We get a lot of questions on what we feed our animals.
GMO? No.
Corn? No, except sweet corn husks from the farmers market.
Grain? Eh, well, actually yes. But not what you think.
In the video above you can see our cows, having just been turned out onto a new paddock, eating the seed heads from fescue grass. They will eat about 80% of the seed heads, mixed in with the grass they normally eat. These grains are only available for a few weeks in the spring and the cows make full use of the opportunity scarfing all they can while they can. Does this mean our cows are grain fed? I can hear you saying now, “I thought cows weren’t supposed to eat grain. It’s bad for the stomachs or something.” Cows eat whatever they can get naturally. If there is grain available, they will get into it and it will put on fat, just like they do in the feed lots. The difference on our farm is that the cows only get grain when it’s in season (spring) and it’s only a small part of their diet, just like if they were roaming wild.
The plus side for us is we can finish grass-fed cows in June, process in July, and have some marbling in our meat and fat on the hide. Despite what the dietitians would have us believe, fat is what it’s all about. That’s how steaks are graded, based on the marbling of fat.
So don’t worry, our cows are still grass-fed and grass finished, and even the grain they get is grass.
Dottie and her new baby calf, Lightning. This picture is from today, when the calf was a day old.
Normally a birth on the farm is a blessing but not a big deal. However with Dottie we had a lot of concern as she carried her baby to term. A few weeks ago we had the vet out to check all of our cows. Dottie was pregnant we knew but why not check her anyway and make sure things are progressing well. The vet checks, and says that the baby is dead and Dottie has to have emergency surgery to remove the dead fetus or Dottie will die as well. Yikes!
We finish our other cows and rush Dottie to the vet hospital to have surgery. Dottie is our only milk cow, and is the replacement for Maggie who we had to put down due to a broken back. Loosing her baby is pretty much a death sentence for Dottie as well so this whole event wasn’t one of our better days. So I get Dottie to the vet and he checks her one more time to make sure everything is the same and low and behold, the baby is now fine. The vet says she’s due any day, take her home and keep an eye on her. Talk about mixed emotions.
Well some weeks go by and no baby. Dottie’s bag swells to humongous proportions and still no baby. I woke up Saturday thinking I may have to take her back to the vet to find out what is going on. What if the baby really is dead. What if she can’t have the baby. Her bag is huge, that has to be hurting her. I walk out to the paddock to move the cows and see Dottie off away from the other cows in the distance, with a little calf circling her. This is what I saw.
The baby was only hours old, maybe hour old, just getting her feet under her and still wet from birth. She was very friendly, wobbly, and hungry. I checked on her all I could without interfering, and make arrangements to come back and bottle feed the calf that afternoon if she wasn’t able to nurse because for the time I was there, she wasn’t able to latch on. Like I said, Dottie’s bag was huge and it was tough for the little calf to lean down so low to nurse. Thankfully when I got home that afternoon, the little calf was nursing just fine and was dry and healthy. She was cavorting around the pasture and having a large time.
The Princess and I talked about the new calf and worked out a name. You see, the night the calf was born, we had a major thunderstorm here on the farm. Lightning knocked out our internet (as in burnt to a crisp components) and blew up our fence charger. The Princess decided that this little girl calf was to be named Lightning in honor of the storm on her birthday.
We’ve had a bad run lately with the vet. I elected to have the vet out a few weeks ago and check over the cows and the pigs. Apparently having the vet out here caused the cows to decide they like having doctors around and now I seem to have the vet out once a week. First a little bull calf, #28 started having issues and eventually bloated with gas till he was dangerously sick. The name for this condition is simply enough, called bloat. If you are curious, here is more information on bloat than you ever wanted to know.
We took the calf, who was none to keen on getting to the barnyard or on the trailer, to the vet hospital where they tubed him and put medicine directly into his rumen to help with the bloat. Unfortunately the medicine wasn’t enough and later that night the vet had to introduce a trocar directly into his rumen to directly vent the gas through his side.
#28, in the head gate at the vet, waiting for the vet to begin working on him.
Despite the medicine from the tube, the trocar, and everything else that was done, #28 didn’t recover well and the next day the vet called and said he wasn’t going to recover and needed to be put down. So off I go to the vet with the trailer to get this cow, take him home, and put him down. He’s a young bull, about 1 year old and all we can do is bury him because we’ve given him medicine and now he cannot be used for beef. However when I pull up he’s standing there looking at me, ready to get in the trailer and go. The vet says that he suddenly started feeling better and to take him home and see if he lives although no promises.
