A day in the life of a part-time cattle farmer.

We walk you through what a "typical" weekday is like for us as we juggle the responsibilities of the farm, along with our day job and family commitments. We show you how we make it work on a February Tuesday during calving season. As always, we thank you for watching and remind you to eat beef and God bless!

[@strongrivercattle2643]

Since I'm new here what is your day job? I'm a disabled cattle farmer with my father at home I live in Smith county Mississippi. With my parents before that I had many different jobs. I'm an Animal Science graduate of Mississippi State University, I lived in South Dakota working as a ruminate nutritionist for several years. Then moved to Lexington, TN and became a teacher of biology for 1 year then an assistant principal at a K-8 for a year. Then I had a flat tire on I-40 coming back from Nashville, and was hit by a driver which is how I became disabled. So, I consider everything that has happened to me a Blessing from God! I'm able to work with my elderly father at home doing what I love. Sorry such a Long post but just wanted to introduce myself and give a little bit of my testimony. Love your videos by the way.

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Glad to have you here! I am a veterinarian doing small animal practice for my day job. I enjoy playing with the cows on the side. I actually considered ruminant nutrition before I decided on vet school. Thanks for watching!

[@barm9687]

Small world, I have a hunting lease in the SW Smith County, friends with one of the farmers in that area, he also has a large stocker operation.

[@coveychasefarm]

I thought I worked hard! Way to bring another great video.

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

We have fun with it, so it doesn’t always seem like work. I’ll admit, there are many times that I do get myself stretched too thin, but you only live once and you can sleep when you’re dead! Thanks for watching!

[@nolliesteers3083]

Love you animals and ranch. Your truck is pretty amazing. I've never seen one of those. Blessings

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Thanks! The bale bed is really handy. Not many in this part of the country, but they are pretty common in the more cattle dense areas.

[@jacquelinecote3967]

Fun watching you're little boy! Ty

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

He has a good time (most of the time!). Thanks for watching

[@BeckyCreger-vs5ce]

It was nice seeing you during the earlier videos.

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Thank you!

[@billking5407]

Nice video thanks for sharing your day ,knot everyone has the same day as you dobut part or full time is knot the same every day

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Oh yeah, they are all a little different. That’s what keeps it interesting!

[@Splenda2021]

Thank you sir for showing me what that life is about I am trying to get into it and have no clue 😅

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

We try to show a few things. Thanks for watching!

[@oscardesignma]

Good looking dad living a healthy life with his family. Il wish you all the best.

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Thank you!

[@charmainevandiford6622]

I watch a lot of farm videos or mostly livestock. You being a Veterinarian and I notice you feed a lot of grain and your cows looks good for the most part. I see farmers that don’t give no grain and I guess that saves money but we tried the grass fed beef and it didn’t taste right to my family. Maybe the brand or kind we tried but it just didn’t taste right to us. I also hunt for deer and we love venison but as you know they get a lot of grain in the area I live in. Just a thought. I want a small farm and cows as I am getting older and closer to retirement age I want something to do when I retire and cows are what I am leaning towards if it is only to raise my own beef. You have a beautiful family and I enjoy watching the videos cause you can’t do what you do and be lazy. I don’t know how you do it all. I work normally 50 to 60 hours a week and as I have gotten older I run out of gas and need more rest than I did when I was younger. My Sister lives in Tennessee and they love it. Outside Nashville I think. I live in Kinston NC.

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Our cows don’t get too much feed as a whole of their diet. We feed a little this time of year & that also helps reduce their needs on the hay intake and we can get by feeding hay that may not always be top quality (although most of our hay is great cattle quality). Keeping them well fed makes everything else a little easier in terms of handling them, calving and breeding back efficiently, etc. We also really can’t stress enough the value of buying the bulk feed in terms of cost savings (and it’s awfully convenient when it is delivered right to us!). I definitely agree with you on the grass versus grain finished beef. Tastes so much better. Lots of folks touting grass finished just don’t know any better or they are buying into the hype of the health/environmental benefits, which are debatable, at best.

[@JackTN678]

great video. I only have 5 acres right now, but trying to get started ranching. I'm in middle TN, Eagleville. I'm thinking Dexter breed since my acreage is small right now. Do you happen to know anyone with a dexter herd? I'm looking to buy some steers to raise. Thanks

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

I’m not aware of anyone with dexters. I’d do an internet search. The breed organization may have a member directory on their website. Good luck!

[@arthurdewith7608]

Beef cattle the most do able of all livestock on a outside job grain growing mixes well with other jobs

[@SethH_BuyLocalBeef]

Ha, the bed and breakfast problem is real

[@roberthilton9884]

How many head do you feed with the 6 buckets? How many steers with the 2 buckets?

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

My 9 head we are finishing get almost 6 buckets total a day ( of the whole shelled corn). The ration slowly increases as they get closer to slaughter. Roughly 2% of body weight daily in corn

[@BeckyCreger-vs5ce]

What are you putting on top of the corn you are feeding

[@philipedwards8762]

That was very interesting. Thanks for taking us along with you. How much sleep do you get a night?

