How DANGEROUS Was This Farm Project?

Taking a Risk to Save Our Animals! - Shade For Cattle
We had to take some chances with our safety today in order to move some shade in for our cattle heard.
Last week over 1000 cattle died in a heat wave in Nebraska. The weather is turning hot here in the south and we are worried about our animals too. We have a piece of equipment on the farm we think will work as a portable shade structure but its in a tough spot to move from.
Can we get it moved in time before the real heat wave hits?
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[@davidschwantes4628]

I've heard Joel Salatin say in the past to park the shade structure in a "poorer" area of your pasture because now you can control where the high impact (trampling, manure, urine) is directed......resulting in increased fertility in the future. (I'm sure you probably knew that.....but I thought I'd share it anyway) Thanks for all the great content, it's inspiring watching your journey!

[@robertpayne2717]

My uncle back in the late fifties had around 500 head of hogs that he never figured it out. But, he thought that some birds 🐦 got into some of his feed grain storage and contaminated his feed and it almost ruined him.

[@bautistafamilyfarm]

Finding shade for animals during the hot and cold days os a farmers worry, but I was pleased that you got that feeder safely to where you wanted it, good on both of you good team work.

[@heathjones8106]

Sandra said it’s time for a beer! That made my day!

[@kkeenan536]

I watched a channel where the guy is in Kansas & was irritated that the fake news made it sound as if all those cattle were at one feed lot, which is not true. He said same as you, they had a temperature spike at night, they were fat cattle with little to no shade, etc. Yours look good 👍 & your nose looks much better!! 😁

[@toddcaskey9984]

My 2 cents is next time your doing sketchy shit on your hills , having the bucket on is better than forks . You can stop your self and push yourself out with a bucket better. Great job , it never looks as bad as it is on camera. Great shade structure!

[@toddcaskey9984]

They changed the feed , combined with the heat , did it . I had my favorite IPP boar die from heat stress & stress. Great job with all you guys do

[@jeremychristman1515]

Highly recommend building the Salatin shade mobile structure. We built one last year, slightly smaller than his. Comfortably can fit around 20 cows under it. I think his can provide shade for around 40. The cows love it, works great. We had around $1500 in it. Easy to build. He has a new book out with detailed plans

[@dayneholt4149]

Chuck I know you guys are doing your best to provide shade for the steers. What do you think about tieing some 2" pvc pipe under the tin on your shade cart then tie some tarps to the pipes to make the shady area larger. Just a thought, best wishes ❤ blessings to you & yours.

[@SheratonParkFarms]

That’s not a bad idea at all! Maybe make it variable in size. Thanks for watching

[@donaldfear7639]

Or maybe buy some shade cloth tarps so you still get the air flow but not the sun???

[@pamcarter6595]

Thanks for your thoughts on those cattle in Kansas. I'm in Texas and he gets pretty hot here. I have just never heard of such.. have a great week and stay safe, & cool.

[@robinwhitlatch4497]

Cattle are looking good. Glad the structure move was safe. Is suppose to be mid to high 80s in western Washington this weekend, jumping from mid to high 60’s to 80’s. Have had only 2 days above 70 so far this year and lots of rain so will be feeling the heat but glad to finally see it.

[@ShortbusMooner]

I believe you're going to be busy enough, taking care of your own county, here by Christmas.. Good job- and, Godspeed!! 🙏🏻💪🙏🏻

[@SheratonParkFarms]

Yep! Thanks for watching

[@donaldfear7639]

110 here in Florida today with the heat index!! I hate the Florida summers!! To humid

[@reneeclark9903]

Thank you for your insight about the cattle. It amazes me that people who raise any animal wouldn't supply shade, water and vegetation.

[@patburgard2115]

You did it good! What a team❤️

[@SheratonParkFarms]

Thanks. Appreciate y’all watching

[@lopoa126]

Fred Meyer (Kroger owns them) has 80/20 ground beef for $5.50/lb, $7.49/lb for lean 93/7. In 2018 it was $3/lb for pork or either beef choice. The guy that used to be at our farmer's market sold his for $5/lb, but that was in 2020.

[@mllee2008]

You are 100% right! If grocery store prices are just about the same or maybe a tiny bit cheaper than buying local, I'm choosing local every time! 😃🤝🏻

[@cherylguess3859]

i used to put frozen water bottles in my rabbit cages when it was very hot the would lick on and climb on it and lay down beside it they loved it

[@pamelamercado6902]

I probably would have flipped that trailer that would have been my luck. Here in Arizona as most know our temperatures in the summer is hotter than heck but our cattle do real well in it but they're not normally in small areas with a lot of other cattle they're normally on a big range in the desert or a big green pasture. But usually when heat hits them if they're going to die from it it is the caves and the sick first then you're older cattle typically they don't all die around the same time but I'm sure if circumstances were just right this definitely could happen

[@LtColDaddy71]

It was just flat out heat that killed those cattle. But looking at the green on your property, your cattle won’t have an issue. Commercial cattle have so many marks against them. Genetic lines are focused on one thing, weight gain. Even meat sold as hormone free are given hormones, it’s legal as long as the waiting period prior to slaughter is observed. That die off is just a symptom of how terrible our food production has become. Healthy cattle can handle a lot. Their normal body temperature is over 100.

[@heathjones8106]

Like Jordan Peterson says…we learn when doing dangerous things carefully. Good job with the move.

