We’re Expecting! #GiftRegistry
That’s right, you read it correctly. Last Monday the doctor confirmed that we are expecting…nine baby calves next spring. In case you’re wondering, we’ve registered for gifts at Bomgaars, Tractor Supply, and Fleet Farm. These new mommas are going to need: milk replacer (50 lb. bag), bottles (2 qt. capacity), nipples (3 inch), and saw dust (50 lb. bundles), just to name a few.
All kidding aside, we are very excited to learn that all of our cows have been successfully bred back this year. We were also lucky enough to have perfectly timed the pregnancy check so that the veterinarian was able to tell us the sex of the calves. Four of our cows will have bull (male) calves and five will have heifer (female) calves. Most of the heifer calves will be retained as breeding stock for our herd.
There are several reasons why we retain the heifer calves. First, we have a young herd that we want to expand. Second, we occasionally have to cull cows that are not producing top quality calves or are simply getting too old. Culling is an important effort of any herd manager which improves herd genetics, increases gain efficiency, and produces higher quality beef.
Just to give you an idea of the time that goes into raising grass-fed beef, the calves that we don’t retain as breeding stock, most likely won’t be ready for market until the spring or summer of 2023. These calves that are intended for market will spend most of their time on our farm grazing in our pastures. During the winter they are brought into the cattle yard, where they have access to shelter and are fed a diet of hay and alfalfa. While alfalfa is a legume, not a grass, it provides the additional protein that cattle need to continue to gain weight during the cold winter months. Alfalfa is considered an acceptable feed source for beef marketed as “grass-fed.”
Pictured (left) is our herd sire (Buster). Since he has fulfilled his role for our herd this year, he will be moving on to another local farmer’s herd, and will return to our farm next spring.
