CATTLE

1 The Herd, heart of the farm
  
  For me, the cattle have always seemed to be the heart of the farm, the motive power. I wish I could actually say that I till and work the soil with them, but (so far) that is not the case.

One would think, as involved as I am with these beasts, that I had grown up on a working farm. Not so. The first cow I ever saw on this place wandered into our yard when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I freaked right out and went screaming for my mom- not quite 'waaah- it's going to eat me..'- but I was certainly taken aback, and loud about it. As I recall, the cow was much more calm, and simply wandered back out of the yard after a bit.

   I got to try a lot of new things when I moved from Denver to West Virginia. Hand weaving, maple syrup production- and milking. One of our friends had a cow, and was tolerantly amused when I asked to try to milk his cow. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but by the end of that season, I was able to take on 'cow chores' for friends who were ready for a vacation.
   I didn't get my own cow til my son was a year old. I had spent a week doing cow chores for a woman up one of the next hollers- she had a cow named Beauty- half Hereford, half Jersey- who was putting out a good bit of milk even for early winter. I commuted back and forth to milk, bringing home enough milk to make yoghurt and butter, as well as to nourish my son and myself. I had never had the opportunity to try raw milk until I got to West Virginia. It smells like sunshine and it tastes like grass. I was in love.
   The next summer, my friend had decided to move away from West Virginia, and Beauty was for sale. I scraped up my pennies and bought her for $500, and her unborn calf for another $125. She (Beauty) was obliging when I proposed to walk her from the holler where she had lived to the holler where I lived. I then found out a lot about cattle, and fences, and hay.
   I don't honestly remember what time of year her baby was born, but I was fortunate that she was a heifer (girl) calf, and of course I called her Babe. So I had Beauty and Babe, and shortly thereafter was looking for a bull to breed both of them.
   It was also my extreme good fortune that a neighbor in the holler on the *other* side of mine had a Milking Shorthorn bull available for breeding. So off we went walking again, first with Beauty, and later with Babe. They had calves the next year- which I named Little Boy and Little Girl. Beauty indeed had technically been no beauty, having mostly the body of a Hereford, including the white face, but at least having the udder of a Jersey. Babe was 3/4 Hereford, 1/4 jersey, and just slightly lighter color. But oh boy, crossed with a dark Milking Shorthorn bull, they both gave beautiful dark roan calves about the color of a Hershey's chocolate syrup can.
   By this point I was up to three breeding females, and a bull I could breed to. I hadn't yet had any trouble with calving, but when it came time for Little Girl to have her first calf, it got stuck and I had to help her by pulling it out. I learned very quickly to pull when the cow has a contraction. We had it out and breathing in about 5 minutes. A neighbor had come over from yet another holler, but we were done before he got there.
   It went on from there- Sunshine, Sam, and Rupert were born. Beauty died of milk fever. Little Boy got too big and unruly, and I sold him. Little Girl refused to walk to the neighbor's to be bred, and I found out she could out-pull my Subaru. We ate Rupert, and I learned quite a bit about butchering.
   My husband got me an Allis Chalmers CA tractor as old as I was. I learned all about band brakes and the hills of West Virginia when it ran away with me- I couldn't get it out of gear and the brakes didn't hold. I was saved by a series of multiflora rosebushes that I plowed through (going backwards downhill, screaming and not having the wit to jump off the tractor). After that, I fixed the brakes, and was a whole lot more careful about where I chose to mow.
   Through all of this, my West Virginia neighbors were the soul of kindness. I am sure they had many a good laugh, but they kept answering my questions and coming up with equipment for me to buy for my shoestring operation, and ways to fix things that broke.

   We had moved to West Virginia in 1979. My son was born in 1982 (the month after we moved into the house we had built), and I bought Beauty in 1983. I was entirely involved with the farm and the lifestyle, but things went poorly between my husband and myself. He left us in about 1987 or 1988, and we finally divorced.
   I made the decision to go to nursing school and started in 1989. The commute was almost 70 miles each day, and I was teaching Anatomy and Physiology at the same University. So I would teach and take classes, come home, feed the animals and do chores, and then fall asleep over my books as I would try to study. After a year of that, and some close calls of falling asleep at the wheel, I gave it up and faced the realization I would have to move to town.
   It was very hard to sell the cattle. They had been my close companions, even coming over to bump me with their heads as I sat on top of the hill, grieving for my dead babies ( I had lost twins) and my lost marriage. I hadn't realized until then how empathetic and emotionally intelligent a cow can be. When they let you have their milk, you become their baby. They adopt you. After that time, I always did my best to let cow and calf stay together as much as possible. In my present operation, there are great-grandmother cows, and several sub-families in the herd. I call them 'the cow family'.

