Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

I ought to know better. I do it almost every year and this year was no exception. What did I do you may ask?

I left the cows in the pine trees to long. I was trying to save hay by letting the cattle in to the upper pastures that have pine trees in them and now it has bit me. I've had three cows sluff their calves now from pine needles. For some reason about this time of year cows will browse on pine needles and there is a chemical in the needles that will cause them to abort their calf. I thought that maybe this year with no snow on the ground they would not be drawn to the pine needles and wouldn't eat them. I was wrong.

I have shut the gates to keep them confined to the pasture that doesn't have any pine trees in it, one of only a couple on the whole place, and hopefully that will cure the problem. there might be a few more sluff a calf yet due to pine needles but I shouldn't have an epidemic.

Some day I will learn to shut the gates sooner. I just wish it had been this year.

When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. Mark Twain

Soaring corn prices are squeezing meat and milk producers, but consumers will not necessarily see higher prices at the grocery checkout, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in an interview Thursday.

Costly corn has made it more expensive to feed cows, chickens and pigs. Demand for ethanol, a fuel made from corn, has pushed the price of corn above $3 a bushel, the highest level in more than a decade.

That is bound to have an impact on farms and ranches, Johanns said.

"My best projection is that for a couple of years here, you are going to have a tug-and-pull between various industries," Johanns told The Associated Press.

Because so many factors go into making food, consumers probably will not see a direct impact, he said.

I think Mike Johanns is talking out his ass here. The Agriculture industry is supposed to suck it up and and lose more money than they do to allow consumer prices to stay the same? That's insane!

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that cost in the Agriculture industry go up, food prices are going to go up and with corn prices sky high, food prices are going to go up. That's the decision our leaders in Washington and the buying public have made. They want cheaper gas prices and are willing to pay more for food to get it. Obviously driving their vehicles around is more important than cheap food so why should Johanns try to insinuate otherwise?

Hell, the talk is that the new Farm Bill will push even further into energy production which will drive the price of food even higher. I haven't heard many people talk about this but it's going to happen. The consumers out there who think food comes from a grocery store and not real live people working in the country, don't understand that the drive to grow our own energy will take land out of food production causing higher food prices. It's basic economics. Shouldn't Johanns be out there educating the public of the repercussions of the decisions being made for and by them?

No, he just wants to hide the facts from the public to drive policy, just like they tried to hide the facts on NAIS until enough people made enough noise. I just want everybody out there to understand the consequences of their drive to grow more energy means higher food prices. This is simple supply and demand. Suck it up and deal with it. Don't try to hide the facts. That just causes problems in the long run.

The supply of government exceeds demand. Lewis H. Lapham

I guess I lived through the cold weather, if I'm writing this I am alive. It was down to -20 the other morning and we have had quite a few cold mornings. It's always such a fight when it's cold. Between cold engines not wanting to start, frozen water and cows thinking they are starving to death it gets real old.

The worst thing though is getting dressed for such weather. All the extra clothes such as long johns, coveralls, extra socks and extra coats, a person ends up wearing an extra 20 pounds worth of clothes that they have to pack around with them while working. Oh, I hate it. I only wear all my layers if it is really cold since I hate them so. I know some guys that wear coveralls all winter long. How they manage that is beyond me.

The only critter that didn't mind the cold weather was Lucky. It never even slowed the stupid dog down. He ran and played and thought it was great fun. Go figure.

I always have to laugh at those people that think the life of a rancher is romantic somehow. Let me get them out here in -20 below weather or colder, work all day long, and they can see how "romantic" it is. People get the craziest idea of romantic, don't they?

I'd like to put to rest some misconceptions full stop. The greatest misconception of this week is that I've had the most hellish time in my life. George Michael

I voted absentee a little while ago because it is easier and quicker for me. When i was done I looked at the envelope and felt the weight and knew that it was going to take more than one stamp to return it so I put two on it and sent it in. I guess I am smarter than the average voter though.

Postage sought for ballots

A 39-cent stamp isn't enough to cover postage for some absentee ballots in Missoula County.

About 950 of the roughly 5,000 ballots received at the elections office as of Tuesday had arrived with postage due.

"The main thing is we truly want to get these ballots back, so we have absorbed the cost," said Debbie Merseal, elections office supervisor.

That cost is roughly $245 so far, she said.
The U.S. Postal Service charges 63 cents to deliver most completed ballots, a fact the elections office is stamping on its mailings now that it knows. The first 4,000 of nearly 13,000 and counting went out without the message.

The discrepancy caught the county by surprise.

Duh. It was obvious here that the ballot was needed extra postage. People should think, but that is too much to ask I guess.

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Burns criticizes firefighters, says they didn't heed ranchers

Republican Sen. Conrad Burns chastised a group of firefighters over the weekend for doing a "poor job" dousing a 92,000-acre blaze near Billings, a state report shows.

Burns and the firefighters - members of the Augusta Hot Shots from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia -were at Billings Logan International Airport awaiting flights, according to Burns and Forest Service representatives.

