Cows:(

[fuldraw]

My brother just texted me
All 4 acres of sunflower/ soybeans that I planted are gone :@ and cow patties everywhere he said .
None of the farms touching us have cows . So they had to travel thru 40 plus acres of timber to even get to ours .
Last year I lost 1 acre of turnips in sept all the farms we talked to said its wasn't there cows .
I know it's not the cows fault but I'm pretty pixxxxx right now I guess when I get down there and go talk to them again and they all say it's not their cows they won't mined when I tell them it won't matter if I just start shooting them since one body owns them .
( I wouldn't )
We have never seen them
Guess its time to start trying to fix or replace 703 acres of fence that is in the woods

 

[tooln]

Sorry to hear this. Set cams to ID them like MO said. Have you tried back tracking them to see where they come from. I'm not sure about the laws in your area but the owner may be held liable for damages.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Bad deal! 2 yrs in a row too.. I think your defiantly gonna have to raise some cane to get it under control. You shouldn't have to flip the bill for new fence although it wouldn't be a bad investment

 

[SD51555]

I "know a guy" that had the same issue. He was also a cattle farmer. The neighbor's steers kept getting out and into his corn field. After rounding up the neighbors cows for him multiple times, he kept one. Nothing was ever said by either person. Guess they were square.

 

[tooln]

If none of the neighbors are claiming them why not round them up and take them to a sale barn and make a few bucks. Wouldn't your neighbors should share the cost of the fence.

 

[fuldraw]

If none of the neighbors are claiming them why not round them up and take them to a sale barn and make a few bucks. Wouldn't your neighbors should share the cost of the fence.

None of the farms that touch us have cows and they don't even have fields
What I don't understand is how and why the cows would just start traveling thru the woods the closes field is at least 40 acres worth of woods before our place and our fields are at least 200 yards off the property line thru the woods.

 

[fuldraw]

I don't know anything about cows other and they taste yummy and like to stare at me.
How many strands of barbwire to keep them out. The fence will be in the woods would 2 wires be enough and at what height or is 3 needed
I would love to hear only 1 strand

 

[Turkey Creek]

If you are going to go to the trouble of building a fence I would go at least 3 wire. The wire is a reatively small investment compared to the rest of the material and labor. I guarantee if I had been down the road previously I would definitely find out whose they are and give them a certified letter stating next time the cattle will be held until all losses are paid for including daily feed until the bill is paid. I would contact the sheriff and explain some feral cattle are repeatedly on your property. I guarantee that one way or another my losses WOULD BE compensated for.

 

[OkieKubota]

Exactly the reason the first thing we did when we closed was build a fence... We had about 12 head of cattle roaming our property looking for acorns... this was last February.

 

[foggy]

I wouldn't think any rancher would knowingly let his cattle roam like that. Too much investment involved to let cattle free range....no?

 

[Catscratch]

I would not wait until they destroyed your plots next yr. to act. Plots require too much time and money to let someone's cattle eat them. And as we all know a plot can't just be replaced once it is decimated. First; I would walk all your fence starting down wind of the plot (Cattle can smell food and will go to great lengths to get to it, and have a good memory when it comes to food. They also can cover a lot of distance in a short time. Most people see a heard of cattle standing in the pasture and not think much of it, but give them an hour and they might be a mile away because the seldom stop moving). While walking fence look for wire that is down or low and keep an eye out for tracks, patties, and disturbed vegetation. Once a crossing is down I would put a pile of corn out and a camera so that I could get some pics of ear tags and brands. These pics will help greatly in finding their owners (and really help if you show them around). This could save you from having to fix your own fence (a hefty investment in time and money) if the cattle owner doesn't border your property. If this is the case you could get off easy by talking to the land owner and him fixing his own fence. If this isn't the case and you do have to fix fence then check the local laws. Here you are responsible for the right hand side of your fence line... ie, if you stand on your property and look out at your fence you are responsible for everything from the right of center. Your neighbor does the same and is responsible for the other half.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[OkieKubota]

I wouldn't think any rancher would knowingly let his cattle roam like that. Too much investment involved to let cattle free range....no?

Lol... when they are eating on someone else's place it saves their grass... on our deer lease and up at our 80 the cattle go wherever they like. The guy who runs cattle at our deer lease expects to lose a few... still cheaper than fencing 15k acres for him...

 

[biglakeba$$]

I had around a dozen black angus roaming our farm for over a month a couple years ago. The farmer paid me $500 for my food plot losses.
They pretty much cleaned me out.
A tree had gone down on his fence and he had around 35 that got out. He got most back within a few days, but had a helluva time getting the last 12 back.

 

[kskid]

That's a real bummer.

Lol... when they are eating on someone else's place it saves their grass... on our deer lease and up at our 80 the cattle go wherever they like. The guy who runs cattle at our deer lease expects to lose a few... still cheaper than fencing 15k acres for him...

May not be cheaper when someone totals their car on his cow in the road. Worse still if a passenger is hurt/killed. I'd talk to the Sheriff first. There are laws that spell out responsibility and recovery of damages for ranging cattle. It also depends on whether you're in a "fence in" or "fence out" state. You might also consider that cattle rustling is still a very serious crime. I doubt the court would accept "Finders Keepers" as a defense for trying to sell cattle that you don't own at the sale barn. :)

 

[j-bird]

I would consider fencing your plots. Lower cost and easier to maintain than a fence in the woods. In my state if you are to fence your property line you are responsible for the right 1/2 of the fence as you stand on your property and look at your neighbor. The other 1/2 is the adjoining neighbor's. Cows seem to end up in strange places. Espically as clean farming practices expand which include removing fence (even though many states have laws on the books stating the propertly line must be fenced). In my state if you shot the cow you will not find a locker to process it for you (animal must be alive - some government law) - so you would have to butcher it yourself. We had a "ghost cow" once it was white that was wild as all get out. We finally got it penned and it made a trip to the locker.

 

[dogghr]

Yea that sux Fuldraw. I've had the same thing happen before. Damage happens fast. Did get pic of the cows, too bad it was just their ass end. Fences do get knocked down by tress sometimes, regardless of how often you check them. I agree with cheaper to E fence plots. On property boundary need 3-4 strands of barb. Could be worse, my friends property that I hunt had a tractor trailer full of hogs wreck. Now that was an interesting fall of hunting.

 

[Jim Timber]

I'll pull watch duty if you provide the charcoal. :D

 

[Steve Bartylla]

I was going to make the same suggestion j-bird did. so, I'll just second his. Fence your plots. I've done that on several properties that had wandering cow issues and was very pleased with the costs vrs rewards results.

 

[Steve Bartylla]

Now, I can see the general topography from the aerial, but not in enough detail to swear it works as well as it appears. So, take this with a grain of salt. If you don't mind the input, your property appears to be setup well for edge access (considering the lake "edge" as well). I think if you could shift your food, access and hunting more to the outsides and focus more bedding on the insides, you could take it to another level higher yet. I flat out love the way the property lays and how the lake gives you another area to dump odors into (neighbors' lands and lake). hope I didn't overstep my bounds...Absolutely gorgeous property with WOW potential.

 

[fuldraw]

Now, I can see the general topography from the aerial, but not in enough detail to swear it works as well as it appears. So, take this with a grain of salt. If you don't mind the input, your property appears to be setup well for edge access (considering the lake "edge" as well). I think if you could shift your food, access and hunting more to the outsides