winter months. had to feed/water the hogs and chickens. Helped take hogs to market, collect eggs and butcher chickens. Also, helped plant, cultivate and harvest corn. Helped neighbors with baling hay in the summer. Oh yea, I remember them days!

Since then, I've owned, and used for rodeo (Team Roping), two American Quarter Horses. One I took care of and the other a stable fed/watered, but I still had to buy certain extra feed for them as well as tack.

Have worked as a Horseback Trail Guide at a Regional Park, helped a Vet do random drug testing of horses at Hunter/Jumper Show and worked at a large County Fair as a Show Ring Steward for livestock. Got to know a Ranch Foreman in Colorado. When going to local or State Fairs, will definitely go to the livestock barns. Know exactly what I'm looking at.......Dairy Cattle, Beef Cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens and so on.

All of the above is part of the reasons we want to move back to Colorado or into Wyoming. We are just too "Western" and "cowboyish" to live here in NE Florida.

Oh, and forgot, we just started getting our Farm & Ranch and Country magazines yesterday. Love the pictures and articles in both. Probably the only people in Florida that get these (LOL).

 

[Mizzkitt]

Rocker, have you ever thought about opening up a horseback riding business for the public. One around here does a fantastic business.

I am not a farmer but I know it is a tough life and when the weather does not cooperate your livelihood is effected.

 

[ClassicRockr]

Rocker, have you ever thought about opening up a horseback riding business for the public. One around here does a fantastic business.

I am not a farmer but I know it is a tough life and when the weather does not cooperate your livelihood is effected.

We aren't looking at opening anything. We are in our early 70's. Not exactly the right age to "go into business". We just miss what Colorado, Wyoming and those States are about. We love going to rodeo's, but not as a contestant anymore, as a spectator. Big, huge, fans of the sport. Love going Country-Western dancing. Every time we go to a Fair here and see the livestock barns, I sort of get "choked up", being that none of that (rodeo, CW dancing or livestock is around here. We had that in Colorado as well as Wyoming. One of the major rodeo's is Calgary Stampede in Calgary as well as the Cheyenne, Wyoming (CFD) one we are going to this summer.

I was just curious if anybody on this entire forum had done or knew of ranching and/or farming. But, perhaps not.

 

[Robusta]

I was just curious if anybody on this entire forum had done or knew of ranching and/or farming. But, perhaps not.

What is your definition of farming? My family has been farmers in the East since 1634. My ancestor was the first forage operation in Milton Mass. We have been on the same property in NY,( it grows and recedes with the generations), since 1832.

Today the farm is a dairy and that has been the primary focus since WW2.

I do not make a living at farming, but we do raise chickens for meat and eggs,I have seven Turkeys. I have seven Holstein Steers and four Herford mix cows for beef. Yeah, I know that Holstein is all bone, but for free what do you want. I don't have any pigs as we will trade a cow with a friend for our pork needs.

No rodeos around here, but plenty of Country Line Dancing, Square Dancing, and bluegrass. A lot of bluegrass.

We don't wear cowboy garb around here, not unless you have a thick skin anyways. Nope, work boots jeans a flannel shirt or T and a baseball cap,and a Carhartt coat are the working uniform here.

I am surprised that you can't find this stuff in Florida. My daughter was stationed in Valdosta Ga. and while visiting we saw a number of large beef operations in North Western Fla. and on the panhandle.

 

[C'est Moi]

My entire family is involved in farming. I grew up on a farm. It's a hard life but many people love it.

 

[ClassicRockr]

What is your definition of farming? My family has been farmers in the East since 1634. My ancestor was the first forage operation in Milton Mass. We have been on the same property in NY,( it grows and recedes with the generations), since 1832.

Today the farm is a dairy and that has been the primary focus since WW2.

I do not make a living at farming, but we do raise chickens for meat and eggs,I have seven Turkeys. I have seven Holstein Steers and four Herford mix cows for beef. Yeah, I know that Holstein is all bone, but for free what do you want. I don't have any pigs as we will trade a cow with a friend for our pork needs.

No rodeos around here, but plenty of Country Line Dancing, Square Dancing, and bluegrass. A lot of bluegrass.

We don't wear cowboy garb around here, not unless you have a thick skin anyways. Nope, work boots jeans a flannel shirt or T and a baseball cap,and a Carhartt coat are the working uniform here.

I am surprised that you can't find this stuff in Florida. My daughter was stationed in Valdosta Ga. and while visiting we saw a number of large beef operations in North Western Fla. and on the panhandle.

