What does everyone do for a living?

woodtick

Veteran member
Feb 24, 2011
1,492
0
Jim Bridger County, Utah
I was just thinking of the nutritional variables in there that are somewhat difficult to control on pasture.
It's more balanced then one might think, We have grass/legume pasture mixtures and it's surprising what some of these mixtures yield in weight gain compared to a TMR diet. Are one blend is averaging 85% of what our feedlot cows are gaining. For a guy thats marketing pure pasture fed cattle thats a significant advantage to those that are selling grass only. Most are grass mixtures are in the 35-50% range, so roughly half of what were gaining on feedlot. I don't exactly know what meat prices are doing now but our one producer was averaging close to $20 per 100 lbs more on his mixture pasture cows than his closest competitor was getting on just grass pasture cows. The one legume we've got binds with proteins in the rumen and then they disassociate in the abomasum, cows are getting more proteins converted to muscle in a nutshell. Some of his cow's were gaining close to 3.75lbs per day, that's all I can divulge at this current moment.
 

woodtick

Veteran member
Feb 24, 2011
1,492
0
Jim Bridger County, Utah
I have a masters in Agriculture, worked for two different Universities as an Extension Agent for 5 years. Now I raise cattle, do taxidermy work and help raise our daughter.

My wife also has a masters in Animal science but now works in health care...funny how things go.

Good luck with your research. We did a similar study here in the South on sulfur fall out from the coal plants and discovered a direct correlation between that and zinc deficiency. Now most of our feeds have a higher ppm of zinc to offset.
That's pretty funny, I hope when I'm done with all this school stuff I can get a job working for an environmental consultant firm. Lots of variety with that kind of job and good pay.
 

packmule

Veteran member
Jun 21, 2011
2,433
0
TX
It's more balanced then one might think, We have grass/legume pasture mixtures and it's surprising what some of these mixtures yield in weight gain compared to a TMR diet. Are one blend is averaging 85% of what our feedlot cows are gaining. For a guy thats marketing pure pasture fed cattle thats a significant advantage to those that are selling grass only. Most are grass mixtures are in the 35-50% range, so roughly half of what were gaining on feedlot. I don't exactly know what meat prices are doing now but our one producer was averaging close to $20 per 100 lbs more on his mixture pasture cows than his closest competitor was getting on just grass pasture cows. The one legume we've got binds with proteins in the rumen and then they disassociate in the abomasum, cows are getting more proteins converted to muscle in a nutshell. Some of his cow's were gaining close to 3.75lbs per day, that's all I can divulge at this current moment.
That's a pretty good gain. Our issue is soil acidity from all the pines. High beef prices are somewhat offset by all the lime & fertilizer that has to be administered to actually get the protein levels needed, then praying to the rain gods. End up buying a lot of 80/20 alfalfa/orchard grass mix out of Kentucky. The bulls get to live the cush life and get a nice diet of winter wheat, grazer & hairy vetch since they're easier to load and transport.

It's the same thing with our deer, never a shortage of browse for them but nutritional quality is often an issue. Steady summer rains will boost them a lot.



Wife did the same thing with school, went the AG dev/animal science route prepping to go into DVM school, ended up going to law school.
 

IDELKFVR

Active Member
Dec 15, 2013
271
0
EMMETT,IDAHO
Wow there are a lot of different paths that people take to get through life. I finished high school messed around drinking beer and chasing girls for about four years which was fun and didn't need to much money then. Decided that wasn't going to work for ever joined the navy and cruised the world in a submarine couldn't see much. Got out joined the air guard and was driving truck still wasn't making much money. joined the volunteer fire department in town and eventually got hired full time that was 16 years ago. Still not rich but make enough to pay the bills and raise a family and most important lots of time off for hunting. The one thing that cops and fireman have in common is we all want to be fireman. Don't believe me see dearhunter3450 last comment its true. LOL
 

Dearhunter3450

Active Member
Feb 13, 2014
245
0
51
Upstate New York
Wow there are a lot of different paths that people take to get through life. I finished high school messed around drinking beer and chasing girls for about four years which was fun and didn't need to much money then. Decided that wasn't going to work for ever joined the navy and cruised the world in a submarine couldn't see much. Got out joined the air guard and was driving truck still wasn't making much money. joined the volunteer fire department in town and eventually got hired full time that was 16 years ago. Still not rich but make enough to pay the bills and raise a family and most important lots of time off for hunting. The one thing that cops and fireman have in common is we all want to be fireman. Don't believe me see dearhunter3450 last comment its true. LOL
Its not my fault I took the wrong test! Just remember fireman need heroes too LOL!! Chasing girls and drinking beer was a lot of fun and a long time ago lol
 

Squirrel tail

Member
Aug 28, 2012
56
0
Dillon MT
I was a wrangler for a outfitter the past summer and fall before that i was in high school. But since the season ended i dont know what do. So i have been looking for ranching jobs the past few months but my end goal is to save up enough money to go to gunsmithing school without going into debt but almost every smith i talk to tells me done do it so that's discouraging if anyone has any suggestions that would be nice
 

RockChucker30

Active Member
Feb 22, 2014
162
0
Tennessee
Cattle grazing on pasture forages in comparison to feedlot Cattle. We're looking at the difference in weight in correlation to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions output. Very interesting project, my other studies have consisted of new varieties of Alfalfa, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Cicer Milkvetch and Meadow Brome as pasture forages in Organic Dairy settings and on small scale Beef operations.
Sounds interesting. My BS and Masters are in Ag Econ. I had a lot of Animal Science too. Are you at UK?

I have to say I don't miss grad school. Getting out was like trading an 80 hour a week unpaid job in for a 40 hour well paid one. It felt like a vacation.