So Miguel and I set up a convalescent stall in the barn complete with a fan for cooling and fresh food and water. #28 recovers well and as of Sunday is just about ready to go back to pasture.
Then Saturday, after more than a full day, I receive a call from a visitor who wants to take a tour. I’ve been going hard since about 5am. I’ve been covered in about every disgusting thing you can think of all day, I’ve just taken a shower and finally have on clean clothes for the first time since I got out of bed and frankly I’m beat. Not to mention I’m supposed to cook dinner that night for SWMBO and the kids. But they are here and want to see the cows. Ok, back to the barn for a quick tour. And thank God I did, because I find that #15, Love, has a huge case of bloat and won’t last long. I call the vet again, and have them start heading towards the farm. While they are coming I conduct an abbreviated tour for the family who was very nice. As soon as they leave, the vet shows and I wrangle Love to the barn and into the head gate where she gets her own trocar after a many failed attempts to get a tube down her throat.
Love getting more attention than she wanted in the head gate.
Love was so bloated she barely fit through the corral. The vet had to get the gas off of her quickly so he used three needles directly into her rumen and it sounded like he’d stuck a needle into a basketball. Many psi were bled off of Love, who was thankful for the relief from the pressure and pain. She wasn’t long for this world if we hadn’t found her and treated her immediately. Thankfully I got up and gave that tour rather than being lazy. It just goes to show that getting up and doing what needs doing, especially when you don’t want to, is what it takes to keep your animals healthy and alive.
The Hilton, where both of our cows are getting room service daily.
So we’ll keep an eye on both of these cows for the next few days and hopefully reintroduce them to the pasture with no problems. And while we’re hoping, let’s hope no more vet for a very long time.
Folks, we’ve hit the bottom of the barrel. With the help of Kayla at The Butcher and the Baker in Fayetteville we are officially out of EVERYTHING porcine except for fatback, pigs feet, and smocked ham hocks. Everybody knows that fatback and smoked hocks are great for collard greens and we won’t have any good collards till this coming winter however there are other things you can do with those cuts. Before I talk about that though, let me tell you about feet.
I made pork stock (foot soup as SWMBO called it) and used two pigs feet in the stock rather than pork bones. I simmered the stock for about 24 hours, drained all the chunky bits, and froze the stock in vacuumed bags. Easy! Darling Wifey decided to use some later for a recipe and folks, let me tell you, that stock was jello! I don’t mean it was thicker than the watery stuff you get at the store, I mean you could stick a spoon in it and it would hold it upright. It brought a richness to her cooking you just can’t get any other way. If you’ve never tried homemade stock before, get a couple of feet from us, they are on sale, and find out what real stock is all about. Pork stock isn’t something you can buy in the store like chicken or beef stock. If you aren’t sure what to do with it, there are some good ideas here and a recipe here. You can substitute pork stock for pretty much any stock you would use. It’s a neutral taste and not “porky” but it’s oh so rich.
Now onto fatback. Here is a quick blurb on fatback from Fine Cooking. Have something a bit too lean, add some fatback to make it awesome. Think fat is bad for you? Then read this, or this to learn the truth. Your brain is 60% fat. Give it what it needs. We have a ton of fatback left, it’s time to give fat a try. If you are cooking for your family this weekend, sneak some fatback into the recipe and watch them react to the flavor when it hits the table. Fat makes everything better.
Lastly we have smoked ham hocks. The best breakfast I ever ate was red beans and rice, sitting in a little hut in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I can’t promise you the view I had, but with some of our smoked hocks, you can have the red beans and rice, plus a whole lot more. Check out these recipes for some ideas.
I can hear you saying now, “But I want PORK CHOPS, wrapped in bacon! When are you going to have that?”
The next pig we have processed will be used at our event on June 28th. If you want some porcine goodness that you don’t even have to cook, then get your tickets now. After that, we have some more pigs that are a few months from being done. We are currently looking to buy some more feeder pigs and should be back in stock going forward.
We also have the first of our cows ready to process. He’s going into the family freezer, but we may sneak a few cuts out for you to sample so good news, meat is on the way.
