Be A Mama, Mama

During calving season, we are always watchful. Although most of our cows are all seasoned pros (some too seasoned, as one is 13 years old!), problems still may arise during the birthing process. A calf may be too big, or turned wrong, or a heifer (first time mama) may not tap into her natural instinct and take care of that little wet thing she suddenly finds laying on the ground next to her.

The first calf born this season was born to a mama that had already calved 3 other times. I consider her a pro, so there shouldn’t have been any problems. And there wasn’t when she had the calf, but later, as The Farmer watched, he noticed that the calf was still in the same place where it had been born and that mama was too far away for safety’s sake. Upon further investigation, the cow just didn’t seem to be responsible at all. In fact, another cow was watching over her baby closer than she was. When the calf would get up to nurse, the cow seemed impatient and uncaring, walking away and kicking at her baby to get him to stop. Fortunately, he was very persistent and seems to be doing well now.

In the short video below, The Farmer is tagging the calf. Usually, he is looking over his shoulder hoping not to get mauled by an overprotective “mama bear”. However, even after her precious bundle of joy runs across the fence into the neighbor's woods, this unconcerned mama is more interested with chewing her cud than keeping watch over her helpless newborn.

The calf continued to run over the next hill and through the fence.

After waiting around until almost dark to see if mama assumes her responsibility, The Farmer finally decided to intervene. He crossed the fence and began “mawing” like a baby calf (he’s quite good at “maw” calls). Finally, mama’s interest awakened enough for her to investigate. She came to the “rescue” about the time The Farmer coaxed the calf close enough to the fence that he poked his head through. Mama and baby were reunited and walked away without so much as a “howdy-do” or a “thank you” to The Farmer.

As I watched this unfold, I thought about human moms in general (I always compare cow mamas to human mamas, you wouldn’t believe how much we are alike) :) This was a sad comparison, though. I thought about how some mamas have children and then seem too eager to abandon them. Having a baby is easy (I should know), but the endeavor of the day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to-year labor of raising children is the most important part of parenting.



When I saw the cow look up from her grazing and ignore the situation until the calf crossed the fence I grumbled, “It’s too late to care, now”.  Nonetheless, that’s how some parents are. They allow their children to run, to make their own decisions, to watch out for themselves, while they are busy with work, or play, or whatever takes them away from their job of being the adult authority figure, and only show interest when they’re child crosses the line--gets into trouble, leaves home, or causes embarrassment to the parent.



If God has allowed you to be a parent, then be a parent. Be vigilant, watchful, alert when it comes to your children. Guard them against danger, difficulties, and error. Don’t ignore them until they cross over the fence and someone else has to chase them back. If you have had a child placed into your custody, then be a PARENT.



Protect them from being harmed or damaged (physically and emotionally)

Arm them with the tools they need to succeed

Require them to be responsible

Earn their respect by being a good role model

Notice them; they need your time and attention on a daily basis

Transfer them to their own life (allow them to move away) when you have finished raising them, by preparing them along the way

Fall Has Arrived

The days are slowly becoming shorter and the nights are dipping down into the 50’s. The official first day of autumn is just around the corner, but fall has arrived early on the farm. Our fall-calving season is in full swing, and we have six brand new baby boys kicking up their heels in the field. (Which is very exciting because steers are worth more than heifers).

We had some beneficial rains in June and cooler than normal temps in July, which left our fields green and fertile. Unfortunately, the weather turned dry and hot, and now our fields are beginning to suffer the consequences. We got less than 1” of rain the last two months.

Our cattle are on a rotational grazing cycle, which means we move them every three or four days into a fresh paddock of grass. Because of the dry weather, we have to move them more often to keep the grasses as healthy as possible. Believe it or not, the cows always tell us when they need to move on. When The Farmer jumps on the four-wheeler, if they are ready to move, they begin bawling, “Mooooove! Mooooove!”  So he lets them into a new paddock, because happy cows make happy calves. :)

How Does Your Garden Grow

For many years The Farmer and I  put in a fairly nice sized garden. We planted about 12 tomato plants, 2 rows of green beans, some peppers, onions, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers and whatever other plants my Dad would give me from his greenhouse

Personal plug:

My parents own A & N Greenhouse, out on Hwy 47 towards Potosi. (you know where that is if you live locally) It's too late this year, but that's the place to go when you want really good garden plants and flower baskets.

