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Post by littlecowfl on Apr 10, 2019 16:55:45 GMT -5
It seems like the market is down, even for trained cows. Anyone else see that? Is farming going out of style? We have a lot of development in our area, so maybe that's why.
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Post by otf on Apr 11, 2019 7:30:36 GMT -5
Honestly, I think the Dexter market is saturated. I'm glad I have nothing to sell, only 3 cows left here, no longer breeding.
Maybe some regions of the country are doing okay. There may be a number of breeders at the top of the proverbial dung heap who continue to do well, but I'm not positive about that. I believe, however, that the ongoing cross-breeding, lack of registration, and emphasis on showing have taken a very large toll on breeding, raising, and selling Dexters -- and I place some of the blame for that on the shoulders of those who overpriced the cattle.
Sadly, I see numerous photos on Facebook that barely resemble what I call a Dexter, especially the facial structure. Facebook continues to dominate Dexterdom and that's NOT a good thing. Boards like this one -- where you can easily look up subject matter and replies -- sit idle while FB posters continue to post questions that have been answered numerous times but nobody bothers to check; everything has to be instantly available on one's phone; it's called spoon-feeding, and it caters to the ignorant who are too lazy to do their own research and want quick answers with no disputes.
Sorry, got carried away on a negative thought. Maybe I need less coffee?
Gale
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Post by littlecowfl on Apr 12, 2019 4:15:24 GMT -5
Thanks, Gale. I understand. I don't Facebook.
I included a bit of information about Dexters in the CL ad. I had to explain that my prices are low because I am keeping to the standard pricing I've always had and it wasn't because I have lower quality animals. *sigh*
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Post by Pinevalleydexters on Apr 18, 2019 0:15:03 GMT -5
I really miss people posting on this forum, and I agree Facebook sure has taken over. There is so much information on this site that Facebookers are missing out on. I have a beautiful heifer for sale and she is currently being halter trained I just put her up for sale a couple of days ago so we will see what happens. I do agree that the market is getting saturated. I also noticed that people that have bought from us aren’t registering their animals. I think because of the steps (and costs) you have to go through to register them.
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Post by littlecowfl on Apr 18, 2019 1:24:33 GMT -5
I think genotyping cows and heifers really did it. People don't want to collect the samples and send them in. They say, "We know which cow had this calf.".
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Post by otf on Apr 18, 2019 7:51:38 GMT -5
I really miss people posting on this forum, and I agree Facebook sure has taken over. There is so much information on this site that Facebookers are missing out on. I have a beautiful heifer for sale and she is currently being halter trained I just put her up for sale a couple of days ago so we will see what happens. I do agree that the market is getting saturated. I also noticed that people that have bought from us aren’t registering their animals. I think because of the steps (and costs) you have to go through to register them. Pinevalley, yes, it's very discouraging when people buy Dexters and don't bother to register their calves; in fact, it's downright insulting because one's farm name and reputation are dead-ended! Hope you are able to sell your heifer! Littlecow, Gene AND I both referred a FB person in Florida looking for Dexters to you (not by name). Maybe they've gotten in touch with you! Gale |
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Post by Pinevalleydexters on Apr 18, 2019 8:04:37 GMT -5
I agree, and for new Dexter owners the process of tagging and registering isn’t really clear, I know when we first started I had to do research about what kind of ear tag was acceptable and each state is different. We also had get a farm premise number, some people don’t want to do that. What I am saying is there are a lot of steps to getting your Dexter registered that people new to having Dexters may not want to do. And also the cost, especially for people that don’t get the big money for their animals. I see people in our area listing their heifers on Craigslist as purebred not registered, it makes you wonder if that’s the way to go. If I have to sell my animals that are registered for the same price as non registered it makes you rethink registering them if buyers aren’t going to register their offspring.
