Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

My pops and I decided to head over to our place in Iowa to check out how our clover, corn, and soybeans are coming in. After checking a few plots, we crossed our creek and came around this little bend and up into our main cornfield. I was shocked to see a big bull standing in the middle of the field. I looked to my right, and about crapped when i saw another dozen or so cows and calves standing next to the creek bottom in the field. We hurried and got behind them so they couldn't run farther into our property. As I drove up towards the building we have with a phone, we saw our corn. About 10 acres of it completely destroyed by the cows. They had just absolutely thrashed it. We will not for sure get a crop. My dad and I both were just fuming, but he had the good sense to be kind on the phone to the people who had their cows in there. Some older lady that farms next to us owns the cows. We decided to go down to the cattle and kind of run them towards their home. I took the .22-250 i had in the back of the truck, put in 3 rounds, and headed down to the creek bottom where they were at. Another great sight there, they had everything torn up and pounded down. They were all standing in the creek, so i shot a round off into the ground. A few of the cows and calves took off, but a bull and some cows stayed. i shot another round, they didnt move. just mooed at me. Shot #3 went under the bull and into the creek. He just stood there. By then, i saw his massive cojones and decided that it probably wasn'ta great idea to stay there. Even a dirt clod to the head wouldn't make him move.

The cows have defintely been there for 2-3 weeks. they had been out and another neighbor told us, but they were supposed to have been retrieved and the fence fixed.The lady said her fence is good, and ours is bad, so a logging crew will be over making fence next week or week after. We fixed her fence last year when she purposely let her cows in because they had no food in her pasture. It's sickening that people like this can claim ignorance and let their cattle destroy other people's property. Hopefully, we'll get some reimbursement to buy some more stuff to put out for the deer. We were really relying on our corn to hold deer through the winter. That corn wasn't cheap either, it was ROUND UP ready corn.right about now, i'd really like to take a hand pump full of Atrazene and spray 10 acres of her corn or just mow it off like her cattle did to ours. It's been decided in our family that next time cattle get out, the rifle is going to come out and it's gonna be shoot and shut up.

slayer

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

You might also want to look into the stray livestock rules for Iowa , maybe you'd get some beef as compensation . I would have demanded reparations personally , at least replacement costs for the seed and fertilizer . I would also have a lawyer notify her that she needed to mend her fence , that way if it came to litigation you could prove that she was aware of the problem. Sometimes you just have to be the bad guy whether you like it or not .

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

If her fence was good the cows wouldn't have been out. Turn it into your insurance. They will make her insurance pay if she has any... which she should. We have had cows get into the boss's crops and that is what hedid.

You do not " have " to fence your property unless you have livestock. Her cows are her responsibility period!!! Not yours!!! Can you file property damages with your sheriff's department?? The more proof you get the better. Havinglegal documented complaints should help your cause now and in the future.

Try taking her to small claims court. Get pictures and witnessesto prove the damage.Unless she demandsshe wants a court by jury which I thinks she can, it is a cheap way ( no lawyers ) of suing her and not losing money in the process sinceyou will only get a fewthousand dollars out of it no matterwhat. You should have a good case.

I would not recommend shooting her cows or threating her in any way. That will not help your cause and do more harm then good. Do everything legal and you should still be able toshow her that she will pay for any damages now or the next time. I bet she or the other neighbors will try much harder in the future to make sure their cows stay in. Plus check them more often to make sure theystay in where they belong.

Tim

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

Think I would have some beef in the freezer

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

think of all the steaks that 22-250 could got you.

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

The only thing keeping us from doing anything yet is to see where the damage in the fence is at. Last year, when somebody let the cattle in, it was in her fence. See, the law states that when you face your neighbor, you have respsonsiblity for everythingn to your right, and they take everything to their right. Basically, with her, she has two 40's to keep up, and we have two 40's to keep the fence good on. I've walked ours before, and i know it probably isn't damaged. Her part is in terrible shape, and is mended everywhere. You touch the fence and it falls over. In Wisconsin, if the fence is bad, a town board can force the landowner to build a new one orthe town boardwill have a person do it and send the bill to the landowner. We're checking the laws in iowa to see if this works.If the hole is in our fence, I guess we'll have to take responsibility for it and it's our fault. If its her fault, and she won't give reimbursement(as she probably won't), I'm going to find some Atrazene and make it right.

I really don't understand why we should have to keep the cattle out of our land, as it should be the farmer keeping the cattle in his/her land. The people that own the cows are said to be very lazy,and if it can't be reached by ATV, they won't do it. You'd think with the price of cattle these days one would try to keep track of their cows?I'm really like the shoot and shut up method if it happens again. The cost of round up ready corn and round up isn't cheap either..

I tell you what, I about darn near messed up my drawers when i saw that it was a bull standing there. I had shot the 3 rounds i had in the gun when i saw his cojones hanging there...Needless to say, i didn't waste anytime getting back to the truck. Swatting him with a .22-250 would probably do little more than seriously aggravate him. Then again, he ain't a cape buffalo..just a dumb old cow..

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

That depends on where they live and what the law is there.

Your statement is not always true. Not even in Indiana, not even from one county to another, it is different.

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

There's no if's about it, here. HER livestock caused damage any monetary loss to YOU.

You didn't mention taking any pictures or calling LE to verify the stock was indeed there and the loses were "real". These two facts are gonna keep rearing their ugly heads.

Also the "shoot & shut up" decision.......................................... ...........bad choice.

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

Don't know about your state but in ours they are trespassing and it is the owner of the cattles responsibility to keep them off your property. Two choices, under the law you can confenscate the animals and file charges against the owner. The owner will have to pay all expenses for damages and your costs to maintain the animals until the court date. Or you could just drop them!Had cattle on my property three different times, and complainedto the owner each time. The third time I told them I was going to shoot them. They sold all their cattle within two weeks of that conversation. This year I see them putting up a brand new fence!!

RE: Food plots destroyed..literally..
 

i would have to agree. I woulda put a 22-250 in the ear and had steaks for me and everyone i knew, then claim i didnt know WTF they were talkin about. =)