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tim81212

New Member
Jan 23, 2014
40
0
Canon City, CO
Grad with an Ind Engineering degree, a long time ago, and couldnt find a job. Now I am 6 months from retirement with the Federal Prison system. Then it is on, a whole lot of fishing and hunting.
 

arwaterfowler

Active Member
Dec 4, 2011
229
15
Omaha, NE
I've worked for Oldcastle Materials going on 8 years. We produce aggregate materials, asphalt, and concrete in addition to heavy highway construction. I started with them right out of civil engineering school. While it is a big outfit, they are really good to work for. I started as an estimator but have moved up the ought the system to construction manager. Prior to this position, I was able to travel to all of our locations working on training and best practice implementation. 46 states in two years, fun but the travel got tough. I got to do a lot of scouting on my work trips out west. I've been luck.


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jims

Member
Oct 5, 2012
95
0
KC Missouri
I earned a civil engineering degree and went to work for the Missouri Dept of Transportation in KC right out of college. Spent my career as a highway designer and later as a project manager and Dept manager. While you can make more money as an engineer working for a consulting engineering firm, I was attracted to the Missouri DOT because of their very good benefits (including a very good retirement plan) and much better job stability than consulting firms. I retired last year after 28 years with the Missouri DOT. I got to do quite a bit of hunting and fishing last year and hopefully will be able to repeat that pattern over the next many years.
 

Knappy

New Member
Mar 14, 2014
43
0
I served 13 years in the Air Force, traveled the world and all over the states. This equates to great contacts and hunting situations. I currently work for a large company based out of Salt Lake City that supports military operations across the globe. I am working satellite communications for a large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. I believe the military is a great life. The pay isn't the best but you do get great benefits, lots of vacation time (on top of holidays) and it can set you up with a skill set that will pay you good once you are out of the service. You can land a contractor job, deploy overseas a few times and make really good money.
 

Russell M.

New Member
Nov 29, 2011
40
0
Oregon
I joined the army when I was 18 mainly because I had no plans. I wasn't very interested in going to school and didn't feel like I had much of a chance at getting a decent job. I didn't enjoy it at first but looking back it was the best decision I've ever made. I've seen places of the world that I would never of dreamed of going and made countless friends that I'll have forever. 30 days of vacation comes in pretty handy around hunting season, plus I get at least one four day weekend every month.
 

johnsd16

Active Member
Mar 16, 2014
353
4
N Idaho
Medical resident in internal medicine, done in June. Then I start fellowship in gastroenterology. It's been a long road, started med school in 2007. I'll finish fellowship in 2017 or 2018. I love my job and would never give it up but you have to get creative with your time. I shot my mn shotgun buck this year after climbing in the stand at 11am after a 30 hour overnight. I was tired but it was gun season and the rut was on. Basically the same story in Wisconsin.

My advice is do something you enjoy but never make any hobbies you're passionate about your job. Ask a guy who runs a fishing outfit if they go anywhere near the docks on their day off. They usually say no way. I chose something I liked that offered decent job and financial security with chance at retiring earlier in life and a flexible schedule later perhaps working less than "full time" but still make a living.

Great cross section of folks here. Lots of smart people with the engineers in ag, aerospace and other things. Takes lots of smarts and real world knowledge to do what most do on here.
 

gypsumreaper

Active Member
Mar 13, 2014
308
0
Tire technician- passenger to OTR not my dream job but it pays the bills


If you get meat from the store then dont criticize me for having the courage to go out and kill my own meat
 

Triple BB

Active Member
Jun 22, 2013
296
16
Wyoming
Been working for the man in the insurance industry the past 23 years. Decent pay and a traditional pension are the only things keeping me around. Between waterfowl and big game, I hunt 60 - 70 days a year. Had to meet a few weeks ago with a recently promoted mid level manager. She wanted to know my short term goals. I advised to do the best job I can, exceed company goals and expectations in order to help me reach my long term goals. She sez what's yer long term goals. I said to retire in 5 years and get the heck out of insurance. She had that deer in the head light look. You could tell she was just out of mid level management brainwashing school and they hadn't taught her how to respond to those type of answers. Investing young is a huge part of the puzzle to long term happiness. Marrying a woman who makes more than you doesn't hurt either...
 

AT Hiker

Very Active Member
Aug 2, 2012
638
0
Tennessee
Medical resident in internal medicine, done in June. Then I start fellowship in gastroenterology. It's been a long road, started med school in 2007. I'll finish fellowship in 2017 or 2018. I love my job and would never give it up but you have to get creative with your time. I shot my mn shotgun buck this year after climbing in the stand at 11am after a 30 hour overnight. I was tired but it was gun season and the rut was on. Basically the same story in Wisconsin.

My advice is do something you enjoy but never make any hobbies you're passionate about your job. Ask a guy who runs a fishing outfit if they go anywhere near the docks on their day off. They usually say no way. I chose something I liked that offered decent job and financial security with chance at retiring earlier in life and a flexible schedule later perhaps working less than "full time" but still make a living.

Great cross section of folks here. Lots of smart people with the engineers in ag, aerospace and other things. Takes lots of smarts and real world knowledge to do what most do on here.
Best of luck to you, the field of medicine is no longer the grand dream of a glorious job that is rewarded not only by good deeds done but also monetarily. Now future MD's are worried about pay and bureaucracy...sad day in America for our health care providers.

PS...if i eat any more Mountain House chili macs I may have to give you a call!!!!!!
 

Silentstalker

Active Member
Oct 26, 2013
195
22
Utah
I am a career firefighter/engineer for Salt Lake City Fire Department. I love my job and get the opportunity to hunt quite a bit.