[@johnportwood6223]

You all did 👍 I know that kind of thang can be nervreckin👌

[@mikehoncho6109]

How is your mob grazing experiment going? Awesome video.

[@JG-Zonic]

Moving that walk in freezer looked more sketchy when you did that move.

[@SheratonParkFarms]

Yeah that was pretty sketchy too. Problem here was, and I’ve don’t think the video shows it too well, is that hill we came off of is really steep. We were afraid we’d flip the things over trying to turn it. Thanks for watching!

[@cherylguess3859]

i wonder it the cows would lick on frozen water bottle like 2 liter pop bottle put in a feeder to get a little cooler

[@chriss.9060]

The adjoining woods look very shady, if the cows respect the 2 or 3 wire electric fence, may be they want to enter the woods at certain times.

[@countryman8263]

Chuck how did I contact you about buying a pig?

[@334outdoors8]

If all the tires was up ida throw an old bale on there to lower the COG

[@334outdoors8]

Also that thing would make a good mineral feeder

[@robertcowden9484]

I move them all the time loaded think we are making a big deal out of nothing I live in Pennsylvania we have huge hills

[@jermainewyatt1995]

Amazing video if u do buy somemore cattle u buying steers or getting females to breed

[@SheratonParkFarms]

I’d buy more feeder steers to finish on grass.

[@jermainewyatt1995]

@@SheratonParkFarms gotcha

[@thomaswatson1100]

Throw some hay in that feeder they need roughage

[@dwighthires3163]

I agree that when you stress cattle into excessively unnatural ways of growing them you will have extremely bad results. I side with the conspiracy thinking that something else has been thrown into the mixture this time. Any chance that feed was mixed incorrectly as a way to cut feed prices?

[@dwighthires3163]

@@travisvanover6831 You are right I need to answer no to your KS and feedlot questions, but I do have over 20 years' experience in ranching. That is precisely why I put the feed part of my response in the form of a question because I do not know what happened and have no KS nor feedlot experience. I only, as I said, side with the conspiracy thinking. I have owned and raised many cattle and it is very obvious to anyone in the business that overstressing cattle makes them more susceptible to complications and even death when additional factors enter the mix. We work hard to reduce stress to our cattle. I side with Chuck that we need to look wholistically when catastrophe strikes. To blame this entirely on the heat seems as simplistic to me as those who say after a horrid freeze, "the cattle all froze to death," as if there is no responsibility the farmer need accept after not providing adequate protection for his cattle. I have protected my cattle at temps above 110 and below -30. In all my life, not even one of my animals died of either heat or freezing without some co-failure on my part in providing them care they need. Believing I am the animal of greater intelligence with more detailed knowledge of approaching weather, I therefore accept responsibility to protect my animals.

[@dwighthires3163]

@@travisvanover6831 You are so, so right that ranching and feed lots are completely different. There is indeed no way to compare them as apples to apples because they are closer to being like pineapples to squash. I really agree with your conclusion that you will never achieve a zero-stress level or even a low stress level in a feed lot. I have feed lots in my community and I know what is happening. All of what you say makes my point that when one accepts responsibility for the care of animals, he should not blame the weather because weather does not kill animals any more than guns kill people. It is people and their management that kills animals. If these feed lot cattle were not being high stressed managed the way they were, then they would not have been under this huge stress and could have survived the heat. None of those animals would have died at 110 degrees on my ranch cared for in the manner I care for them. You are a very astute man to understand that there is a world of difference between ranching and feed lot management. Feed lots are as profitable as they are because they skillfully feed and accelerate the rate of growth far beyond what can never be achieved on my ranch. I believe this growth rate is what produces the cattle health issues you describe. Given the choice, I prefer to invest my life in raising cattle conforming to how God made cattle. Obviously, calves cannot be profitable be conceived and born in feedlots and highly marbled and fatty meat cannot be developed quickly on my grass.

[@dwighthires3163]

@@travisvanover6831 You are correct in understanding that I choose not to be argumentative and am willing to engage with you even though I doubt we agree on the value of feed lots. I see no virtue in being nasty to someone with whom I disagree. I expect I have a bit bigger definition of human error than you support. My definition od human error includes system errors because the systems were created by humans. Although I am at the point of life that I could afford the loss of a few hundred head for the reward of a million dollars, I choose not to be involved with feed lots because I do not want to take responsibility for the damage to animal health caused by feed lot methods. The bottom line of your argument anyway seems to be that ultimately the death of these cattle rests at the feet of a system that pushes cattle beyond nature, so they are not able to handle a big heat wave. You are right that the feed lots are a system dominated by greedy people whose profit/risk formulas puts cattle deaths in the category of calculated risk. As for a name for my cattle, I prefer to use grass finished beef. Every cow raised in America has been grass fed and farm raised or ranch raised at some point; however, only a few cows were grass finished. Just saying. Have a good day my friend.

[@leonardolawrence4313]

You need to start doing videos on the pig operation again, you can’t abandon the viewers who have a vested interest in that aspect of the farm.

[@gsmithre]

I have never seen anything more foolish. They must have not been around machinery very much. All they needed to do was hook up the feeder to either tractor and tow it down where they wanted it. Do you think those feeders were built so they couldn't be moved easy? That's the purpose of the wheels, to move it fast and easy to any location.