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

6 to 7 hours during the week, but usually will try to get 8 on the weekend

[@claytonkeys7555]

Is this the first one? Very cool

[@BlakeandKrista]

How many acres do you have there? And how many cows do you typically keep on that acreage? Im looking to get into raising cattle. Thanks

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

As far as just the acreage of pasture we have, it’s roughly 70 acres for our cow/calf herd (usually 40-45 ) and roughly 75 acres on the farm where we keep the yearlings and stocker steers (we usually graze 60-70 head there). These numbers work relatively well for our type of pasture with our typical rainfall, but I’d point out that this can be highly variable based on how aggressively you fertilize, adequate rainfall, and type of forage you are growing.

[@BlakeandKrista]

@@HurricaneCreekFarms thanks!

[@bradleycox919]

So awesome man! How many acres do you have and in what location? I’m considering doing the something similar at some point just trying to acquire knowledge!

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

We graze about 150 acres in a addition to our hay and crop ground here in west TN. Good to hear. Feel free to ask any questions. We discuss quite often beginning farmers questions on the podcast, “Talk Dirt To me”. Link to the podcast is in each video description.

[@arthurdewith7608]

U got to have a good paying job to buy anything on a farm and flexible work hours

[@arthurdewith7608]

It’s noon and still working on the farm

[@533rocio]

Do you check that pile of hay because mice could live in there and poop and pee on that hay. I saw another video where the hay had mice droppings on it and the lady farmer had to get rid of that particular bale of hay. Do farmers ever get a day off or a moment’s peace? Just wondering 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

We don’t specifically check each bale for rodents, but we do routinely check for quality. That’s an even bigger deal with horses, as they have a much more sensitive GI tract. When we have a poor quality bale, the cows let us know really quick! I have one or two in the pasture right now that we put out several months ago that they just refuse to eat.

[@dr.outdoors1549]

So are your cows not grass fed? All grain?

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

All are grass fed. Cowherd, along with the weaned calves, gets a little grain this time of year, along with their hay, but they are almost exclusively grass fed. Our steers that we are feeding to finish are on a corn ration for the last 120 or so days of their life.

[@wsttncoonhntr]

Do y’all always finish out steers on corn , I have just started finishing my first one I’m using 14% pellet feed ,iv always heard about corn tinder-lean finishing , have you found corn to be better or just what y’all have always done ?

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

A little bit of both. We finished out a group on a 13% mixed ration one year, but we preferred the corn finished flavor. In a “normal” year in terms of commodity prices, it’s a little more economical, but with current corn prices versus what we buy bulk mixed feed for, it may actually be cheaper to feed the mixed ration.

[@wsttncoonhntr]

I’m not sure where y’all get your bulk feed but there’s a place out of mayfield ky that’s the best iv found lots of people around here ( Henderson county ) use them I’m not doing bulk feed now but will be next winter I think the last time I checked it was 245 a ton delivered here 3 ton minimum best I can recall

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

@@wsttncoonhntr I imagine I’m too far from mayfield (over 100 miles) to get them to deliver. We paid around $265/ton on what was delivered a couple of weeks ago. Going to bulk feed was one of the best decisions we ever made. So darn convenient and cost effective versus buying by the bag. Thanks for watching!

[@benburns5995]

Are you a Veterinarian by profession? You mentioned in the video about taking care of some dogs and cats, so was just wondering.

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Yes, my day job is a dog and cat vet.

[@dr.outdoors1549]

What’s your acerage?

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Pasture? About 150 acres of grass that are exclusively used for rotational grazing. That doesn’t include our hay acres.

[@BeckyCreger-vs5ce]

Aren't you afraid of getting kicked when you walk behind the ciws ?

[@eliazarshaw2213]

U outta shape buddy Breathing hard after walking up that hill

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Im not out of shape, I’m old and out of shape!

[@hayleepalmer8598]

What kind of cows do you raise

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Crossbred our commercial beef cattle. Cows are a mix of Hereford, Brangus, angus influence and we’re breeding too Brangus bulls right now.

[@user-rc8dk1eg9u]

Selling merch? Lol

[@markbrinlee9720]

Got any book recommendations?

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

Ag/farming specific or just in general?

[@markbrinlee9720]

@@HurricaneCreekFarms Ag/farming

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

@@markbrinlee9720 pathways to pregnancy and parturition is a good educational book on reproduction. For specific questions, I’ll usually do internet research trying to find documents from state/university extension groups. Most of my book reading is either history or fiction!

[@OCCRanch]

What do feed and what's the ratio do you feed ur feeder steers

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

It’s whole shell corn and high protein pelleted feed with a little cotton seed meal to add a little more protein. I have the full document on the feeding plan I can share via email if you’re interested. Thanks for watching!

[@OCCRanch]

I'm interested but don't like to put my email out there. I got a small cow calf farm in Central Alabama. Been in it for about 2 years now. Doing it as a side hustle like you. Just started getting first round of calfs on the ground. Going get a few steers for my self and family. Then in the future selling a few steers for meat.

[@OCCRanch]

Like watching your videos and listening to your podcast and learning stuff my watching it. Not just ab hearing ab it

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

@@OCCRanch I understand. The basic plan is 2% of their body weight in corn. 1.5 lbs of protein supplement per head. That’s the daily total and I split it into two feedings

[@barm9687]

@@HurricaneCreekFarms those aren't stockers though correct? Those are your momma cows? Do you always supplement hay/grass with feed or just during winter and when they are calving?

[@jamielandis4606]

Part time? More like full time!

[@HurricaneCreekFarms]

We like to stay busy!