Burns approached the firefighters and told them they had "done a poor job" and "should have listened to the ranchers," according to a report prepared by Paula Rosenthal, a state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation employee who was sent to the airport to speak with the senator.

This is a bad deal. Senator Burns needs to get his head out of his ass and talk to the right people. Criticizing the firefighting crews for how they fight the fire is like criticizing the troops for how the war is being fought in Iraq. The crews, like the troops, have no control over how they are used. They just do the job they are given by their superiors and do it to the best of their ability.

Senator Burns needs to be taking his complaint up with the management team that ran the fire fighting efforts, not the crews. When I had the big 30,000+ acre fire out in this country a few years ago I had a lot of complaints about the way the stupid idiots in the management team fought the fire. They didn't listen to what the landowner had to say and they did, time and time again try to chase me off the fire lines and leave the fire to them. I always ignored them when they told me to leave and I continued to voice my opinions even when they were ignored.

After they had the fire contained I warned the guys in charge repeatedly that the one area was dangerous and they needed to do a better job putting the fire out and fire lining it. They kept patting me on the head and saying everything was all right. I told them it was going to blow up there and that something needed done. They ignored me and went about there business. Two days later, while they were still mopping up the fire, the area I was concerned with blew up on them. It scorched an additional 2000-3000 acres before they got it under control again. I very politely told them, "I told you that was going to happen, why didn't you listen to me." They never would respond to what I said.

So I know what the Senator was talking about. The fire managers don't listen to landowners and do try to chase them off. But chewing in the crews is wrong. All you do with the crews is thank them profusely for fighting the fire and helping you out. They are under their boss's orders and if they don't do what they are told, they don't get paid so criticizing them is useless.

Burns never did strike me as very intelligent and this just proves it. Shooting his mouth off like this is just like shooting himself in the foot. It's only going to hurt him and show people that he is not very careful or thoughtful person.

One last thing. The fire fighting crews did a great job in getting the fires in the area under control and I thank them for it even if our Senator doesn't.

There is nothing wrong with America that faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure. Dwight D. Eisenhower

American paralyzed at Pamplona bull festival

A New York man was paralyzed below the waist while dodging young bulls with other revelers in the bullring at Spain's San Fermin Festival in Pamplona on Friday, festival organizers said.

The 31-year-old, named by hospital authorities as Ray Ducharn, was undergoing surgery after being taken to intensive care after he was hurt while trying to escape when the animals were released in Pamplona's bullring following the famous running of the bulls through the town's streets.

It was unclear exactly how Ducharn was injured but he did not appear to have been gored, organizers said.

What does it matter whether he was gored or not, he is still an idiot. I'm sorry, not much sympathy here. Playing with animals is dangerous and injury can happen. Doing it for fun is just stupidity.

Stupidity has a knack of getting its way. Albert Camus

I guess I had better shed some crocodile tears again. Why there are evil people out there that expect work to get done on Monday. How vile of them.

Monday becomes orphan workday for some

With the July Fourth holiday falling on Tuesday this year, Monday will be an orphan workday for many people who can't take the day off.

Although other national holidays are usually moved to the nearest Monday, Independence Day is always observed on July 4. And while some companies are giving their employees an extra day off Monday, many other people who do have to work might not be as productive as usual.

How horrible, expecting your employees to work on a normal work day. Criminal. Maybe we employers should just give them a couple of weeks off to sooth their sensitive souls for our unjust persecution of them. Poor little babies.

Expecting people to work, what a crime.

We are suffering from too much sarcasm. Marianne Moore

On a rare occasion I have hope that the hired hand is coming around and will be a really good man to have around. The other day he independently remembered that there was a stretch of fence needed fixing before we turned cattle into a pasture and went and fixed it. That really made me feel good. Boy, doesn't it say something when something so minor gives me hope?

The Ray of hope I was seeing was dashed yesterday though when the same old stuff seemed to happen again. We were moving a few cattle out of a pasture, boy it felt good to be riding a horse again, I had spent too many hours on a tractor, and from a distance I had spotted a few cows on a hillside near our destination so knew we had to get them. When we got down by the gate I asked the hired Hand if he had ridden up on the hill and got the cows up there. He said he had. I quizzed him further informing him there was a hole or two there and wondering if he had rode it out good or just glanced around. He said he rode it out real good and there were no cattle left up there. I decided to take his word for it and we kicked the cows out and went about our business.

About an hour later we came back by the spot in the pickup and coming off the hill were two pairs. I kicked them out the gate with the pickup and decided I had better go look to see if there were any more cows up there. I got to the top of the hill and there were more cattle standing around, in the same spots I had seen them, under some trees. The hired hand said they weren't there when he rode the area but they were in the same spot I had seen therm earlier so I know better. I kicked them out with the pick up and went on our way.

