[nafex] Fwd: Ruthless culling

[Lucky Pittman <Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu>]

>Joe,
>An interesting set of points you've brought up.
>
>Re: mothering behavior, I think you've made a very good point for not 
>keeping that ewe lamb in the herd.  Unfortunately, for hundreds of years, 
>stockmen(take your pick of livestock species) have been doing just that, 
>and to some degree, the purebred industries have too frequently put too 
>much emphasis on traits other than (true)fertility/mothering ability, etc.
>Yes, those elephantine specimens of the Continental breeds, brought into 
>the US back in the late 60s were quite a contrast to the squatty little 
>Angus & Herefords of the time,  but after a while, it became evident that 
>even though those 1600 lb cows could wean a 700 lb calf, it took at least 
>twice as much feed for them to accomplish that feat, when the more 
>moderate 900 lb cow would wean a 500 lb calf much more efficiently.
>
>I read an article several years back, by some insightful individual who 
>was proposing that if your cattle herd was actually achieving the 95% 
>calving rate that we're all told(by academicians and feed co. sales reps) 
>we need to strive for, that you were spending far too much money on 
>purchased/stored feeds.
>I'm sure the majority of folks in the 'business' regarded this as pure heresy.
> From a pure economic productivity standpoint, it probably would be better 
> to do minimal feeding, keep those 65% of cows/ewes that conceive on first 
> service, and ditch the remainder of the herd - overall herd feed costs 
> would be diminished, and in the long run, you'd be selecting those 
> animals with the greatest inherent fertility - they may not be 'pretty', 
> but they're probably the most productive animals.
>
>I've pretty much realized the error of my ways in planting fruit 
>trees.  I've committed most, if not all, of the neophyte errors that have 
>been or will be delineated in this thread.

>I don't have TIME to baby anything along - it's all I can do to work my 
>'real job', keep hay in front of the cows/horses and get the 4 kids to 
>whatever ball practice/4-H meeting, etc., they need to be ferried 
>to.   Over the past 6 years, I've planted over  60 different apples, more 
>than a dozen pears, and a dozen or so assorted stonefruits, as well as 
>hundreds of pecan/hickory, walnut, and oak seedlings.
>I realize now, that without some fairly intensive and regular management, 
>harvests from the stonefruits and apples are going to be small &/or 
>unappealing.  So, I've stopped, at least for the time being, planting any 
>more apples or stonefruits.

>I'll concentrate more on stuff that I know from experience can pretty well 
>take care of itself with a modicum(or minimum) of attention - pears, 
>pecans/hickories/walnuts/oaks, persimmons, pawpaws, mulberries, 
>juneberries, gooseberries, and blueberries.
Hmm. Looks somewhat like an advertisement for native fruits & nuts, doesn't it?
Well, if the shoe fits.....


Lucky Pittman
USDA Zone 6
Hopkinsville, KY


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