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Post by Pinevalleydexters on Apr 18, 2019 8:06:49 GMT -5
I think genotyping cows and heifers really did it. People don't want to collect the samples and send them in. They say, "We know which cow had this calf.". And raising the cost to register a bull didn’t help either. |
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Post by littlecowfl on Apr 18, 2019 11:14:10 GMT -5
Thanks for the referral! Someone did contact me, but I am not sure they will still be interested. We were selling a cow and calf, but I'm afraid we lost the calf yesterday. She Was fine Tuesday and dead in the pasture yesterday. Good weight, good coat, no signs of illness, etc... Our vet thinks it was an accident. Our bull and steer like to wrestle. We are wondering if they ran into her while roughhousing. I have seen the other cows dart out of the way when the boys are playing. The steer is 2 years old and the only delay is the back up at the slaughterhouse due to several recent livestock fairs. He should have gone two weeks ago.
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Post by otf on Apr 18, 2019 16:05:03 GMT -5
littlecow, SO sorry to hear about that. How old was the calf? It's hard to lost a youngster, very hard.
Gale
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Post by Pinevalleydexters on Apr 19, 2019 0:00:13 GMT -5
I am so sorry littlecowfl it’s so hard to lose a calf. I can see how that could happen, when they roughhouse they don’t care who gets in the way. It’s especially hard when you had a sale for the pair. Hopefully they still buy your cow. |
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Post by littlecowfl on Apr 19, 2019 4:43:03 GMT -5
The calf was a 2 and 1/2 month old heifer. Very sweet, too. Our son was petting her in the field a few days before and she was taming down nicely. The other calf, who is a month younger, was depressed yesterday. I spent a lot of time in the pasture with mama cow, grandma cow, and the other calf. They seemed better last night.
I am thinking about just going down to three cows and collecting the bull for calves when the market is better. Easier to manage frozen bull essence with a small herd. I still have Armstrong straws, too. He was such a good, mellow bull.
I have to keep grandma cow, because she is like family. Plus, two favorite cows. Other than that, one steer who needs another year and the other little calf. Five is a good number for our pasture. I'll probably sell the calf this summer at weaning to get down to four. The big steer can go for beef and the bull can get collected and then to beef.
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Post by otf on Apr 19, 2019 6:55:39 GMT -5
Sounds like you have a good plan, little cow! Hope it all works out for you accordingly.
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Post by Pinevalleydexters on Apr 19, 2019 9:29:04 GMT -5
The calf was a 2 and 1/2 month old heifer. Very sweet, too. Our son was petting her in the field a few days before and she was taming down nicely. The other calf, who is a month younger, was depressed yesterday. I spent a lot of time in the pasture with mama cow, grandma cow, and the other calf. They seemed better last night. I am thinking about just going down to three cows and collecting the bull for calves when the market is better. Easier to manage frozen bull essence with a small herd. I still have Armstrong straws, too. He was such a good, mellow bull. I have to keep grandma cow, because she is like family. Plus, two favorite cows. Other than that, one steer who needs another year and the other little calf. Five is a good number for our pasture. I'll probably sell the calf this summer at weaning to get down to four. The big steer can go for beef and the bull can get collected and then to beef. It’s good that you could spend time with them, glad to hear that they’re doing better. It doesn’t make it easier though. We always try to get around 6 animals for the winter, 4 cows and our bull. Eventually we won’t keep a bull anymore. I have wondered about AI with a small herd it would definitely be easier not to keep one. We feed small squares it works better in northern Wisconsin and then we’re with our cattle daily. We also don’t have a lot of pasture and if I keep to many we have to feed out rounds by August/September. I know now I should list a cow calf pair but haven’t quite talked myself into it yet. I always have to chew on it for a while but I like all of our cows and it’s never an easy decision. But best for the herd in the long run. |
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Post by littlecowfl on Apr 19, 2019 10:57:47 GMT -5
It is hard to sell the young ones. So much potential there. But, when I see a good home come along, it makes it easy and it really helps to have the calf grow up with their new people.  When summer comes, I will have to decide if I am keeping the little calf or her mama. The calf and I are bonding a bit because I am fretting over her so much. She knows her name now. I call out to her every time I pass by the pasture. She is probably wondering why I keep checking on her if she is apart from the cows. "Why is that farmer lady getting so annoying?", lol! Since I have Armstrong straws, I could AI her without breeding back to her sire. But I do like her mama cow, too. We'll see how it goes. |
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