We then went to the new monster tank which we had filled with water the day before to make sure everything was all right. It looked pretty good from a distance but on closer inspection I found some water seeping out from quite a few spots and was dismayed. I thought the damn think with concrete in the bottom was supposed to seal better than that. I got to studying the situation and finally came to the conclusion that quite a few of the seams were leaking around the bolts for some reason. I was sure we had tightened all the bolts good so I couldn't figure out why we were leaking water around some of the bolts.

I decided to try to tighten some of the bolts to see what would happen. I was a little concerned I would tighten them too much and break the bolts so i wanted to be careful. I reached into the tank on the first one I wanted to tighten and very carefully went to tighten it a little. Shit!! It was plumb loose. I tightened it up good and tight and checked some others and found them equally as loose.

To make a long story short, all the bolts on the tank that the hired hand had tightened were loose and quite a few were leaking. I thought any idiot could tighten a bolt tight enough but I guess I learned different. I got most of the seeps stopped but one. The bolts on that one are partially in the cement so i couldn't tighten them. It's not enough water seeping to be a problem this year and nest year when the tank is empty I will have to tar up those bolts to stop the leak for good.

So I really despair that this gut will ever make a hand. Maybe I should start looking again and fire this guy if I find somebody more suitable. I'm tired of the whole thing.

We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. Albert Einstein

Fla. restaurant sells $100 hamburger

A hundred bucks might buy you more than six dozen burgers from McDonald's, but the swanky Old Homestead Steakhouse will sell you one brawny beef sandwich for the same price.

Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams could barely speak between bites as he devoured the 20-ounce, $100 hamburger billed as the "beluga caviar of sandwiches."

Hell, I could give them just as good of burger for a lot less money but the "status" wouldn't be there. People are such idiots.

My yachts were, I suppose, outstanding status symbols. Paul Getty

'Healthy' Foods a Pitfall for Dieters

On a mission to whip herself into shape, Kate Kowalczyk tossed out the junk food and stocked up on her idea of good-for-you staples like yogurt and low-fat cookies.

Despite her persistence, the 35 pounds she was trying to shake wouldn't budge.

It turns out those "healthy" foods were just as fattening as the chips and soda they replaced: The yogurt was filled with Reese's Pieces and the low-fat cookies were brimming with sugar that kept her hunger on razor's edge.

I've always had to laugh at people who think just because the label says healthy, it is. My father-in-law is one of these people. If the label says healthy it is good for you, low in salt and sugar, and is good to diet on eaten in any quantity. I've never been able to convince him otherwise. I always thought he was the exception but this article proves me wrong.

Haven't people ever heard of advertising and marketing. Companies will use any shpeel to soup up their product whether it's true or not. Caveat Emptor is the overriding standard when buying anything. Look under the hood, study the contents and figure out whether it's healthy or not. Damn, people can be stupid.

We must beware of needless innovations, especially when guided by logic. Winston Churchill

I always love articles like this one.

Cattle Cycles: Where Are We & Where Are We Headed?

If you are in the business and keep minimal track of what is going on you know where we are and what is happening with out some "expert" telling you. I could see this article if it was targeted to people not in the business but this site is designed for cattle producers.

I guess us uneducated, stupid hicks out on the ranch are too ignorant to know these things so they have to tell us. To hell with them. I guess the reporters and "experts" have to do something to justify what they make.

There's no point in going on living unless we make the assumption that the situation of life is optimal. Alan Watts

R-Calf's new leader needs to take a long walk off a short pier.

R-CALF's new leader wants to expand group

The new leader of R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America wants to change perceptions of the group that some in the cattle industry describe as protectionist or out of the mainstream, because of R-CALF's stance on trade issues.

Chuck Kiker is from mainstream cattle country _ Texas. And, as R-CALF's new president, the cattle and rice producer not only wants to expand the size and appeal of the group, perhaps best known for its fight over cattle and beef trade with Canada, but also make clear R-CALF's agenda.

If successful, Kiker said, this could mean an eventual move from R-CALF's home base in Billings to a larger city such as Dallas or Denver, places he finds more central.

So, according to Chuck Kiker Montana is not "mainstream cattle country" and Billings just isn't "central" enough to suit his taste. Well, stick it up your *** Chuck. R-CALF was born and bred here in Montana and should stay in Montana.

I agree the group is seen as protectionist by many and that sometimes clouds the other issues they fight for, moving the base of operations is not the right answer. Move to Denver and you seem to be schmoozing up to the NCBA/big meat packers and move to Dallas Texas and you seem to be schmoozing up to the Texas Cattle Feeders/NCBA/big meat packers.

All these organizations are opposed to to most everything R-CALF stands for, a productive ranch economy that provides nutritious and safe beef to the people of the United States. By staying in Billings they would be staking out their ground as different from the other organizations but Kiker doesn't want that. Maybe he just needs to go join the NCBA/big meat packers and be done with R-CALF. Save a fight down the road when he wants to start schmoozing up to them and he needs deposed.

A traitor is everyone who does not agree with me. George III