   After nursing school, I moved back home to Maine. I stayed 'without cows' for a total of six years, 1990 to 1996. But when I got the opportunity, I bought another cow, and built up a herd again.
   This time the first cow was 1/2 Hereford, 1/2 Ayrshire, named Samantha. Her first calf was a bull calf, and I bought a couple of Milking Shorthorns for breeding stock. Samantha, meanwhile, had run away when I butchered her son and got bred by an Angus bull over the hill on another farm. Her next baby was a heifer, who I called Sunshine, even though she was black (she'd been born on a sunny day...). The next baby was Starlight, spittin image of Samantha. She just recently died in fall of 2011, having been the herd mom for many years.

   Fast forward to present day( 2012). Ted, 4 years old, is the herd bull. He has 2 younger bulls in the herd, both born in 2011- El Presidente, who looks like Ted's clone, and will hopefully be herd bull somewhere, sometime, is too good an animal to go in the freezer- and Chub-Chub, who is a mini, very plump, and definitely not breeding material.
   Then there are the girls- 8 year old Buttercup (full-blood Milking Shorthorn), 6 year old Snowflake, a mini who is 3/4 Ayrshire; last years' heifers- Spring Beauty, Little Princess and Stardust, all hopefully bred; and Irene, born this year, who is a mini and whose destiny is undetermined. I would have given her a different name (in fact she had 2 names, but they didn't stick), but the combination of Chub-Chub and Irene was irresistible.
   So nine total, eating 7 bales of hay all told when you throw in the Percheron (Diesel) who was a rescue horse- that is to say, I rescued him. Mostly right now he provides me with an escort when I take the hay out to the cows. Otherwise I would be mobbed, but they steer clear of Diesel. He, of course, is another opportunity to get involved with animal power on the farm. I am very dubious about that project, but then again, I've been dubious about a lot of this.

It is now 1/24/12. This is the quiet time of my year, with the cows out on field with their calves, slowly self-weaning as the moms get ready to calve- hopefully not til March or April.
My interaction with them is the daily feeding. As calving time gets closer I will be doing frequent checks. I call them ‘baby bed check’, and as we get close, they can be every 2-4 hours,through the night depending on the weather.
    On some years, they calve when the grass is already green, and I have to look for them where they choose to bed in the woodland or on the verge of the swamp where the early grass grows. Other years the snow is still on the field and they stay closer to the barn.


2 Dairy or Beef?

   When I tell people I have a herd of cattle, they almost always ask me, 'dairy or beef?' For many operations, this is a crucial pivot point; for investment, equipment, licensing, and operations.
   My answer has always been that my herd is dual-purpose. My primary goal is ecosystem management and milk production. But, as I am an omnivore, I have no objection to meat production, if it is done humanely.  Accordingly, each aspect of my operation is dealt with separately in the following sections.

3 Basic Set up

   Regardless of your decision as to dairy, beef, or dual purpose, and regardless of the species of animal, you have to deal with certain essentials. (This would also be the case if you had, say, zebras, or giraffes, or elephants. There are times when my cattle get out that I ponder what the neighbors would think if it was giraffes instead..) You have to decide how many animals you want to start out with, and what you will provide for their environment. If you have kept pets previously, you can think of them as big dogs (very big dogs that will never be house-broken. I have had calves in the house, but that is another story.).

Fences;
   Whether in suburban or rural setting, some method of confining your animals will be required. The amount and kind of fence will depend on the type of animal(s) and the pressure they put on the fence. (See 'turn of the year' for a quick overview of cattle and fence maintenance.) As the adage goes, 'Your fences need to be horse-high, bull-strong, and pig-tight'. Technically, my fences would never make the cut, but I do know how to perform emergency fence repair in any kind of weather.

Pasture
   Again, the type and amount of pasture depends of the type and number of animals, the quality of the forage, and how much, if any, supplemental feeding you plan to do during the growing season. For my cattle, I like to have at least 1 acre per animal. For the present herd of 9 cattle (3 less than a year old)  plus 1 horse, I have about 12 acres.

Water
   All animals need fresh, clean water. It is a blessing that both places I have kept herds have had streams or brooks as well as ponds. This takes a lot of pressure off the herd manager except during the freezing winter months. If/when your water source dries up or ices over, you have to provide the alternative. Haul water, plumb from the nearest well, chop a hole in the ice- whatever it is, you do it. Cattle can drink 5-10 gallons of water a day, sometimes more. This winter- so far- the brook has stayed open and running. 

Shelter
   I've had many discussions on the topic of what is appropriate shelter. Some people are horrified when they hear my cattle are outside in winter. All I can say is; I provide them with the opportunity to go in the barn if they want. Usually they don't want. Mostly they like to hole up in the woods if it's snowing, find an area, where they can lie about together, and come out when the sun shines to their favorite lounging area. If they are confined in the barn, they don't have the free-choice options. If, on the other hand, it is 32-33*,  freezing rain, with a wind, they usually choose the barn. I know people who use tie-up barns, and say the need of food to maintain body heat is reduced. The trade-off is in increased manure to shovel every day, and likely loss of body condition from having to stand or lie still. I don't like the idea, and I don't think the cattle would, either, but sometimes it may be the only option.

