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The Midwest Cattleman · August 10, 2023 · P4
ing – right into the next af-
ternoon. There was only one
topic at cattleman’s meetings
for weeks and weeks – How
do we get through this? How
do we survive the loss of most,
if not all, of our growing and
grazing season? Will this loss
put us out of business?
To be fair, cattlemen in
other regions have faced much
worse, and have faced it much
more often, but that doesn’t
make it any easier. The fact
The Summer of ‘23 that others in other parts of
Over the past two decades the country were looking to
this column has been about re-stock or expand has be-
many topics. I’ve shared come a real blessing in this Producers who had an adequate amount of warm season pasture to graze this season
the loss of family members, challenge as prices have re- hardly missed a beat. Photo courtesy of Ron Locke, Long Lane, MO
friends – even dogs, with you mained strong. That is a real
- our readers. This summer, positive now, but there may be putting off developing warm ducers, their spouse may say,
there has been one topic that no ‘waiting for lower prices to season pastures got a huge needed to slow down and
has over-shadowed all oth- get back in.’ ‘wakeup’ call this summer. hand things over to the next
ers. We knew that someday it Consider the average age It’s time to quit putting it off. generation a long time ago.
would come and this spring it of the cattlemen you know. Our friends at Gamagrass You get the idea. Change is
did. Many dispersing herds this Seed Company in Falls City, hard and sometimes we have
For several years now, season may never be back in NE have much of this year’s to be forced into better man-
we’ve watched producers in the cattle business again - seed production already sold. agement and better planning.
other parts of the country ever, at least to the level that Every challenge comes with Mother Nature can sure do
suffer through drought, in they were. “I’m done.” We’ve mixed blessings. that. No one likes it though –
some cases multiple years of all heard those words too Maybe some of those cows it’s hard.
drought, while we’ve had one many times in the last few needed to go to town a long
nice growing season after an- weeks. I’ll never get used to time ago. Some of those pro- KwC
other. As one might expect, hearing them. They shake
some years have been better me to the core – if only for a
than others, but all in all we moment. It is for one family, setting the standard
have dodged the ‘drought bul- one operation, one neighbor 30 YEARS
let’ for almost a decade. or friend – ‘an end of an era.’ for over 30 YEARS
This season was a dry… ‘di- Change is the only constant.
rect hit’. I’m aware that it’s Then something happened. HUMANE BLOODLESS DRUG FREE
mixed, from county to county, It began to rain. In some re-
because folks in some areas gions, a return to what seems
are in great shape, but right normal takes months - some-
here in west-central Missou- times years. Where we live, it
ri, we’ll be talking about the can almost change overnight.
summer of ’23 for a long time. It does change overnight –
Most of us liked the winter from brown to green- from
with no mud, but many were dead(dormant) to alive. Pas-
worried even then. We started tures that were abused will
the year and then the Spring take much longer, but in some
with a deficit and then came cases, in just a few weeks, the
a light shower on Mother’s grazing season will resume.
Day. The next was on Father’s Of course, lower temperatures
Day. We loved the low hu- will help as we go forward.
midity through most of June Another summer will be in
and July, but that crackling the record books.
sound when we walked across In all of this, producers who
pastures was telling – ‘this is had an adequate amount of
not going to last long.’ And it warm season pasture to graze
didn’t. this season hardly missed a
Low hay. No hay. High- beat. Those who have worked
priced hay. No rain in the all their lives to produce beef
forecast. Those were the facts genetics they do not want to CASTRATION MADE EASY
that many cattlemen in this part with during an emergen-
region were faced with. Cattle cy better have plenty of warm CallicrateBanders.com
sales began to break records season grazing available every
– some starting on a regular season. Sometimes it will be 785-332-3344
morning and selling all day, hay, sometimes it will be sal- 800-858-5974
all night, all the next morn- vation. Those who have been
