Drought effects

I have the property to plant my own crops....it might be cost effective to purchase some good used equipment and grow my own....this way I won't be at the mercy of the high grain costs.....I will need to do some different scenarios and see what is the best......any excess crops I would be able to sell to off set the cost of the equipment.......I do not purchase hay as my deer are mostly In fields and make sure they are not over populated so that they do not over graze a pen.......even in the winter when I do put hay in they dig down through the snow and nibble the fresh greens........just kind of thinking out loud here........we are all going to have to get creative in our own ways for the next few years if we are going to stay afloat......I wish everyone the best....

Dennis , if I were you I'd hire someone to plant my crops if you have the land . When corn is pushing 9 to 10 bucks a bushel you want a darn good planter planting the stuff with few to no skips or double plants . Most guys will plant corn for 14 to 16 bucks per acre and a new planter is 30,000 + for a six row . If you buy someones junky old planter you'll be loosing more corn than the dang planting is worth. If you can work the ground and get it ready I'd truely beleive you'd be best off to hire the planting and beans as well .. Just a thought .

Great idea.......I do know the equipment is expensive........I do have some dairy farmer friends the problem os come Spring their busting their butts trying to get their own crops in.....but if the fields were all prepped and ready to plant (as you stated) that would be the ticket....thanks for the idea.......I appreciate it.....a lot!

I wish you guys were a little closer. We have 50lbs small squares up here going for $3.50 to $4.00 a bale. Thats 2nd and 3rd cutting straight alpalpa!!!

Hey Dennis , I too live in a very concentrated area of dairy farmers but there's always someone in my area that custom plants corn and beans. There are allot of used planters out on the market but like I said you miss a few plants every 20 feet or put down 2 seeds where there should only be one and that adds up over a few acres . Seed last year was in the $280.00 per bag area and thats 80,000 seeds per bag . This next season you can bet the farm it will be much higher ! Now you want (in my area ) 33,000 to 34,000 seeds per acre . Now if your older planters skips just 5% or double plants another 2 to 3 % then if your shooting for 160 bu per acre you'd already be loosing 12 to 14 bu per acre. Now even at 8 dollar corn you'd be loosing 100 bucks per acre and it only costs you 14 to 16 bucks an acre to have a guy with a brand new perfectly working planter to plant the same corn . Thats how I look at it anyway, the stuffs just worth to much to mess around with older less efficient machinery. Now if beans are going to be in that 15 to 18 dollar range you'd only need to loose a bu or two to be out good money at harvest time . Just a thought !

Anyone ever thought about cutting your regular deer feed with or simply using sweet feed ?



a local farm store has 10% sweet feed for 50 40lb bags makes it $292. per ton on sale right now



Just wondering if anyone has thoughts on this ?

Wow , you sure it's only $7.30 a bag in 50 lb bags ? I'd mix that in with my feed all winter long for that money . I'm thinking Sweet 16 calf feed is over $18 a bag making it $720 a ton . $7.30 for a 50 lb bag of feed seems like a deal thats for sure !

50 bags with 40lbs. in each bag..............$5.84 per bag x 50 bags= $292. per ton of feed.....................just to clear that up.

Wayne, what does sweet feed have to offer? I really don't know much about it. Orscheln's?

in Sask. excess rain has lowered grain production especially in oilseed production and now with the change in export law here in Canada we can actually sell grain into the US and not go to Jail, 17% feed $189 here in SK

Hi, Wayne What store has the sweet feed for that price? Orcshlens has 10% sweet feed for $6.49 a 40lb bag right now comes to $8.11 a 50lb bag or $324.00 a ton. Last fall and winter Dickey Bub had sweet feed for $6.49 a 50lb bag. I bought a trailer load and mixed it half/half with my 18% deer pellet that MFA sells and they did great. I think they even looked better eating that mix. The only complaint I have with the 18% pellet that MFA sells is the fat content is only 2%. The deer look great on it most of the time but needs a little more fat in it during certain times of the year. I usually have them mix a little soy oil in with it during those times. It is even starting to get a little pricey now $11.50 a bag or $460.00 a ton. I don't know how it would work just feeding them straight sweet feed. I have talked to several old farmers before and mentioned a skinny deer from being sick or just run down from fawning they all say pour the sweet feed to them and they will put on the weight. They are dealing with cattle so I don't know how it would work on deer. I would only feed it in the fall/winter to your bucks and get them back on the good stuff early spring/ late winter, but I'm sure you know that. Would appreciate it if you could let me know what store is selling it for that price. So I can see if there is a store near my area. Thanks, Brad

Yes Orchelens Farm Supply........$5.84 per bag with a FFA discount! You can buy it now and then get a rain check to use more at a later date!



These are 40 lb bags.........NOT 50 .................But still works out to the same price. Just more bags to handle.

Thanks Wayne Wish I could get the FFA discount think I would load up now and get a rain check for more later.

Has anyone ever fed Agrimaster All Stock Multipurpose feed ? I see Blain's Farm and Fleet has that for 18 cents a pound or 359.00 a ton . Even that would be a good buy if it were good for the deer or at least mix it in for the winter months . Don't know whats in it but might check it out ..

I have about 40 adult deer, 16 or so fawns, and only about 15-20 bales of alfalfa, which I was lucky enough to save from last winter. I am in trouble, though-my hay guy planted beans where alfalf stood last year. Like many places, good hay here is either out of reach (financially) or too far to haul that kind of weight with the equipment I have. I have been trimming trees on the farms I have and feeding them green leaves of all varieties and trying to save the hay...anyone have any other alternatives to hay? By the way, if anyone needs kindling for starting fires in the stove this winter, I will have a TON! No leaves left when I chore....

sharkey said:

On drought feed,I found fibre & not protien the hardest to obtain.I used molasses with 3% urea (non protien nitrogen) to provide the protien & any hay or straw I could find for fibre.



Cheers Sharkey

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The deer will eat straw & survive so long as you give them non protien nitrogen to assist the digestion.Used wisely 1 kilo can provide as much protien at the true stomach than 900 kg's of grain,it just does not have the energy that the grain has.Energy can then be sourced from cheaper carbo or sugar rich by products.



Cheers Sharkey

Phillip,



We buy "Lucerne" chopped dehydrated alfalfa hay that comes in a 50 lb bag.

They eat all but a couple handfuls of stemmy stuff out of it. cost is about $15 a bag. I will not buy any other form of hay they eat it so well. They just waste too much of baled hay.



Jerrilee

Clearview Whitetails said:

Phillip,



We buy "Lucerne" chopped dehydrated alfalfa hay that comes in a 50 lb bag.

They eat all but a couple handfuls of stemmy stuff out of it. cost is about $15 a bag. I will not buy any other form of hay they eat it so well. They just waste too much of baled hay.



Jerrilee

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Were do you get it from ?

I've been using Chafehay for about three years now. The deer like it better that regular or pelleted alfalfa. For the first time my deer have left 10-15% uneaten because of so many stems. Not a waste...threw it over the fence for the cows.

Wayne,

We get it from Kalmbach feeds in Sandusky OH. The are the makers of Heartland feed. A 50lb bags to me looks to be 2 bales chopped up so 15.00 a bag is not bad at all and the deer love it.