December 30, 2012

 Following my boyfriend and I's experience getting unstuck and dealing with me having the flu, we were just enjoying getting to spend more than a couple days together during the week between Christmas and New Years.
We had talked quite a bit about where our relationship was going, but neither of us are big rushers in the that particular area. So, while constantly suspicious if "today was the day," I was also well aware that we may not get engaged for a while, and was fine with that too. I'm sure it was both great fun and borderline annoying for him to deal with my reporter style questioning in an attempt to figure out his plans combined with my honest admission that I really did want to be surprised.
But, I found out what his plan was in perfect timing, on December 30. It began as most winter days at his house do - with chores and feeding. After caring for all the pigs and heifer calves, we headed out to feed cows. I almost didn't go along, and also had my "is today the the day?!" thought when he came out of his office, which is where the ring was stored (a little reporter questioning had answered whether he had bought the ring or not). But, seeing as how I had been having those thoughts since we first looked at rings back in November (patience is not a strong virtue of mine) I really didn't dwell on it.

We fed the heifers first, and I had my camera along as always to snap photos of them as they trailed in. We both love cattle, and feeding is a fun opportunity to visit about them and everything else we think of, have planned, want to do, and are just thinking about on a particular day.

 After the heifers we drove to another pasture and fed the cows. This pasture is part of the original homestead his family filed on in the late 1800's. Those trees on the right are near where the original buildings of the place stood.

After feeding the cows, we drove up out of the river bottom where they were located, and out to this bluff, which overlooks the original homestead (the cows are just to the left of the photo maybe an 1/8 of a mile). He said he would like a photo of this view, because it's one of his favorites.
I took it, and when I turned around he was on one knee, and asked me to marry him! I said yes, of course, and we enjoyed the view for a couple minutes before continuing on with our day.
He did a great job planning it all out, picking a perfect ring, and choosing a day and scenario we both love. He also said getting engaged would be a great way to start the new year, which was great thinking on his part. I am very, very blessed to get to marry such a wonderful man!
Many changes will be happening in my life in 2013. In addition to the usual topics and photos, I will keep you up to date from time to time on the wedding planning and moving aspects as we go along. The fun part for this blog is there will be a whole new ranch, bunch of cows, pigs and farming related topics to share with all of you as I learn about ranch life in western South Dakota!

Waiting on Cows

You've heard a lot about feeding cattle from me this winter, primarily because that's the main thing we do with our cattle this time of year, especially on years like this when they don't have any grass to partially fill up on.
The thing about feeding cows is it is easily one of my favorite activities. I love gathering up my two little dogs, making a latte, grabbing my camera, and loading everything into an old pickup with squeaky doors, dents, and other downfalls that come with hard working vehicles, then slowly shifting through the gears on the way to load up with cake or hay.
From there it's a drive down deserted, often rutted roads, where at most I will see one other vehicle belonging to our neighbor, who is also out feeding. The more common traffic is of the bovine, sheep or wildlife variety.
Upon reaching the pasture and catching a glimpse of where the cows are, a decision is made on where to feed. Then I wait. In my busy, often hectic but wonderful life, the most important part of my day is waiting for cows to trail in for the meal I have on the back of my vehicle. This wait varies from minutes to well over an hour, depending on how far away the cows are from a location I can reach and feed them at. Weather also hinders or helps their progress.
Some days this causes me frustration and stress, as there are a lot of things to knock of the "to do" list before I can quit for the day. But, most of the time, this chance to sit, let my dogs out to explore, drink my coffee, and listen to the radio if its working that day, is a wonderful and rare opportunity to relax. There is no computer or phone, no people or tasks demanding attention, no noise beyond that of the wind, pickup and radio.
There is just this land my family loves so much, and these cows we have worked so hard to make into what they are today. My camera, dogs and coffee round out the list, and are also all things I love and hold dear.
It is a joyful task, and that joy doesn't diminish as the cows arrive. As they trail in I get to look at them, admire personal favorites, mentally change less outstanding individuals, and enjoy all over again these animals that we are blessed to make our living from while admiring the results of the care we've provided over the winter months in their current shine and condition.
Once the feeding is over, I often take a moment to drive back through the cows, or stop and enjoy the fact that they are completely happy and perfectly content, munching away on their cake or hay, and that they will also be warm and full until I return. Just look at the cows above. Sometimes it's hard to believe that this is part of my "job," because it's so fulfilling, enjoyable, and important, all at once.
To me, the chance to feed a cow is worth waiting for.

