As expected, the beef calf didn’t make it. On the up side, we did find the dairy heifer. She had been stolen, just by another dry cow who hid her somewhere in the field. Mama and baby are safe in the barn so we can’t lose her again. Yesterday was a day full of running […]
Sometimes you just can’t win no matter how hard you try. Today we’re heading to the stock sale with another 4 cows. Two I won’t miss. They have always been mastitis problems with bad attitudes: they’re always filthy and they kick like mules. They just flat need culled. One is completely disheartening. She was one […]
Beef prices are up. Last I read, the futures are showing 1.10-1.20 this fall and a continued climb to 1.20-1.30 next fall (that is the price per pound, on the hoof). Prices were up last year but ours only brought .70-.80. We have nice beef calves, I just think technology is taking over the sale […]
They really, really are. And I say that from the standpoint of someone who has actually worked with cows. So many of the “abuse” videos I see include cows being smacked with ropes, or kicked, or drug around using a skid steer. Apparently there are people who have never worked with these animals, who believe […]
This is another of those convoluted stories that does, eventually, make a point. Several years ago now we made the leap and switched to milking just once a day. This was a pretty big leap of faith on our part, and was done after reading articles about and then talking directly to Cliff Hawbaker. Cliff […]
I actually wrote this a week and a half ago now but didn’t get it posted. So references to time are relative. We actually have a few extra heifers to sell so a few weeks ago I put an ad up on craigslist for the heifers and what bull calves we had at the time. […]
The wordpress iPhone app is a pain to post more than one photo from. I’d like to write some text, insert a photo, write more text, insert another photo, etc. Unless I’ve missed something my only option is to put all the photos at the end, upload the post, update the app, then go back […]
We’ve gone ahead and started giving the cows some corn silage in the evenings to supplement their declining pasture. These pictures are rather dark – my cell phone doesn’t do well taking pictures this late – but they’re amusing all the same. Happy eating the first day: Sami posing with her girls: This is the […]
Life has a way of taking you in directions you’d never expect. It happens to us on a regular basis. One of those unexpected directions has led Ernie and I to find ourselves being labeled as lunatics by those with far more education than we have. And still we barrel head-long down this path, running […]
It’s cold. Not just cold, but COLD. Temperatures below 0, wind chills as low as -25. And not just at night: we’re having highs barely above 0, with wind chills below. Winters around here aren’t usually picnics, and I admit we’ve been spoiled by the above average numbers so far. Most days have been above […]
Ern got the first load chopped last night. Getting it into the silo this morning. We still have some adjustments to make on different things, but they’re minor and overall so far so good.
This one is not for the squeamish. If you would rather not know how your nice juicy steak gets on your plate, quit reading now. A little traveling music for those leaving, courtesy of the 90s hit sitcom Friends. Oh the cow in the meadow goes moo. The cow in the meadow goes moo. Then […]
What a day. Didn’t start out too bad. We got done milking early, actually had time for a nice breakfast, and went to church. All was well till we went out to feed the beef cows. Found one bloated and dead. Not too surprised there – she was old and had been going down hill […]
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