Yesterday’s paddock on the left, today’s on the right
Grazing update from 6-8-2014. The paddocks are about 35 yards wide, and half the length of the main pasture. They are split in length on the bottom of the field where all the repair work was done last year for erosion. While the cows eat a lot of the seed heads, they leave quite a bit standing as you can see in the picture. The dog fennel is rearing its head, and the thistle is coming up thick but only in areas where there is an issue. I hate thistle, but it’s a pioneering plant that is good for recovery of soil. Having it be so selective where it comes up is satisfying because it was starting to pop up everywhere. As we’ve recovered soil health, it’s starting to choke out in the good stands of grass and only appear where things need more help. I love it when what we are doing works.
One thing both Spork and I noted was that the cows are leaving quite a bit of grass behind. They aren’t reaching under the hot wire at all, nor are they eating down the grass past a first bite or two. The clover is being decimated as usual but the grass is only getting decent pressure. As we head into summer, that’s where I want the grass to be. Tall and not under pressure, even though the fescue will go dormant and our warm season grasses will take over, the fescue will help shield the ground from the heat of summer. We will clip this pasture as we’ve done the others, leaving about 8″ of height and plenty of litter on the ground to help rebuild the soil. One big reason the grass is not getting so much pressure is that huge amount of veggies and fruits we are bringing onto the farm each day. We literally bring thousands of pounds of produce on the farm, most of which goes to the cows. The cows are getting a lot of what they want from these loads of produce, and are filling in the corners with a days grazing. The end result if happy, fat cows with no grain (except seed heads).
One issue I’m noting is that the flies are especially bad this year. There is a swarm around the cows and I don’t want to use chemicals to ward them off. We ordered another batch of meat chickens last week. I’m hoping to get the chicken tractors back in production behind the cows so they can start eating the fly larvae. That is supposed to put a dent in the fly population. It’s about time these chickens started earning their keep around here.
This morning found the Ninja Cows enjoying a cool 55 degree start to their day and some fog to make things pretty. Here is a panoramic shot of the front pasture and some of the fog that was visible.
The pigs, having their breakfast. Hot food and fresh veggies. They are legs up in the air asleep in the shade now.
I had a genuine farm Princess to help me this morning. She rode in the gator, drove the skid steer, and drove the farm tractor. It’s amazing what having the right headwear does for your abilities as a farmer. Thanks to Miguel for the snazzy hat.
The cows received two pallets of food this morning. Well, more like 1.5. There was a minor issue when Bok Bok was driving the skid steer and we spilled one of the pallets. No worries though. The chickens were on patrol and are picking up the pieces we didn’t scoop up with the tractor. That’s the beauty of feeding fresh vegetables. What doesn’t get eaten just becomes organic matter for the earth worms.
The grass isn’t looking great. The spring flush is backing off and the grass height isn’t as good as I would like it at this point in the season. The fescue is starting to go dormant and the Bermuda and weeds are starting to make their summer run. Right now the weeds are winning. We are mowing early and often this year so the weeds won’t have a chance to dominate. The pasture where we fed hay hasn’t exactly become lush yet but it’s the first to get mowed so we will see how it transitions over the course of the year.
Yesterday’s paddock on the left, today’ s on the right.
The cows have pretty much decimated the paddock yesterday. The ate 85% of the grass in the paddock, and two pallets of fresh vegetables from the market. Despite that much chowing, they ran into this mornings paddock and are busily munching away at the new grass. It really is amazing how much food they can put away.
The fescue has headed out again this year. Not as tall as last year which I take as a good sign. The seed heads last year were waist-high. This year they are knee-high. I hope that means the grass isn’t finding the need to stretch so far to reproduce. Whatever the reason the cows are clipping off the grain heads and getting their annual boost of grains. They are also getting some more of the stalks which is helping with the scours. Their stools have firmed up mostly except for the occasional loose stool.
We are well and truly in grass now, with basically unlimited grass for the cows. The only reason we keep the paddocks small at this point is to make sure each area gets the attention it needs. It may make sense to make the paddocks a bit bigger than we are now, just to give the grass a chance to be a little taller post grazing.
Overall the cows look good. We are having trouble with our young bulls fighting each other and we have decided to end the non-castration experiment and to cut the bulls the week after next. The vet is coming to help since we haven’t castrated this late before.
Darling Wifey sent me an article on Fox News about raw milk and how some states are pushing to ease regulations. At $13 a gallon in Florida, seems to me we’re causing people to pay black market prices for something that shouldn’t be regulated in the first place.