We know there are small farms east of where we live, but they are WAY east. To far to drive to just see them. Don't know about any ranching done here. There is a large cattle ranch, don't know how many head they have or type of cattle, in central Florida, south of Orlando. Now, I want you to notice that I used the word "head" in my last sentence. Yep, know the "lingo". We went to one PRCA sanctioned rodeo here, but, to me, it was a real joke. The purse wasn't anything like purses in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and so on. Not only that, due to the high humidity here, there are any rodeo's in Florida during the summer.

Actually, personally, and my wife feels the same way, whatever farms and ranches there are in Florida, they still aren't like the ones in Colorado, Wyoming and so on. Big Sky Country (Montana) has some nice size ranches, farms and rodeo's as well as well as a big Bucking Horse Sale in Miles City, Montana each year.

Actually, I had dress requirements while in a major rodeo Association (PRCA). Since Wrangler (jeans), Resistol (hats) and Ariat (Lace-Up Roper boots) sponsor professional rodeo, I had to wear a long sleeve shirt, Wrangler jeans and I chose to wear Ariat boots. Ariat Lace-Ups were put together by-and-for rodeo ropers, like myself. They fit into saddle stirrups really nice. All cowboys and cowgirls, ranch or rodeo, wear Western gear. My wife has her own Wranger Felt and Straw cowboy hats, a pair of Ariat Lace-Ups Roper boots and nice Western tops. We have only worn this stuff twice since moving here in 2009. Once to that "dink" rodeo and the other to a Team Roping Championship at our Equestrian Center.

That is what we loved about Colorado and Wyoming. A person can wear Western attire to go dancing or to a rodeo and nobody says a thing or takes a second look. Here they sure would.

We have a restaurant here called Longhorn Steakhouse. Corporate Office is in Texas. The restaurant is full of cowboy pictures, and items. I know what it all is, but nobody, including the waitresses do.

I've been to the Stockyards/Sale Barn in Billings, MT and to the biggest Stockyards in the U.S...........Oklahoma City, OK. Years ago, I worked for a short time at a Stockyards, on sale day, just west of Weatherford, OK. Wife and I have been to Centennial Livestock Yards in Ft. Collins, CO.

 

[ClassicRockr]

My entire family is involved in farming. I grew up on a farm. It's a hard life but many people love it.

Yes, my folks had a neighbor that done some farming/crops. He had a heart attack and died on his tractor in the middle of a field while plowing.

 

[Robusta]

Yes, my folks had a neighbor that done some farming/crops. He had a heart attack and died on his tractor in the middle of a field while plowing.

You seem quite dismissive of eastern farming. No we don't have 30,000 acres of scrub land with forage so poor that you need 15 acres per head. Our grass is good enough that we figure one cow per acre, with out overwintering. With hay it's about 5 acres.

The family farm, is at present about 760 acres owned and another coupla hundred rented. My brother runs the LLC, the rest of the family leases home plots from the LLC and members retain timber shares.

So you like the shiney part of cowboy life huh? I guess in your parlance, that would be ,"All hat no cattle?"

 

[ClassicRockr]

You seem quite dismissive of eastern farming. No we don't have 30,000 acres of scrub land with forage so poor that you need 15 acres per head. Our grass is good enough that we figure one cow per acre, with out overwintering. With hay it's about 5 acres.

The family farm, is at present about 760 acres owned and another coupla hundred rented. My brother runs the LLC, the rest of the family leases home plots from the LLC and members retain timber shares.

So you like the shiney part of cowboy life huh? I guess in your parlance, that would be ,"All hat no cattle?"

Nothing against Eastern farming, just don’t know it like I do Indiana farming.

One thing for sure, I was never a racnch cowboy, only a rodeo cowboy, although I do know some rodeo cowboys who’s family has a full blown cow-calf operation going.

One thing I’m not and was not, is a “glamour” type cowboy. I know how to do a two-step and Texas Swing, but absolutely NO Line Dancing for me. My wife knows and does that. But along with the dancing, I can set a saddle, put on a bridle, swing a rope/loop, catch a steer, dally, turn for my “heeler” to come in and lay a loop down to catch the back legs and I turn, face him and stretch the steer. Stop the Stop Watch! Yep, even went to a Roping School to learn all of that.

But as far as welding, putting up or repairing fence, branding and some other each work.....nope!

But, both of us sure enjoy a good rodeo.

As far as my old “farming days”, glad they ended. One thing for sure, I’d take raising cattle any day over hogs.

