C&W Welding LLC

06/23/2026

A lot of producers have been taking advantage of this cooler weather to come and get tree shades before the heat returns…. Well July looks to crank the furnace up again. We have very few 36x36 tree shades left that we can sell at $6500 for this summer. Once we are out, we are out. See why so many producers are impressed with our tree shades and how we aim to lead the industry for strength and effectiveness!!

06/22/2026

Let’s look at a shade tarp that half way through its third year of being abused. To start with in March of 2024, I set up a windshade tarp before a blizzard just to see what happens. Didn’t take too much thought process to figure out it would flip the windbreaks, to which it did and left a couple holes in the tarp and bent the pipe. From there on out, we would neglect the straps, let the tarp go wild by not being securely fastened, just put it through the wringer to see what happens. The last pictures are from today and you can see the bar is bent a little more, the holes really haven’t gotten any bigger, but it is still being used in the summer daily. These tarps are the same tarps as what are on my tree shades, besides built bigger. I know there are a lot of skeptics towards these shade tarps, but a lot of producers find great value in a low cost addition of shade.

I spy a few reasons why we build our windbreaks and sheds the way we do? Can you see them?!? That time will be here before we know it. Yes I’ll go sit in timeout for bringing up the W and S word. 😜.

06/21/2026

Update for everyone on business and our shade situation. Currently everything is in stock. We have 10 36x36 tree shades ($6500) and 15 of the 24x30 tarps that go between 2 windshades ($1250) that we can book. 4 of the tree shades won’t be available until mid to end of July. Our windshades ($1450) we have plenty of material on hand to meet those needs. End of July we look to get started on our massive build list of windbreaks, calf shelters, and feedbunks. If you are needing stuff for this winter, please reach out early as 95% chance prices go higher this fall. So it doesn’t seem like a scare sales tactic, we are currently forecasting windbreaks to go up $25-$50, sheds $50- $100, and 30’ bunks $75-$100…I forecast this to happen mid September. A lot can change between now and then, but that’s my bet…… is that too open or blunt?

06/19/2026

A video showing how our 24x30 tarp between two windbreaks and our 36x36 tree shade handles the wind. Winds just prior to the video were a lot stronger. Still waiting for a storm to roll through where I can video during it.

06/19/2026

Middle child after receiving his “work shirt” from the guys—— ‘yay, now I can go weld with the guys’

Oldest child after receiving her ‘work shirt’ from the guys——— ‘dad, can we take a picture with our truck right here and grandpas truck in the background’

Youngest child after receiving his ‘work shirt’ from the guys—— tries to figure out how to walk with a shirt as big as him…. I wish I had a video.

Even the toughest days have special moments!

Thank you to everyone who has made this business what it is today and allows my family to have the life we have.

06/18/2026

https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/beef-extension/cow-calf-corner-the-newsletter-archives/creep-feeding

https://www.iowabeefcenter.org/bch/CreepFeeding.pdf

https://beef.unl.edu/beefwatch/creep-feeding-beef-calves-profitable/

Here are some university research articles on creep feeding. Just throwing this out there so you can make informed decisions for your operation. Heavier calves at weaning doesn’t always mean more profit. With the value of calves, maybe the conversion works this year. Every year presents new challenges, and being informed vs sold to helps you make smart decisions for your operation.

Extra newsletter discussing creep feeding.

06/17/2026

Taking bulls out to some depressing pastures and I already hear the sales pitches like, ‘extend your pastures by creep feeding your calves’. For me personally, I don’t see how creep feed pays. I see it as too expensive for what it’s worth. But hey, that’s just my pencil, you do you. Instead of trying to sell you something to fit into a timeline of ‘that’s what we always do’, let’s talk about weaning early. So this comes from our fall herd. Our fall herd typically calves between July 25th and September 15th, with something like 80 percent done by August 20th. We used to carry them calves long into the winter before we weaned, but that got super expensive trying to meet momma and babies needs while they were together in the dead of winter. Today we wean anytime after December 15t, when the weather allows us. After doing some investigation, we learned that a calf’s milk requirements start to diminish after 3 months of age, thus their dependence on mom starts to decrease. Instead, what one can do is wean them and introduce them to a higher mega cal diet for a month or so and then go back to your normal program. What this does is mimics the energy the calf receives from eating on its own and drinking milk. What this allows you to do is to take momma down to a ‘maintain diet’. This means she just needs to be full to really keep her going forward. Be careful though not to go too far down as conception rates will follow diet plans. The reason we started doing this is because it was far more profitable to split momma and baby apart and feed their separate needs vs trying to feed them together. If grass is good, I don’t see the value in weaning early. If grass is in short supply, maybe look at taking the calves early and you might be able to make yourself more profitable. Have to run the numbers and what you can make work on your operation, but don’t be afraid to wean early, it just takes a different feeding program if you are.

Side note, weaning our fall calves earlier has given us healthier calves and we don’t see a lag in growth plus we are more profitable. Momma goes from a 54 mega cal diet to a 42 mega cal diet for the winter. I’d have to check our sheet, but I believe our calves start at a 54 or 60 mega cal diet than go to a 48 a month later and go from there. I am not a nutritionist or vet, just some idiot with a page, so get someone you trust to develop a plan to meet your specific operations goals and capabilities during this extreme drought. Just sharing my experiences.

06/15/2026

I feel like the “I” states where you can trip and spill a bag of corn seed on the ground and still raise 250 bushel corn…. Heck of a corn crop coming in the dirt collector.

06/15/2026

As my wife and I sit on our deck watching planes and traffic go by, we are reminded just how small we are, but how connected we all are too. We are exiting our 8th year in business and I am beyound grateful for all the support and the opportunities our customers have given to our employees and our family too. It is amazing to me to see how many people believe in the ‘Built by Cattlemen, for Cattlemen’ difference. I am grateful for how many producers compliment me on how I run my business. It amazes me how many times I run into people and they say ‘I love your products, they have changed my operation’ or ‘I follow you on Facebook even though I don’t farm, I just love reading your research and passion’. The latest one comes today while we were playing at Yogi Bear campground in Sioux Falls getting ready to leave. This family doesn’t farm, but his parents do in Wisconsin and they use and are impressed by our stuff. It is amazing to see how many people’s operations we touch for the better. With that said, I am also amazed at how many reports I get from people who are wearing our brand that get verbally abused by people who don’t have our products. More than once I have been told by customers that things got heated because they were wearing a C&W sweatshirt and said we build good things. I don’t know who these people are, but I’d really love to have a conversation with them and ask what part of my business sets them off? Am I sometimes too blunt with my advertising? Of course I am because I believe, the truth is the truth and if it’s true, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, if it offends someone, it’s probably because new lessons are harder to learn as we age. I take great pride in trying to be unbiased in everything I do because my top priority is what is best for my herd. I go to great lengths to show what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how this helps. By no means do I think I know it all, I am constantly learning and making mistakes, all with the goal of being a better producer. As I have said many times, I have no shame in admitting I am a producer pretending to be a welder, because at the end of the day, I didn’t start this business for me, I started it to better the herd. I want to say thank you to everyone for the life you have given us these past 8 years! Cheers to turning the page on another year!