Food
   Again, the type and amount of food depends on your resources and operation. I know people who rely on out-dated bread to feed their stock. I know people who feed hay year-round. I know people who rely as much as possible on pasture. I have read books insisting that cattle can paw through the snow to find forage year round.
   I rely on pasture as much as possible, negotiate at the beginning and end of the growing season as to how much or how little hay is required to keep my cattle in trim, good condition, and supplement with grain occasionally. Grain is great as a bribe when you have to persuade cattle to do something they weren't planning on doing. when I am milking, grain is a daily part of the lactating cow's diet, as well as that of her calf.

Waste management
   This is a very thorny issue where either large concentrations of animals are kept, or where for some other reason space is an issue. It also takes up more time and effort if the animals are confined in a structure. For this and other logistical reasons, I far prefer to have my animals out on pasture as much as possible. With the proper balance of animals and pasture, the presence and traffic of the animals can benefit the pasture. This is truly the heart of my continuing dialogue with the ecosystem; to determine the optimum balance for mutual benefit among elements of the ecosystem. Study on this subject has led me to increasing efforts of pasture and crop rotation.
   That said, I find I do appreciate what manure and bedding I have to clean out from the calf pens and bullpen. It goes into a composting area and enriches my garden. Previously, I had only enough most years to use it when I plant individual plants. In 2011, I had 3 calves in the calf and bull pen for the better part of 8 months. After 6 months, between that and other accumulations, I had enough to justify purchase of a manure spreader. This went on my fall grains bed, and was tilled in prior to planting. (I would have preferred to plow but had tractor issues at that time. More about this under 'equipment', 'grains', and 'gardens'.)

4. The Church of the Brethren, and 'Heifer International'

   A store opened recently in a nearby town- friendly people, good inventory, bulk items.. all things I was looking for. When I checked online for contact information and hours, I noted that it was run by members of 'The Church of the Brethren'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Brethren  As I prowled about website(s) mentioning this organization, I came across an organization started by one of the Brethren in 1953, now known as 'Heifer International' http://heifer.org/ .. This organization donates heifers (and other materials, resources and equipment) to those in need in other countries.  
   I asked- 'why do this only internationally- what about the USA?'- which I believe is in crying need of change to local production. I soon moved on to the question- 'How many people do I know- impoverished or hungry- who would be able to take advantage of the gift of a heifer?' This very question is why I have chosen to introduce this topic immediately after the preceding ('Cattle, 3. Basic Setup' which outlines the basic infrastructure required to care for and utilize cattle.)
   Further research revealed that Heifer' does indeed have activities in the USA http://heifer.org/usa and http://www.heifer.org/ourwork/success/americas/seeds-of-change?msource=KK1C120066 . (note that this is not the regular 'Seeds of Change' organic seed supplier ( http://www.seedsofchange.com/ ) The approach of 'Heifer International to the US is different- I don't think they give away heifers- but their concepts ('12 Cornerstones') are operative here on the domestic front as well.

      The 2 You Tube clips below show the 2 branches; Heifer International on the left, Heifer USA on the right.

Heifer's Cornerstones (from their web site, also iterated in the video on the left);
http://heifer.org/ourwork/approach/heifers-cornerstone?msource=KK1C120066

'   If you ask Heifer project partners, "What are the most fundamental principles upon which you build your life?" many would answer "Heifer's Cornerstones." Used for more than 65 years, these 12 Cornerstones guide communities to self-reliance.

'   Cornerstones stimulate group wisdom and personal insights, and they keep people's hearts, minds and actions balanced, focused and productive. Our 12 Stones video outlines the meaning and purpose of each Cornerstone, and their impact on our projects in the field.


'   Passing on the Gift allows families who received Heifer gifts to become donors as they pass on these gifts to other families in
need.

'   Genuine Need & Justice ensures that those most in need are given priority in receiving animals and training.

'   Accountability means that we are mutually accountable to the communities we serve for how we achieve common goals.

 '   Improving the Environment through sustainable farming techniques, reforestation, and tree-saving biogas is at the core of our projects.

'   Sharing & Caring embodies the belief that global problems can be solved if everyone commits to sharing resources and caring for others.

'   Full Participation is expected by all participants. Leaders at the grassroots level should involve all members in decision making.

'   Sustainability & Self-reliance is the goal for families we work with so that they will continue to thrive after our support ends.

'   Training & Education are key to ensuring that animals are well cared for and that self-reliance is achieved by project participants.

'   Improved Animal Management means that project participants learn how to keep their animals safe, healthy and productive.

'   Spirituality is expressed in common beliefs about the value and meaning of all life, a sense of connectedness to the earth and a shared vision of the future.

'   Nutrition & Income are the rewards Heifer expects recipients to reap from their gift animal through the consumption and/or sale of products such as milk, eggs, cheese, honey and wool.

'   Gender & Family Focus encourages women and men to share in decision making as well as in the benefits the animals and training bring.'

   Part of the educational approach in the US is the 'Shepherd's Spring Heifer Global Village'  http://support.brethren.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7540
   This is designed to educate people as to conditions elsewhere- but has the potential to blend cultures and teach survival skills.