 

[911]

From the time I was 14 until I graduated high school, I worked for two brothers that each owned their own farm. One was a farm with milk cows and the other was a farm with beef cattle. Of course, there were also fields to tend to as both brothers raised their own grain for feed and also to sell on the open market, as well as the milk and beef. I would work on either farm, depending on where I was needed. The brothers worked together and helped each other with things that may need to be done sooner, rather than later. For example, getting the hay in before the rains would come. If one of the other men would cut the hay the day before, we needed to get it baled and into the barn before it rained. We didn't have a loader, we had to load the hay by hand. We had the rectangle bales.

A lot of hard work, but we had some fun at times. Being the young, dumb kid, I was the brunt of a lot of jokes and stunts. At the end of the day, one of the guys would sometimes blast me with the hose soaking me through. In July when it can hit a 100 degrees around here, it may have been a stunt to them, but it felt good to me.

I liked to watch when a heifer or a cow gave birth. There's nothing like watching a cow give birth on her own or the men pull a live calf and then the mother taking over to clean the calf and feed it for the first time. Sometimes, they would pull a dead calf. This depended mostly on how long the mother may have been in labor. I saw the Vet come to the farm to help with a delivery and the calf was dead inside the cow. They couldn't get the calf out, so they had to cut the calf up into pieces while it was still in the cow and take the calf out piece by piece. Not a pretty thing to watch, but it saved the cow's life and she could be bred again next year.

A person can learn a lot of things about life in general when working on a farm. It's mostly about teamwork and helping one another and everyone knowing their job.

 

[ClassicRockr]

From the time I was 14 until I graduated high school, I worked for two brothers that each owned their own farm. One was a farm with milk cows and the other was a farm with beef cattle. Of course, there were also fields to tend to as both brothers raised their own grain for feed and also to sell on the open market, as well as the milk and beef. I would work on either farm, depending on where I was needed. The brothers worked together and helped each other with things that may need to be done sooner, rather than later. For example, getting the hay in before the rains would come. If one of the other men would cut the hay the day before, we needed to get it baled and into the barn before it rained. We didn't have a loader, we had to load the hay by hand. We had the rectangle bales.

A lot of hard work, but we had some fun at times. Being the young, dumb kid, I was the brunt of a lot of jokes and stunts. At the end of the day, one of the guys would sometimes blast me with the hose soaking me through. In July when it can hit a 100 degrees around here, it may have been a stunt to them, but it felt good to me.

I liked to watch when a heifer or a cow gave birth. There's nothing like watching a cow give birth on her own or the men pull a live calf and then the mother taking over to clean the calf and feed it for the first time. Sometimes, they would pull a dead calf. This depended mostly on how long the mother may have been in labor. I saw the Vet come to the farm to help with a delivery and the calf was dead inside the cow. They couldn't get the calf out, so they had to cut the calf up into pieces while it was still in the cow and take the calf out piece by piece. Not a pretty thing to watch, but it saved the cow's life and she could be bred again next year.

A person can learn a lot of things about life in general when working on a farm. It's mostly about teamwork and helping one another and everyone knowing their job.

Absolutely GREAT reply, 911.
You and Robusta....exactly what I was looking to read about.

 

[Timetrvlr]

All of the above is part of the reasons we want to move back to Colorado or into Wyoming. We are just too "Western" and "cowboyish" to live here in NE Florida.

Have you also considered New Mexico and Arizona? The Western traditions and lifestyle are very much alive there too and the weather is warmer and drier. The ranches are smaller, family-owned not corporations. You can also choose your climate from desert to mountain valleys.

 

[Big Horn]

I have a couple of hats and several pairs of boots. I also have some neat belt buckles, a few of which hold little North American Arms or Freedom Arms minirevolvers. Cowboy hats aren't always the best around these parts because of the wind. I often need to pull down the ear flaps of my Elmer Fudd, not because of cold, but to keep it from blowing to Nebraska.

I also raise hay in southern Wyoming, about three hundred miles from here. A neighbor down there works it on shares. He has the right equipment so he provides the labor; I provide the land and water rights. Out here in the dry country someone owns all of the water. We don't have riparian rights. In fact, people can't even impound rainwater.

My livestock consist of five pet chickens. I eat the eggs, but I don't eat them. After getting to know chickens, I don't eat them or any other birds.

I always wear cowboy boots when I go back east.

 

[ClassicRockr]

Have you also considered New Mexico and Arizona? The Western traditions and lifestyle are very much alive there too and the weather is warmer and drier. The ranches are smaller, family-owned not corporations. You can also choose your climate from desert to mountain valleys.

Not as much rodeo action and no nice full-rack Bull Elk (to look at and photograph, not hunt). Like the Rockies (mountains) also.

