Property Details
Name of Property: Preconditioning Operation Vernon, TX 288 acres
Status: New
Acreage: 288 Acres
Location: 1.45 hrs. to Amarillo & 3 hrs to Dallas, TX
Closest Town: Vernon, TX
Access: County road
Topography: Flat to very gently rolling pasture land
Improvements: Home, shop, corrals, water wells, fencing,etc
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2
Forage: Bermuda Grass, Native, Annual Rye
Capacity: 4,000 head/yr. currently, could be increased.
Water: Two water wells
Wildlife: Deer, Turkey, Quail
Utilities: Electricity, Wells, Septic System
Development Potential: Could be subdivided for housing if desired
Comments
This backgrounding operation is set up for maximum efficiency and utilization of Animal Well Being Methods to decrease stress and maximize average daily gain. Equipment necessary for the daily operations of the facility is included. The equipment may be removed from the package and sold separately. (Please register to access the Equipment List.)

The wide entrance into the ranch makes for easy in and easy out for large 18-wheeler trucks.

The stockers are received into special care receiving pens for health assessments, vaccinations, and rest. Then released into various pasture traps and allowed access to grass with TMR supplements provided in feed troughs in the pastures. Then around the 90-day mark they are moved into dry lots with 475 sq ft per head living area. This could be reduced by half if more cattle were fed. The next phase, the cattle are moved into dry lots allowing for best ADG on TMR rations and high density rearing while maintaining a very low mortality rate. Each dry lot contains two 190-gallon water tanks with high pressure water supplied to each trough. The dry lots can handle 1400 head with a turnover every three months. Additional pasture could be converted to dry lots to easily increase annual outputs from the current 4,000 head to a maximum of 7,500 head per year.

Two high volume water wells are on site. One provides water to two livestock water tanks in the pastures of 3000 gallons each (one of the tanks is shared between two pastures). The other well provides water to the house. To access the fenced in water tanks the livestock walk under a special back rub and dust bags to treat for flies and lice. All of the concrete water tanks in the pastures and dry lots have concrete aprons, and each tank has its own on-off valve.



There are six separate paddocks of varying sizes. These pastures consist of two Bermuda Grass pastures, one Annual Rye grass pasture, and a mixed pasture of Bermuda and Native grasses.

Equipment:

A Supreme 900T TMR Mixer mixes forage with liquid supplement and a custom pelleted feed; Liquid Supplement TDN 81, Protein 20%. The 900T TMR mixer can mix 10,000 pounds each batch and deliver directly to concrete J-troughs. Fitted with a weigh scale that is accurate to the nearest 1.0 pound. Dual Mixer Screws cut forage to an ideal length so cattle can eat quickly but allows for healthy rumen digestion of the fiber with no acidosis issues. There are two 30-ton bulk dump stations with overhead drops, 25 tons of bulk commodity mix can be uploaded in the bulk storage system an average of 45 minutes start to finish. The Bulk Liquid Supplement Tank holds 30 tons and provides high speed liquid transfer.

The most important forage dry matter utilized is Sorghum Sudan grass and Alfalfa from local producers.

Facilities: The covered hydraulic squeeze chute sits on concrete pad with electric and lights. It also has a scale, the pressure setting top to bottom is 200 psi. The side bar holds the head still for other work, and side doors allow for easy access for body treatments. Cattle see a clear exit, so they move forward easily straight to the special Hydraulic Squeeze Chute (not V closed but opens and closes in parallel.). Rubber mats are in place where cattle depart the chute to prevent slipping. The alleyways are adjustable from 18 inch to 22 inches. A proprietary designed Bud Box provides optimum flow for fast and easy, and low stress loadout. The loadout accommodates 18-wheeler trucks and low trailers.

A fully insulated and wired 40’X60’ shop with concrete floor is in place. A wood heater is included and water is piped to a hydrant on the outside of the shop.

The livestock is currently sold thru auction as open heifer feeders or replacement heifers to local ranchers. This facility has a reputation for quality, sound heifers. There are at least five livestock markets within a 100-mile radius of the ranch: The High Plains Auction Company in Vernon, TX, The Plains Livestock Market at Quanah, TX, Texoma Livestock Commission in Texoma, OK, The Graham Livestock Auction Market in Graham, TX, and Amarillo Livestock Auction in Amarillo, TX. There are numerous feedlots within a reasonable driving distance also. There are also numerous packing plants in the area.

The home is a three bedroom, two bath mobile

Photo taken February 13, 2018. Crow Buttes, Harding County, South Dakota is the location of the1882 battle between the Crow and Sioux Indians. The sign says:

CROW BUTTES LOCATED IN HARDING COUNTY, WAS THE SCENE
OF A BIZARRE BATTLE BETWEEN CROW AND SIOUX INDIANS IN THE
SUMMER OF 1882. SIOUX MEN RAVEGED A CROW CAMP, DESTROYING
IT AND RAPING THE SQUAWS. WARFARE ENSUED. CROW WARRIORS
LEFT THEIR WOMEN, CHILDREN AND OLD FOLKS AT SAND CREEK
NORTH OF THE BUTTES. FLEEING FOR A BETTER VANTAGE POINT
ON TOP OF CROW BUTTES WITH SIOUX FIGHTERS CHASING THEM.
THE CROWS HAD NO WATER WITH THEM AND BEING SULTRY
WEATHER NO RAIN FELL. THE SIOUX ENCIRCLED CROW BUTTES
AND WAITED PATIENTLY UNTIL THE TRAPPED CROWS DIED FROM
THIRST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE NEARBY CANYON OF SKULLS TO THE
NORTHWEST WAS FILLED WITH SKELETONS OF SIOUX WHO DIED
LIKE FLIES AFTER CONTRACTING A FEVER FROM THE CROWS.

SIGN COURTESY OF BUTTE CO. HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AND GAME, FISH & PARKS COMMISSION