2012 Winter Feed Program

An incredible amount of time has been spent on the getting cows fed this winter in the part of the country I live in. The summer was hot and dry, and the usual feed suppliers were lucky to produce enough to meet their own needs. There is very little leftover forage for the cows to eat over the winter, and we're basically feeding them every bite they consume this year. It has taken more time, money and planning to get a winter feed supply delivered, and more time than usual on the feeding end as well.
What do I mean when I say, "feed the cows?" This post is on what we're actually doing every single day around here to make sure our cows are not only fed, but provided the right feeds to meet their nutritional needs and energy requirements.

First, we did a lot of research and determined what feeds were the best combination of price and in meeting our needs in terms of nutrients, filler and quality. Since we have a hay hauling business, we ended up deciding on a combination of various types of hay, including (very) low quality grass hay, medium quality grass hay, high quality grass hay and high quality oat hay. We are feeding this in combination with a cake protein supplement (you can learn more about what cattle cake is here).
Before we can feed any of this to our cattle, it has to be delivered to our ranch. The cake comes from the company that produces it, but the hay is all delivered by my dad and brother. Usually they haul each load between 100 and 200 miles. But, this year that has more than doubled, and a load hauled 450 miles is considered a short trip. This has meant a lot of extra time on the road for the haulers, which has consequently limited their ability to haul for other people. So, we're spending more on feed, spending more on fuel to deliver it, and making less with the business as a whole because we aren't hauling for other people. That's a challenge lots of ranchers are facing this year.
Since the guys are so busy, their end of the feeding program has primarily been the delivery end. From there, my mom and take over, and are usually the two in charge of making sure the right amount of each kind of hay, and the right amount of cake, is fed every day.


Feeding is done on a set schedule, regardless of what else may be going on, the weather, how we're feeling or what other tasks we have to accomplish that day. Here is mom filling the cake feeder out of our cake storage bin. Our cake feeder is set on a scales, and each cow gets a specific amount of cake based on her nutritional needs, the protein content of the cake, the temperature, and a few other varying factors. We know how many cows are in each bunch we feed, and if we're in doubt as to whether we have them all or not, we will count them and adjust how much cake we feed accordingly.

Meanwhile, if there are two of us around, the second person (me) is loading two bales of hay from specific piles within one hay corral. If there is just one person, we feed cake first because it is the most palatable to the cows (it tastes the best).

 The person feeding cake typically arrives in the pasture with the cows first, since they're going to be feeding first. We use sirens to let our cows know it's time for breakfast, and they start the trek to an area of the pasture that is pickup accessible. Different ranchers use different sirens, and cows know the difference and respond to "their" siren from several miles away in some instances. The reason for sirens is some of our pastures are very big (we measure them by miles long and wide), and the sound of a siren carries over long distances much better than a horn. They also last longer than horns, and are easier to hear in wind.

 While the cows make their way to the feeding area, the cake feeder heads down to check the water tank. We have at least two water sources on in each pasture our cows are in, and are sure to check the primary source every other day while feeding. This water tank has the overflow set to drip continuously this year, which prevents ice buildup like in the above photos most of the time. But, water is critical for cattle, so regardless of how reliable a tank is, we check it.

 On this day the hay feeder checked the water, and is headed back to where we will feed for the day. Since it's so dry this year, we are being careful not to feed in the same location because the cows are tromping the grass worse than normal, and basically churning it to dust if we feed in a spot twice. It usually isn't snowy here like in the above photo, which was a welcome bit of moisture a couple weeks ago!