If I didn’t have my own milk cow, I’d be worried about all the quotes from the different alphabet groups listed in the article that raw milk will kill you. Funny how it’s not killing people where it’s normal, like California and Europe. Unclean milk will get you sick in my opinion, no matter where it’s from. However the less handling between you and the cow, the better off you’ll be.
This morning when I moved the cows I found Curious had dropped a beautiful little bull calf. The calf is up and moving about and we’ve already tagged him, #32. Normally we get higher and higher in numbers but 32 had been missed accidentally previously. SWMBO has informed me that we already have a name picked for our next bull calf so this one will be named Boyd. (Hello Boyd and Ava!)
Curious is a pure black Angus and so is the dad, Benjamin. I was planning on castrating this little calf but Spork pointed out he would make a good bull. Benjamin is already having his first year of calves so in two years when this little calf is ready, Benjamin will be ready to sell so based on Spork’s advice we are going to leave this little bull uncut and see how he develops. If he looks and acts right he may be our next bull. If not, he might be someone else’s next bull. Either way all he received today was an earring.
Here is a little closer shot of the new bull calf. Sorry he has the sun behind him.
We had a visitor this weekend, Miss Katie, and of course we took her out to see the new calf. We walked the paddock twice, a group of 5 of us, and we didn’t see the new calf anywhere. Just when I wondered what had happened to the calf, Katie looked over and found him in the grass outside the paddock. Leave it to the new kid to be the calf whisperer.
Boyd, just discovered in the grass
With no mom around everyone was able to take a turn petting the new calf. You can only do this for the first day or so. After that the calves will run away if you approach.
The kids, petting Boyd
We had enough time with the new calf that we were able to get some video of the kids and the new calf. Too cute.
The new calf, ready to take a nap after all the attention.Spork, fishing with dad. Note he stole my hat.
Also this morning I took some of the kids fishing. Bok Bok and I fished first, then Spork and I took the paddle boat out and did some more fishing, after a stint on the bank.
Home made chilaquiles
So after feeding the animals, taking the kids fishing, planting 54 tomato plants, and various and sundry other things I worked on today, I was fairly hungry at 2pm. After working 6 days a week for me, Miguel decided to save my day by bringing me a kit for home-made chilaquiles (it’s pronounced like Chilli-keel-As). I’ve had these in a restaurant before, they aren’t much to talk about. Miguel’s however? Oh man are they good. After this huge plate of food, I wasted the rest of the afternoon with a big siesta which I much enjoyed. Now the sun is going down and I’ve already slept too much. I guess I’ll put the kids to bed and maybe head back to the shop to work on the apple press. It’s too nice to stay inside for long.
With Penelope having new babies, we had to move the feeder pigs we purchased into the barn. They are too small to be with the two grown boys, and too big to be around Penelope’s babies. We try to have our pigs in similar sized groups but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. Catching these little pigs was a bit of an adventure. John, Miguel, and I made a few laps of the pig pen chasing them around and there were a few dives into the dirt catching squirming pigs. It all worked out and Miguel was surprised to see me “wheelbarrowing” one of the pigs after we caught him. He decided to give it a try himself. We only did this a few feet, then because of their small size just picked the pigs up and carried them to the barn.
The bottom of the big pasture. This is the area we repaired last year. The cows will only be here one day.
Today the cows were moved into the bottom of the draw in the main pasture. The grass is growing very well and the cows now have more than they can eat in each paddock. They are getting more protein than they need and their stools are loose. I don’t have any hay to supplement them with so we’re just going to have to work our way through this period until the grass gets a little taller and has more fiber to it. The warm season grasses haven’t started coming back yet but the fescue and clover are going gangbusters.
John Deere 825 S4 four seat Gator, being piloted by one Princess.
This is the end result of years of work. I’ve wanted one of these gators for a long time and I’ve been working actively on getting one for about a year. I finally have pulled off the deal and on Friday I brought home this monster gator. We set paddocks today for the cattle and the two girls came out to help, as long as they could drive the gator and not actually do any of the work. Kids!
The good news is if you’re coming for a tour, we have more options for you if you cannot walk. Sometimes people like to bring grandma or grandpa or more often they have small kids. If you need to ride rather than walk, just let me know when you contact me about taking a tour.
