I hope you’re having an awesome Wednesday and that the coffee has warmed you well. I’ve been out in the pastures much of the past week as calving season has launched in a quick start. The calves are loving this crisp, cool weather. Here’s 30 seconds of joy with one. Happy Hump Day!
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas this week with lots of food, family, and friends! I traveled home to Arkansas to spend the week with family and ended up seeing a VERY White Christmas. We had about a foot of snow at the house and 6-8 inches of snow with quite a bit of sleet and ice on our farms.
A White Christmas is a pretty big deal here in Arkansas. To put it in perspective, this was only the 4th White Christmas for Little Rock since record keeping began in 1875 and the 8th snowiest month ever with 10.3″ of snow at the official recording site. We were actually under a Blizzard Warning – the 1st ever issued by the National Weather Service in Little Rock. We were pretty excited to see the white stuff start falling even though it cut our day at the grandparents’ house a little short.
I spent Wednesday helping my dad and brother feed cattle. We have several different farms across town so it takes a little while longer to feed everything. It takes even longer when we get one of the trucks stuck in the first pasture then have to push trees out of the way on the road in the holler to one of the pastures. But we made it home by the time the sun set and all of the cattle were fed.
Calving is my favorite event to occur in ranch life. No doubt about it. I’ve written about the good and bad during calving season. There’s nothing that compares for me. That probably has something to do with how I ended up going to college studying Reproduction Physiology.
I found this video of a cow giving birth to twins in some old files and I figured it was as good a time as any to share.
Across the country there are two distinct seasons in which the majority of calves will be born. We signify them as Fall and Spring – even though cattle will be born any day of the year. For many farmers across the country, the Fall calving season is beginning and we’ll be seeing many new calves hit the ground in the next few months.
It’s important to keep an eye out for weak cows giving birth. After this year’s drought, cows on the thin side might need supplemental energy or have a mineral imbalance that could cause exhaustion while giving birth. Also watch for calves born with a lack of vigor. There is also concern of shortened gestation periods during or after a drought period according to Mizzou Extension.
Most of the cattle here in Tennessee are born in the Spring months, but there are a few Fall calving herds spread around – like this young calf born earlier this week.
What time of year are most of the calves born in your region? What other livestock are giving birth this time of year?
I took this photo over the Tennessee River in Knoxville yesterday morning. It’s all about perspective.
Standing here, soaking up a crisp Fall morning, and drinking up my coffee, it all looks pretty peaceful. Then I remember I’m in the middle of a very busy city. You wouldn’t know it from this scene depicted, but I was standing on a pedestrian bridge of a very busy interstate with morning traffic buzzing behind me. The ground shakes with every truck that passes by.
I’m telling ya, life is all about perspective. Either you take it by the reins and make the most of what you’re given, or you can be negative about everything and look for the worst in things and people. Each person’s choice to make.
—————–
By the way, be sure to stop by the NCBA Young Producers’ Council blog. This page features a large number of young cattle producers from across the country and their views on the status and future of the cattle business.
Lauren Chase (@LaurenMSea), one of the site’s editors, chatted with me a bit earlier this week and has posted a Q&A profile with me. Hopefully you can learn a little more about who I am and a bit of how I work my way through the social media world.
Swing on over to the Cattle Call and learn a little more about my thoughts on advocacy and the beef industry!
