As I’ve been scrolling through my newsfeed this week it has been filled with tropical beaches, ski resorts, and vacation photos. While most of us would love to feel sand between our toes, we instead have the crunch of frozen cow patties as we walk across the corrals. Despite the cold nights, and early mornings, I wanted to come home for my favorite holiday, calving season. North Dakota has had an extremely tough winter with blizzards, large amounts of snowfall, and high winds. Ranchers in our area have had to overcome many obstacles with the weather, and we had yet another blizzard last weekend. With calving season upon us, producers are praying for better weather across the plains. We bred our cows and heifers to calve the third week in March, and have already had 9 calves, including a set of twins in the week I’ve been home. Yesterday we lost a calf, so one of the twins now has a new mother and the pair are doing just fine. It is incredible how adaptable cows can be in situations like this one, and we are very lucky because it’s not often that a cow will accept a calf other than her own. There are so many different calving systems used by ranchers whether they rotate calving pastures, corrals, etc. and I appreciate a new perspective that is taken by each ranch. Today I’m going to share our calving system and like any operation, there is room for improvement and we constantly strive to do so. You may do things widely different than us or similar, but our end goal is the same, to have healthy, live calves. All of our cattle are kept in a smaller pasture next to our barn during the winter, and we will begin sorting out the mothers close to calving into smaller pens. Those within a week or so may be kept in the pens on the west side of the barn, shown in picture two and three. The cows and heifers very close to calving (within days) are kept in two smaller pens infront of the barn. During inclement weather and/or when a calf is born, they are then moved into the warmth of the barn. Because we are a smaller operation, we are able to use this method, however if we had a larger number of cattle, we would need an addiitional barn or have to push our calving date back. In addition to the moderate temperature in the barn, it also allows us to assist the cattle if needed more quickly. Inside the building, we have several pens and a chute if we need to treat any sickness or help in a difficult birth. Once the calves are strong and dry, they are then moved into our run in shed on the north side of the barn. They are able to seek shelter inside or stretch out their legs in the small pasture behind it. As the season will progress, we will begin letting the older calves out into the larger pasture and moving the remaining pregnant cows in. This rotation process will continue unti every calf is born. Calling calving season a holiday goes against the definition of a holiday, which states it’s a "day of recreation where NO work is done." I think of it as a holiday because a new life being brought into this world is a reason to celebrate. When you have stayed up all night tending to a cow who had a difficult birth and you watch as her calf nurses for the first time, it brings tears of joy to your eyes. Our livestock are our livelihoods, we will walk straight into a storm to rescue a calf without thinking twice. I’ve seen so many ranchers put their animals before themselves, and a prime example are the brave individuals in the recent panhandle fires. There is no sight more beautiful than a newborn calf coming into this world, and if there is ever a time to celebrate and give praise, the time is now. " I am so grateful that my family flew me home for this special time of year, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. I encourage you to share your photos, videos, and stories on social media this season to spread a positive message about our industry.
Happy Calving Season!
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AuthorThis is a blog to share many stories, laughs, adventures and lessons learned by yours truly, Haley Potter. Archives
July 2023
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