wurtzy - 6/18/2025 13:16

this goes out to more the beef guys out there, but dairy guys feel free to chime in.

After you have gotten out and all the cows leave, do you miss them? do you miss the work/ accomplishments it took for them?

I'm getting to a point in my life (41 years old next week), that I want to be gone more, and not so tied down. I'm an all in guy, so I'm not going to sub it out. also it takes the same work for 25 cows as it does 40 or 80.
I have a daughter(19) playing D1 Volleyball, and VB season is when calves are at home getting weaned, and the final four is during our early calving season.
My middle boy (14) is allergic to anything requiring work or getting up in the morning. Doesnt want anything to do with cows, fence, grinding feed, wrenching on equipment.
My youngest daughter (11) is my hardcore farm girl, but is more a horse person than cow person.
My wife is a city girl and has zero interest in the farm and cows.

its getting harder and harder to find the help, and my main HS kid that comes out to work cows regularly graduates next May. Im on family ground and owe nothing on cows or equipment, but its getting harder and harder for me to enjoy what I've built in this cow herd over the past 30 years. I work full time, as well. So I'm leaning to just cashing out and having my nights and weekends to myself and family and being able to travel and not so tied to the farm. No matter what i invest in it will still get cut 4 ways when it comes to my generation.

So..............do you miss them when they're gone? or do you just replace that time and feelings from the fenceline, grinding feed, packing silage, working cows, fixing feedwagons, with time in Cabo, making more softball/volleyball/football/etc games?
It's just getting harder and harder to enjoy it, even with record cattle prices.