To hot, as well.

 

[ClassicRockr]

I have a couple of hats and several pairs of boots. I also have some neat belt buckles, a few of which hold little North American Arms or Freedom Arms minirevolvers. Cowboy hats aren't always the best around these parts because of the wind. I often need to pull down the ear flaps of my Elmer Fudd, not because of cold, but to keep it from blowing to Nebraska.

I also raise hay in southern Wyoming, about three hundred miles from here. A neighbor down there works it on shares. He has the right equipment so he provides the labor; I provide the land and water rights. Out here in the dry country someone owns all of the water. We don't have riparian rights. In fact, people can't even impound rainwater.

My livestock consist of five pet chickens. I eat the eggs, but I don't eat them. After getting to know chickens, I don't eat them or any other birds.

I always wear cowboy boots when I go back east.

Are your cowboy boots round at the toe, as in the “Roper” type, or pointed? Before I bought my Permit into pro-rodeo, I wore pointed boots. Actually, the first style of boots I wore. The “traditional” Western boot. But, after trying on a pair of Lace-Up Ropers, I was hooked on those. Look was modern and other Timed Event guys were wearing then. Like I said, very comfortable in the stirrups.

Heck, even had my wife get rid of her pointed boots and we got her a pair of Ariat Ropers.

Oh, another thing, when we lived in CO, I wore either a cowboy hat or baseball cap often. Can hardly wait to get back to that.

BTW, glad you replied!

 

[911]

I was in Albuquerque one time to watch the "Hot Air Balloon Festival." Just beautiful and some of the balloons are very creative. I saw a lot of restaurants with red peppers hanging on their store front outside. I am not a spicy food eater, but you can't go to New Mexico and not eat some real Mexican food. I had heartburn and couldn't sleep that night after a real Mexican meal, but it was very good.

I have been to Nashville several times because I really enjoy Country music, especially the legends from days gone by. On my second or third trip, I fell victim to one of the tourist traps and bought a cowboy hat and a pair of fairly expensive boots with the round toes. I also bought a really nice western shirt and I had a pair of jeans along, so I wore the boots, hat and jeans to the Grand Old Opry that night and I fitted in perfectly. (Boy, do I ever have a story about that trip.) I could never get my feet in the pointed toes and they hurt.

This is a picture of the Grand Ascension, which is held every morning during the Hot Air Balloon Festival. Just after daybreak each morning, all of the balloons go up at one time. Really cool to watch.

 

[ClassicRockr]

I was in Albuquerque one time to watch the "Hot Air Balloon Festival." Just beautiful and some of the balloons are very creative. I saw a lot of restaurants with red peppers hanging on their store front outside. I am not a spicy food eater, but you can't go to New Mexico and not eat some real Mexican food. I had heartburn and couldn't sleep that night after a real Mexican meal, but it was very good.

I have been to Nashville several times because I really enjoy Country music, especially the legends from days gone by. On my second or third trip, I fell victim to one of the tourist traps and bought a cowboy hat and a pair of fairly expensive boots with the round toes. I also bought a really nice western shirt and I had a pair of jeans along, so I wore the boots, hat and jeans to the Grand Old Opry that night and I fitted in perfectly. (Boy, do I ever have a story about that trip.) I could never get my feet in the pointed toes and they hurt.

This is a picture of the Grand Ascension, which is held every morning during the Hot Air Balloon Festival. Just after daybreak each morning, all of the balloons go up at one time. Really cool to watch.

View attachment 50484

We’ve been in New Mexico, on ou way to live in CO. Stopped at a restaurant and I recognized a Calf Roper I had seen at some big rodeo’s, including the NFR.......Blair Burk. His dad was a PRCA World Champion Calf Roper years ago. Funny, he was wearing a baseball cap and basketball shoes. Darn near didn’t recognize him! Said “Hi”, introduced him and his wife to my wife. Really nice cowboy!

Been to the Ballon Festival at Chatfield Reservoir/Lake by Littleton, CO a few times. Have even been on the lake in our old Bowrider boat, to see all go up for the “Assention” at 7AM.

Actually, I wore Levi jeans all the time, before I got into pro-rodeo. Then, found out the Wrangler jeans (with the rubber patch on the right rear pocket that says “Wrangler” on it) were more comfortable in the saddle than Levi’s were. Actor Sam Elliott, wears Wrangler jeans all the time, as does singers George Strait and Garth Brooks.
In some parts of the United States, Wrangler jeans are a staple in clothing as well as pointed-toe or round-toe cowboy boots. Just the way it is. Just a tradition, not a fade.