Selling Cows
On 25 October I got the cows down to the front 'Dam Paddock' where the yards are and on 26 October attempted to get the cows into the yards by myself. I got most of the cows in but not Nova or Jemma. It was like Nova knew he was the centre of attention and was determined not to go in. I did get Chrissy in the yards, so I let all the cows out except her so I could try again the next day. The truck was booked for 6pm the next day so I tried again in the morning without any luck. So instead of selling Nova, I decided to sell Rusty. Rusty just walked beside me and straight into the yards, no trouble at all. Nova is bigger than Rusty and I thought I would get more money for him and then we were going to eat Rusty. But now that will be the other way around.
I couldn't get Chrissy and Rusty into the small yard in preparation for loading. Chrissy was wild and acting like a bull. It wasn't safe to be in the yards with them, so I waited until the truck arrived. The guy transporting them was very helpful and although he also had difficulty he eventually got them onto the truck and took them to the markets for the next day.
I received a phone call the following afternoon that I had averaged $770 each, which I was very pleased with. I received the cheque in the mail about a week later less the commission. That went a small way towards paying for the yards and ramp.
The truck guy suggested moving the internal gate and panel to increase the size of the small yard and decrease the size of the large yard to make it easier to get the cattle into the race. I tried to do this myself but only got so far, so I had to ask Steve to help. I have used it since when getting Nova ready for the butcher and it worked much better.
I almost feel like a real farmer now, having sold a steer and heifer and actually made some money. I sold Chrissy (Freda's girl) because she was hard to manage and wasn't like the others. Her true colours showed when in the yards, she was wild and crazy, I'm glad she's gone. Chrissy was 22 months and Rusty about 20 months. My next problem is where to get a bull from for my next lot of calves.