Haying again

The first time in 16 years hay is being harvested on the ranch.  In the average year it is less expensive to purchase hay then to own the machinery and hire the labor to run it.  However, the past 2 years of the drought hay had became very expensive and if the machinery was already owned it would have been cost effective to put up our own hay, except due to the drought there was very little extra grass to put up as hay.  Due to the past drought our cow numbers are way down and this year we have came out of the drought and have abundant grass.  We therefore have a custom harvester coming to the ranch to bale up some of the grass so it doesn't go to waste.  The swather you see is cutting the grass and placing it in windrows to await the baler that will follow in a few days.  Years ago 400 ton of hay was put up each year on the ranch, but we will probably only do enough acres to put up about 100 ton and graze the remaining acres this winter.

Next years calf crop

The task of artificially inseminating 310 cows was finished today.  The herd was divided into 3 groups so the numbers were small enough that each group could be AI'd within a 4 hour time frame on insemination day.  Before that day could occur the cows were given hormone injections 3 days and 10 days prior so the cows in each group could become pregnant at the same time.  However due to different gestation times of each individual the calves from each group will be born over a 3 week period next spring.  Moving the cows closer to the corrals the day before the first injection was given and then the sequential times through the chute resulted in us working with the cattle 15 days out of the last 30.  This has been a very busy time, but now we can return to routine ranch work i.e. fence repair, water well maintenance, weed control etc.

Temporary cowhands

Blake and Arden had help moving cattle to a meadow near the corrals in preparation for the synchronization of estrus cycle for this years breeding program.  Sharyn was there to help as well as cousin Everitt and Bev Wohlers from Idaho.  It was work easily accomplished with a good crew.  The next day the cows filed through the chute and received their first treatment in the protocol.  The job was easily accomplished with the cows being handled gently with nearly their full cooperation.

drought is over

Finally we have average rainfall for the year after 2 years of severe drought.  When that happens the ranch grows normal amounts of grass and the cows have ample supplies of it to eat.  The microorganisms in the cows rumen (stomach) are able to convert grass into food that the cow can then develop into muscle that we eat as beef.  This makes land that is best suited for growing grass productive as a place to produce food to feed people.  The semi-arid climate and soil on our ranch would not be suitable for growing crops like broccoli or grapefruit.  

Future rancher ?

Joe and Travis came to the ranch to help with calving and pony training for a few days.  Here Joe is helping milk a cow to give to a calf that couldn't find it's mother for several days.  This cow's calf had died, but she was willing to accept the foster calf once he had the strength to nurse on his own.  Joe received some first hand knowledge of the work involved in taking care of cattle, sheep and horses.

Contrast of seasons

Spring has arrived but there is still a touch of winter on the horizon.  Traveling to the ranch this morning we stopped at our SE corner along the highway and took a photo of the buildings with the remnants of yesterdays snow storm in the hills to the north.  As you can see the grass is becoming green in the pastures and the .8" of moisture in the snow (rain) might make a better grass year than what we have had the past couple of years due to the drought.

The scratching tree

This old gnarly tree has stood by by itself in one of the calving pastures for as long as I can remember.  It was probably planted 110 to 125 years ago by the homesteader on this piece of ground.  It hasn't ever got any taller in  the last 60 years but the trunk keeps getting bigger around and the branches more contorted from the cows rubbing on it, which is the tree's main function in life as there are no cattle in this pasture in the summer after it has finally leaved out and could provide shade.  As warm temperatures arrive I'm certain being able to scratch off some of their winter coat is a welcome relief for the cows.