Another late post! Sometimes these big days run away with us…
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The haying has been put on pause even though some of the second cutting and oats are ready to go. They will have to wait just a little bit longer. We are herding most of the cattle from their spring breeding pastures to one pasture part way up the mountain. Once all the cows that we are taking are there, this larger herd will be taken up the mountain.
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The summer is our busiest time of year. we have so many things that need doing and it always seems like we run out of time to get everything done. This means prioritizing…
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This week I wanted to get into the sale of cattle using a video auction. Big Trails Beef has the benefit of meeting the final consumer face-to-face and having a relatively set price for our beef. The price does not jump up or down depending on what the futures boards are doing and what the trade climate is a the moment. However, most people are dependent on buyers who watch these things day to day.
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Today I was afforded a little time to go up and check on the Big Trails Beef herd. They were taken up the mountain a couple of weeks ago and have been grazing and enjoying mountain life, mostly on their own, since.
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I had a request for a day following Jekyll. It's difficult to describe what a typical day looks like in Jekyll's life. I have a hard time describing that for myself, but Jekyll has even less of an idea of what is going to happen each day.
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Ranching is a family business. At least it is around here….
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It has been another busy one! Gathering the badlands, branding, and a tornado somewhere between my house and my brother's kept us busy.
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This week, has been a big week. Brandon has been getting you all informed on the AI program and how it all works and this week we put all of that information to use.
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The last two weeks we have talked about AIing heifers and I want to stick with the heifers for another week because they are the only group of cows that aren't out there eating spring grass yet.
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Last week I told you that we were going to talk about the process of AI and I will. Sorry if it seems kind of brief, but I am a little worn our from the days events. The process of AI is fairly straightforward so it shouldn't take long.
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I want to delve into a big topic starting this week and I will expand on the actual process next week. I know that some of you may not be used to talking about reproductive biology so openly, but try to keep in mind that I have grown up talking about the science of breeding. I get uncomfortable when humans come up and my mouth is suddenly wired shut. When it's cows, it's just another day on the ranch.
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It's a change of pace at the Greet Ranch. We've gone from calving (except for a few stragglers) to moving cows out to spring pasture and now we are in full farming mode.
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Spring has officially sprung here on the ranch. We are loving the warmer weather for several reasons this week…
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Warm weather has brought some green grass! And with green grass comes events of spring....
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I thought it would be a good opportunity to touch on why we run Black Angus cattle. Before I get to that I want to let you get a quick update on Will. Will is still in the corral with his mother and still walks on his knuckles.
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Salt is vital to humans and cows alike. Cattle need an average of three to four ounces of salt per day. It is essential for biological processes. Every aspect of cattle performance is impacted if they are deficient in salt: growth, reproduction, and even carcass quality.
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The weather has been nicer lately, but today brought snow again. It wasn't much, but it was wet and sticky. Tonight is supposed to bring more, with NOAA forecasting 3-5 inches of snow. Today also brought many more calves. The cows are calving rapidly now and keeping us busy. The big news of the day came from my brother: the last heifer has calved!
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The last week has brought a lot of new baby calves and warmer weather so calving has been going better. It also brought a certain calf that will be the focus of this week's post. It has many more challenges than a normal calf, but the good news is that it has been handling them quite well.
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Calves, calves, muck, calves, snow, cows, water, ice, calves, mud, manure, calves. There. Now you are all caught up on the past week. To keep from boring you with week after week of calving, I thought I would share a story from a few years ago.
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