Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

It looks like the beef industry might be making progress in Japan. The Japanese government might be thinking about upping the age limit for imported beef from 20 month to the more generally accepted 30 month age limit. There is still one little hurdle to go through, the Food Safety Commission, and there is no guarantee they will approve, but I feel it looks like things are moving in the right direction. That's good to see after the latest South Korean fiasco.

I think it's the end of progress if you stand still and think of what you've done in the past. I keep on. Leslie Caron

South Korea suspends US beef imports

South Korea has effectively suspended U.S. beef imports over mad cow concerns after a recent shipment was found to have contained banned parts, a news report said Thursday.

That's about all the information that's in the story. I wish the meat packers would pay a little more attention to what is going on to prevent this kind of thing from happening. That would be to much to ask though. The article does bring up the slow progress we are making in Japan's markets. If we cuould just get going in South Korea again all would be great.

It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. Confucius

It appears that the South Korean government is a little out of touch with its people when it comes to US Beef. The Government has been fighting to keep US Beef out for a long time now but the door is finally cracked open and what has happened? The stores sold out of the US beef right away because it is cheap and tasty. Hell, US Beef even buoyed up sales of Australian beef because consumers decided to buy Australian once the US Beef was sold out. This really just shows what consumers want. If we get this market open it will really help the industry.

You have to demand things and believe you're worth more. And once you do demand them, you're usually going to get them. Sue Wicks

It's one of those damn things that nothing works out the way you want. All the rain this spring was great, nut the thing I feared is coming true. It is turning hot and dry and the fire danger is going up very fast around here. I know I am still haying but a rainstorm would sure be nice to wet things down. Nothing in the forecast though. Just more hot, dry weather to make things worse. [sarcasm]How lucky I am.[/sarcasm]

Speaking of haying, things are going good on that front. All the alfalfa is down now and I am trying to get it baled up. Should be done with that by Monday afternoon or Tuesday. The fields on the Tullock side went about 1 and a third tons to the acre and the Sarpy fields are going about 2 tons to the acre. Pretty good yield for me. We are going to start cutting some grass hay this next week. We have about 250 acres that I plan to cut and another 200 acres I might cut if I feel we need the hay. If we don't need it for hay it will make good grazing for the cattle and I will leave it alone. That's the nice thing about these grass stands, they give me some options, as long as it doesn't burn up in a fire.

I was looking at the sales receipt for the drys I sold a week ago or so and got a real surprise. One bunch of 4 cows sold together that really surprised me. The sale yard will sort the cows for age and condition so that they can get the maximum price for a bunch of cattle. Hell, they get a commission on it so they want to see the highest price they can for cattle that go through the ring. Anyway, I recognized these 4 cows and couldn't figure out why they sold together,. There was a two year old and two three year olds cows together, which makes sense, and then of all damn things, a twelve year old cow. Now why in tarnation they mixed a twelve year old cow with these nice young cows is beyond me. The real surprising thing about this, the whole bunch brought .72 cents a pound. They brought more per pound than anything else I sold. A twelve year old dry cow bringing 72 cents a pound is unbelievable. She was in good shape, but not that good of shape. Somebody screwed up here but I won't complain. More money in my pocket.

I opened it up so the cows could move into a new pasture here a few days ago. They were chewing the grass down where they were and there was lots of grass in the nest pasture so it was time. Boy they found the gate and were really enjoying the fresh grass. It works out good too because I will start grazing that grass off and reducing the fire danger in that pasture. Less grass, less chance of a fire. Gotta be thinking ahead all the time.

I payed attention to the debate this last week over the immigration bill but never really commented on it here. I just wanted to say a couple of things about it. If people come across the border illegally, they are criminals and need to be shipped home, not given amnesty. Rewarding such behavior is not in the best interests of this country. The Government at all levels, fed, state and local should enforce the existing laws on illegal aliens and deport them. Now we need to address the question of why there are so many of these types of people here. That's simple, there are jobs here that pay better than the jobs where they come from. So we either need to raise the wages where they come from or offer a safe, easy, legal way for them to come here and work temporarily before they go back home. How to do this I don't know but that is what we need. We need more legal immigration and less illegal immigration. This country was founded and built by legal immigrants and legal ones aren't going to hurt us now. This illegal shit needs to stop though.

One of my regular readers, Genevieve, has bestowed upon me a 'Thinking Blogger Award.' Wow, thanks Genevieve, I appreciate it. I really don't do memes so I will just thank Genevieve for the honor and say that most blogs I read make me think and would honor all if I could but that's not the way things work.

The Fourth of July is coming up with all the fireworks and fun to be had by all. Remember it is getting dry out there so be careful with the fireworks. Don't want any problems, let's be safe and sane out there.

I would really like WildBlue Internet service explain to me how my bandwidth usage could be going up with my internet shut off. I have complained about this frequently and all they tell me is that it isn't there problem. I wish I had another option for Internet other than Satellite. I've heard Starband has gotten worse than they were before I dropped them for WildBlue so they no longer are an option. What a pain it is. Be glad if you live in a more populated area and have options. When your stuck like this to a certain service they can screw you coming and going.

Bounced around enough today. I know I haven't been posting much lately but I've been busy and not much has been catching my eye so thats the way it is.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus

You might remember from the pictures, that I had some cows and bulls on the market on Wednesday. I heard the market report the other day for Wednesday and heard that cows and bulls were up 2-4 dollars on that day in Billings. I thought that I was real lucky to hit the market on a day that is what up like that and I can't wait to get the check to see how they sold.

