Name: Apple Species: Bovine Gender: Cow Breed: Jersey Of all the crazy ideas I’ve had, Apple may be one of the craziest and best! In September 2023, I decided we needed a milk cow for our family. We were already milking 4 goats, so I thought, “How much more work could a cow be?” We were going to hand milk her. That lasted all of two days! We quickly ordered teat cups that would fit her and also attach to our goat milker….
Name: Walter Species: Bovine Gender: Bull Breed: Registered Miniature Hereford Walter wants you to know he’s kind of a big deal. People know him. When I decided to swap my mini cow herd from commercial cattle to registered, Walter was my first purchase. I was so excited to find a bull fairly close to home – he was in south Missouri. I was also pumped that they had started working with him on a halter. Y’all know I tend to treat everything like…
It started with a trip to an exotic livestock auction, as many good stories do. My mother and I have enjoyed many trips to Jim Scott’s Alternative Livestock Auction over the years. Dad and Colt never knew what we might come home with. We’ve brought home angora goats – what’s a few more goats, but with better hair? And a few alpacas – that we promptly sold on the next trip. We’ve discussed the need for a camel – they…
When it comes to calving season, twins are an unusual occurrence, but not necessarily rare. It’s estimated that anywhere between 1-2% of beef cattle pregnancies will result in a twin birth. That number tends to be slightly higher in dairy cattle. While 1-2% may seem like a small number, in large herds, this means the likelihood of having a set of twins any given year is decent. The potential good and the likely bad In theory, a cow providing you…
Meet the Menagerie In what we call our “front pasture” you can find a wide variety of livestock. That’s where our Miniature Hereford cattle graze, along with Loretta the dairy cow, and a few heifers that aren’t old enough to go with the bull in the big herd. Also frolicking through that pasture are the goats and Dottie, my horse who gets very dramatic on the days she doesn’t get turned out with her friends. The question we commonly hear…
I feel like this week’s Female Farmer Friday, Jessica Anderson, and I share a bond because we are both Extension Educators. I fell in love with Jessica when I heard her on the Ranching Brunette podcast. I listened to her episode multiple times because she dropped so much knowledge, I had to listen again to take it all in. Not only do we have a similar off farm career, we are both super passionate about agriculture education, love to rope,…
Shannon Short from Alpha Angus Farm in Oklahoma is this week’s Female Farmer Friday! I thoroughly enjoy following Shannon on Instagram! Not long ago, she did a series of insta-stories on Testicle Thursday explaining the importance of scrotal circumference – very useful information 🙂 Just like most of us, Shannon’s biggest struggle is time, and her and her husband are working toward the goal of being full time farmers. Read on to hear her story.• Sara Beth Please briefly introduce…
Did you know that every May we celebrate National Beef Month? Well, around here, we celebrate beef more often than that, but I support anything that brings more positive attention to the beef industry! I’ve started National Beef Month by sharing information on my Instagram, but I also wanted to drop a few lines on the blog. So I present to you: Five Fun Facts about the Beef Industry 1. It takes 18 months to 3 years to bring beef…
Follow my blog with Bloglovin It’s January, so of course that means “New Year, New Me!” and “2019 Goals!” posts are all the rage across the blog-o-sphere. And trust me, I’m not here to disappoint. While I’m not about to develop a “new me,” (I’ve been working on this version of me for 30 year, and I like me just fine, thankyouverymuch) I have set some goals for 2019! I have a goal loving personality. I love having something to…
Name: Loretta Species: Bovine Breed: Registered Milking Shorthorn I thought it only right to dedicate our first “Meet the Herd” post to Loretta, seeing as it’s her birthday! Loretta came to us just under a year ago as a sweet, 10 day old bottle calf. You know how they say alcoholics shouldn’t go to a bar, and shopohics shouldn’t go to a mall, because the temptations are too high? Well, “cow-o-holics” probably shouldn’t be in cattle Facebook groups… I was…