 Eventually everyone arrives. It's important to wait for everyone so they get equal chance at feed, especially the cake. This can mean sitting for over an hour some days. Only a few pounds of cake per cow meet her nutritional requirements, and the cake is also what makes low quality hay work. A cow can eat cake at approximately 30 mph, and is like a bovine vacuum cleaning house. If you're not there when it hits the ground, you're probably not going to get any. The same is true with hay, but since several more pounds per cow are fed, it does take longer to consume it.

 When everyone shows up, the cake feeder begins feeding, watching the scale head located in the cab as they go. The cake feeder has a control that is also wired into the cab that turns it on and off. It's what you would call a "customized" cake feeding system, seeing as how the entire thing was homemade.

 Here's an up close view of the cake feeding out onto the ground. Speed is somewhat important here - you don't want to feed it too fast or it's all in a small area and the less aggressive cows won't get very much. But, you also don't need to spread it out over miles of prairie - that would take a long time to eat and waste your time feeding.

 Meanwhile, the hay pickup waits, preparing to role out a specific amount of hay following the cake feeders run.

 Here's a closer look at the combination of hays we're feeding this year (the red door is another story).

And an even closer look. The one the left is an oat straw bale, and you can see the oats in it. This would be considered a high quality winter forage. On the right is CRP grass hay, which ranges from awful to decent in quality. We've actually been very surprised at how well our cows are doing on the lower quality grass hays we're procured.
There is technique involved in feeding the hay too. The oat straw bale is left for last. This is primarily because, while we did have it tested and it didn't show anything of concern, there is always the potential of Nitrate poisoning in grain hays. To reduce the risk even more, we feed all the grass bales first, which means the cows eat on them for at least a few minutes, before we give them the option of the oat bale. Since it is a higher quality feed, they will all go eat it as soon as you give them the chance, but with additional grass already in their rumen, the chance of toxicity is reduced. Just a management practice we do in an effort to make sure there is never a problem in this area.

 This cow would like her oat bale, please.
We do that for two bunches of cows (the mature cows and the young cows/yearling heifers) every other day. This day is known as "The Big Feed Day," and on averages takes from 7:30-10:30, if the cows are close at hand and the weather is reasonable. But, we always plan on all morning, and it can easily turn into that.

Here is the second bunch, which are the yearling heifers and coming three-year-old cows. They are kept separate from the older, mature cows because they have a hard time competing with the older cows for feed, and won't winter as well if they're expected to compete. It's like high school sports, and comparing freshman to seniors. Some will do just fine, but most freshman will struggle when up against a bunch of seniors. It's also worth making sure these cows stick around at this age because they represent our best genetics, and we have a lot of money invested in them at this point, without a lot of return.
We feed this bunch hay every day, and cake every other day. We went to every day on hay because we noticed they weren't doing a great job cleaning the hay up, despite not being fed any extra. My dad wondered if it had something to do with them not having the physical capacity to eat and store such a large volume of hay at once - they're getting more than most years because we're having to feed them everything they eat this year instead of relying on grass for part of their filler. He was right, and since we've switched we've upped these girls' consumption, and they've improved considerably on cleaning up their feed.
This is how we're doing it this year. We make changes and tweaks every year, and sometimes even within a feeding season based on the available grass, condition of our cows, cost of various supplemental feeds and the condition of our cows going into winter. It takes a lot of advance planning, careful watching, and knowing what a cow needs in a variety of situations.
This is also one of those aspects of ranching that will probably be at least a little different, and often a lot different, from ranch to ranch. Year-round management decisions will vary between ranches, and will result in different needs and concerns over the winter months. There are a lot of feed options, weather, water, grass and terrain differences, and numerous other aspects of wintering cattle well that come into play when designing and following through with a feed program. What works best in one location may not work best next door, let alone across the state or country.