Then it occurred to me that the market was also up 2-4 dollars with other semi load of drys I sent to town a little while ago. That made me wonder if I was lucky both times and hit an up market or was the big slug of high quality that I sent to town cause the market to move up the 2-4 dollars.

It really would be curious to know but I will never know for sure. The coincidence of it all really makes me wonder though. Could my cows have caused the market move? I would like to think so.

We don't change what we are, we change what we think what we are. Eric Butterworth

Every year it seems like I read about drought somewhere in the US having to sell cows because of the drought in their area. This year I see that in California they are having drought troubles and having to sell cows to try to adjust for the drought problems.

Another area having troubles with drought in the US is in the south east and I see in this story that they are having to sell cows because of the shortage of feed.

More stories about the drought in the south east can be found here and here.

Drought, the bane of existence for anybody involved in agriculture. We fear it, dread it and pray that it won't happen, but it does and we can't stop it. Inevitable as the tides in the oceans, droughts are a part of life we wish would go away. Watching the cloudless sky, day after day, wondering where the rain went wears on your soul. Another drain on your life is watching parched crops shrivel up and die and the grass turn brown and burn under the relentless beat of the hot sun scorching the ground and your back as you labor on trying to make things work for you as Mother Nature beats you down. To me one of the worst things though is watching the critters move around looking for a little better bite of feed to eat. That was last year. The grass was so dry and brittle that it had no flavor for them and very little nutrition. They did nothing but wander around looking for better feed to eat. At least they had some grass here in my country last year. The poor guys in the stories above are out of options. The sale barn is the last option left and that is one tough decision to make. Let your cows starve or get rid of them while you can before they get in any worse shape. Then you have to think about how you are going to replace them when the drought does break and Mother Nature allows the grass to grow green again. It's tough.

I hate to read these stories. It has to be hard to sell your cows because of no feed. I have never had to do it but I have been close a few times. I've been in a drought now for a number of years. We might be wet now, but that is no guarantee the drought is over. It could hit with a fury again real quick. Normally I can find a way to get away without selling cows during a drought but the way the droughts are around the US my day might be coming. Might, I say, I hope not though.

One thing I have to say about this. As mean as it sounds these continued droughts around the country and guys having to sell cows has been one of thee of the big factors that has kept the cattle herd from growing and driving calf prices down due to oversupply. I know that sounds really mean. but it is the truth. I'm sure that thought doesn't help those that are having to sell their cows. It wouldn't help me in the same situation but I guess it makes the pill a little easier for the rest of us to swallow.


You see, I had been riding with the storm clouds, and had come to earth as rain, and it was drought that I had killed with the power that the Six Grandfathers gave me. Black Elk

I see the Big Meat Packing Plants are trying to get what little beef we export to South Korea shut off. Why don't they pay attention to these things? The packers know South Korea is very touchy about importing US beef so would it be so hard to be a little more careful and not ship the wrong packages to there?

I guess so. At least South Korea is blaming and punishing the meat packing plants involved and not the whole US beef industry. The South Korean politicians must really want this new Free Trade Agreement pretty bad if they are willing to take such a moderate approach to the violation. Too bad certain South Korean people aren't real thrilled about the Free Trade Agreement and are trying to derail it. It keeps things interesting I guess.

Every man is his own chief enemy. Anacharsis

Beef trade with Japan has taken a big step forward. They have given 35 beef plants a clean bill of health which will stop 100% inspections of imports in Japan and they will scale back to only random checks. This is a good step, now to work on getting them to accept something other than boneless beef to be imported. Sometimes things have to proceed one step at a time and this is one of them. Hopefully some slaughter plant won't screw up and shipo the wrong thing to Japan and screw this all up. We'll see.

I'm just taking one step at a time. I could zigzag one way, but it's not usually on purpose. Beck

I see that South Korean consumers are willing to buy US Beef. It's just the politicians are trying to keep it from happening. I notice when US beef was offered in Japan the consumer was willing to buy it to. The politicians from these countries are reading their consumers wrong and maybe should open up the beef trade a little more. I note that the 20 month Japan rule is in a little jeopardy now since they are having trouble verifying that these young cases of BSE in Japan really happened. Did they concoct them to stifle beef trade with the US? Interesting thought.

I find it interesting that consumers in both Japan and South Korea are willing to buy US beef but the politicians are keeping it out. Typical, isn't it. I just wonder if the same holds true for the US? In all truthfulness I don't really want to ask this question but in fairness, I have to. Would US consumers be willing to eat Canadian beef after the latest BSE case but the politicians are bound and determined to stop it? That would be a scary poll to see.

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt

I see that South Korea is maybe, I repeat maybe, modifying their official/unofficial US beef Blockade that they have been preaching for the past few months. They have finally accepted a load of US Beef. It's a start but I am not getting my hopes up on one small load of beef. It will take significant movement of US beef into South Korea for me to think that they have dropped their official/unofficial US beef Blockade. It's a start though I guess.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Confucius

If you are not going to allow high quality US beef into your country, you deserve the highest beef prices for your consumers. It isn't rocket science people.

You end up as you deserve. In old age you must put up with the face, the friends, the health, and the children you have earned. Judith Viorst