Texas Freeze Will Cost Ag Producers Millions in Lost Production On a personal note. I have some loss and some strange gain. I took in two test animals last week, not knowing how it would play out I took 2 prime cows, both pregnant and both in apparent good shape. As I opened the Auction Barn's letter and scanned the check I was mystified by codes new to me and an unusual number of discounts. First the top cow on the list sold for an unusually large amount, about twice what was paid before the storm. I scratched my head and kept on looking. The second cow sold for a whopping $20 per hundred weight, yes pennies on the pound. All about unknown, to me damage, from the storm. Yup no free lunch and always a surprise in the Ag world. So by playing the odds I evened out payday to what was normal. Many have lost near whole herds of dairy cattle due to, as I mentioned earlier, teat damage and mammary glands freeze. Many bulls will be sterile and more bad news to come, just nothing to compare it with in my life. I can say that having wooded areas and not clear cutting the ranch helped save more than I lost. I hope others fared well in this bad time. Thank Biden!!!! Signs of Market Improvement for Cattle Producers | Farms.com
Well I did what I could, never left the place, feed twice a day and lost about 20 pounds. Hauled water and even had a cat turn up lame and kept it in food and water and meds in the warmed well house. The cat thinks he has gone to cat Heaven! Time to set him free today as he has finished meds and the foot is fine. For sure I have 2 cows that will never calve again because their udders are like all froze up. Not sure what to do about that, just so they don't turn black. The hell of it is that two young cows birthed two perfectly good and healthy calves on the first day of the storm and are doing well. Thanks to their mountain breed.
