Provider: Ryan & Hope Pjesky
Profession: Farmers/Ranchers
Hometown: Goltry, Oklahoma

Winter 2008-09

December 2008

December is always my favorite month of the year I always enjoy being with family at Christmas time and I love buying gifts for those I care about.  On the farm in December weather is the major factor in all that we do.  We had several nights of single digit temperatures with days in the teens.  This always makes the simple necessity of watering the animals a major chore.  Breaking 3 to 4 inches of ice on tanks with an axe is quite time consuming and very hard work.  Not all days were nasty, we had many warm days which allowed us to move cattle and fix up some things.

December was a very good time to buy cattle I bought 180 head during the month and had very little trouble with them as they were weaned and ready to turn out on pasture.  It is very rare to buy little calves and not have any of them get sick.  We also got two pleasant surprises this month.  First, Hope was elected to the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association board.  Then on December 30th we hosted a reporter and photographer from Successful Farming magazine.  They were here to interview us for an article on us in their Farmers for the Future series it will be printed in March 2009.

January 2009

During January our time is spent taking care of cattle, feeding and doctoring the cattle that get sick.  Because of the weather in January being so turbulent we can’t make many plans beyond just the basics.  We spent part of the month getting old fence rows ready for our fencing crew to build a mile and a half of new fence.  The early part of January we bought 150 new calves.  This group required more attention than the previous 150 that we bought before the first of the year.  Eventually they got straightened out.  We had several bouts of very cold weather during January.  This, as usual, causes us more work and more feeding.  January also had just as many great days with temperatures over 70 degrees.  During these days we got a lot of extra work done.

February 2009

In February we continue to buy cattle and get them weaned, well and ready to gain.  We also sold 125 cattle during the month.  Like much of the rest of our nation’s economy the cattle business has taken a downturn.  These cattle we sold brought 25% less than comparable cattle were selling for just six months ago.  During February I also sold the last of the wheat I raised last June.  It was worth 45% less per bushel than it would have been at harvest.  I did sell 75% of my crop in June and July when prices were high, but many farmers didn’t.

Agriculture is a very, very risky business.  Currently the main source of risk is rearing its head.  We have been in a very dry weather pattern the past few months and we are reaching a critical juncture needing rain for this year’s wheat crop and summer grass growth.  We still have enough sub-soil moisture to maintain the vitality of our wheat but rain will be necessary soon after the first of March to make our plans work.

I’ve learned two things in a lifetime of farming.  First, you can manage your operation around the risks inherent in the markets.  Two, you cannot do anything about the weather.  You can make every right decision all year and weather can cause your success or failure.  We are absolutely dependant on weather for our livelihood.  With all that said farming is a great occupation.  We recognize the risk involved but gladly accept those risks for the freedom and independence that comes with being our own bosses.

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