Lusk Ag Expo

Yesterday I was busy manning a station at the Lusk Ag Expo, where the local 3rd grade spent an entire day learning about agriculture. A variety of ag people from our community provided live animal demonstrations, or hosted stations where they taught the students about a specific ag-related topic.
Here are a few highlights from the day:

The kids got to meet "Uggs," a hound owned by a local game warden. Part of his job is predator control on area ranches.

Uggs's owner put on a demonstration where he drug a hide around the fairgrounds, then let his dogs loose to track the "raccoon." The students were able to sit in the grandstands and watch the dogs roam all over the hill you can see in the back of this photo as a they followed the trail to this tree, located right next to the grandstands. The dogs were very interesting to watch, and while they were tracking the owner was explaining various aspects of each dog's personality, and about tracking in general.

 From the hounds, the kids headed to a horse demonstration put on by a great friend of mine I've known since grade school. She is a very talented horse trainer, and brought in the gelding she showed all throughout her 4-H years. She demonstrated various trail activities, and explained how they were also skills desirable in a ranch horse - like being able to open and close a gate while mounted.

Then she answered a lot of questions while "Snipe" stood patiently by. At the end of her session each kid got to pet the horse, which was a highlight for many.

 Up next was my next door neighbor, who is a a renowned stock dog trainer with several sheep and cattle dog trial wins under his belt. He brought his nine year old Border Collie, Shawn, and demonstrated working sheep with a dog.

 He also took the time to explain various commands, then demonstrate them. He can speed up or slow down this dog at any time with a specific whistle command, and was literally having him take the sheep around him in a circle as a talked to the kids.

In between the outside demonstrations were stations where the kids learned about a specific topic. These included making lip balm with honey and beeswax and discussing the role of bees, learning about how wheat is grown and used to make bread, and my station, where we discussed what cows eat and how the rumen works. We also got into how the rumen enables cows to digest and get nutrients from grasses, hays and other feedstuffs that we as humans cannot digest, then convert those feeds into meat or milk, which humans can digest. Furthermore, we talked about what would happen if the rancher didn't feed his cows or make sure they had enough grass (they will starve, die, get sick....), and then what will happen to the rancher? (They will got out of business, have no meat to sell, lose their money, lose their ranch, and my personal favorite answer of the day - they will have no meat to sell and we will have no meat to eat)
I had a blast, and loved the small groups that enabled kids to ask questions, and me to really get the point across of how much ranchers care about their animals, and how important a healthy diet is for livestock, just like it is for kids. It was a great day, and I'm already tossing around ideas in my head for next year.

Buried

I have been pretty swamped in February. Some days I feel in over my head, much like this cow, except in work and life instead of food. Well..some days it's food too, but we won't cover that here : )
Between my trip to Michigan, a few trips around Wyoming for my writing/photography and the constant feeding and water checking tasks at the ranch, it has been a hectic month. I am hoping to be back on track, and giving this blog more attention, in upcoming weeks.
On the ranch we are still spening the majority of our time feeding and checking water every day. In the next few weeks we will be altering some of our feeding in preparation for calving. Bangs vaccinating our heifers, getting set up for calving and weighing our steers.
Since feeding is such a big part of our operation in the winter, and the number one cost on some ranches, it gets a lot of attention. I haven't covered it as much this winter, but last year I explained feeding cake to our calves and hay to our cows, more than once. I did highlight our latest piece of feeding equipment a couple weeks ago, which we are using daily right now.
This year we are feeding what are called tubs, instead of cake, to the calves. I am planning to explain that in the next few days. In the mean time, you can swing over and check out the cake and hay feeding options.
Hope everyone else is having a productive 2012 thus far! I will also be answering emails in the next few days (I hope). I really appreciate people taking the time to comment on my blog or send me emails, and have not forgotten you, I promise!

Feeding in the Snow

 We've been getting some snow this week. Here are a few photos from feeding our yearling heifers and two-year-old cows two days ago. Have a fantastic weekend!