Ok, back to my story. As I was saying, we used to put in a nice sized garden. A couple of years ago, Daughter #1 enlightened me to the efficiency and ease of square foot gardening.  I really loved the idea. The Farmer made boxes for the plants, we put down a weed cloth to deter weed growth,  we sectioned off the boxes into 1 ft. squares, and then we planted the vegetables according to a chart that I had drawn up. I was really excited to do this, because square foot gardening was supposed to be easier (less weeding), until I saw The Farmer re-seeding the yard around the boxes. When he was finished, the garden was full of grass seed. It didn't take me long to lose interest in this gardening style (there were still weeds!)

So the gardening set idle for a season or two, until we determined that we were going to have fresh garden tomatoes on our BLTs. We both like the idea of having a garden, but he doesn't have time to weed the garden and I don't want to. :) So, necessity being the mother of invention, we came up with what I thought would be a simple plan--patio gardening.

Here's what we did:

Early one morning, The Farmer went out to get our special mix of highly organic soil.

This is the field where the cows winter.

  A visitor came as he was mixing the fertilized soil with peat moss

At one time these tubs contained protein supplement for the cows. I guess Otis (the bull) remembered.

 The Farmer mixes the soil and peat moss, and loads the tubs into the bucket of the tractor.

He lifts the tubs onto the deck using the bucket of the tractor.

You can see the remnants  of the square foot garden in the background.

We only did three tubs.

I planted 1 tomato plant and 2 pepper plants in each tub.

I later discovered that I should have planted the pepper plants in a tub by themselves.

Live and learn!

Have you planted a garden this year? Let me know how your garden is growing.

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From The Pasture To The Picnic

It takes over a year to get the perfect steak on our picnic table.

The calves are born in the spring. They stay with mama until weaning time, which is sometime in November. At this point, we put them in a pasture by themselves where they stay until they are well over a year old. Soon afterwards, their diet is supplemented with locally grown hormone-free/antibiotic-free corn. This is what gives beef it’s highly prized marbling texture and increases the meats flavor and tenderness.

At the beginning of the next summer, when we see the calves approaching their optimal weight, we begin contacting our customers and set an appointment up with our butcher at Swiss Meat. A quaint locally owned family business (but that’s a story for another day).

After two or three weeks processing time, The Farmer and I pick up the meat and bring it back to the farm so our local customers can pick up their meat from the farm where it was raised.

The steak that took 16 minutes on a hot grill took 16 months to prepare.

      So we savor every bite!

This is what we had for supper last night. I also made Homemade Peach Cobbler for dessert.

I added the recipe >>Here<< or go to the "Recipe" tab on the right of this page.

Checking The Cattle

The other day Baxter and I went out to check the cows, and I couldn't believe the enticing aroma wafting in the breeze. I stopped the 4-wheeler and just sat there for a bit enjoying the sweet smells of the summer pasture. Mmm...

The field is covered in little white flowers, which I think resemble some type of small daisies, and The Farmer thinks that it is a weed called Snowcap. But whatever they are, they make the fields look beautiful.

Baxter and I found the herd laying around under the cool shade of a small group of trees in the field. The babies are looking so good. With the abundance of pasture this year, mama is doing well, so baby is doing well.

Look at this baby! He was born in March.

Not bad for 3 months old.

We have other babies on the farm, also. A few weeks ago we discovered that we had eggs; not chicken eggs but Kildee eggs. The poor mama laid her eggs in our busy driveway. These birds like to lay their eggs on gravel or small rock, but I’m betting they didn’t realize how busy our driveway would be. I put a little table over her nest to keep the eggs safe from some crazy motorist.

When the Kildee perceive someone or something is going towards their nest, they run in the opposite direction. Their nature is to lure you away from their nest. They begin running, then they begin to squawk, and if that doesn’t get your attention, they flap around and at times appear injured. It’s quite a routine.

Unfortunately, when The Farmer was bringing in the bales of hay, the mama bird (I assume) about worked herself to death, because she is nested in front of the gate where he brings in the bales. So every time he brought a bale through the gate she would begin her ritual.

We are not the only ones awaiting the arrival of these new babies—so is the cat!

Update: The eggs are missing! I don't believe it was the cat's doing, because there is no physical evidence. So I choose to believe that the mama and daddy birdies rolled their eggs off to safety where no human being nor cat being will be able to ever harm them.

(I Do believe in fairies; I DO believe in fairies...)

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Must Be Summer, Because We're Putting Up Hay

One of the tell-tale signs of summer is putting up hay.

The Farmer woke up one cool, cloudy morning and decided that he was going to
start cutting hay. The weatherman made a prediction of low clouds but no rain,
and The Farmer believed him.
Not me...I had often been duped into believing that the weatherman could
actually predict the weather here in Missouri, and had finally come to the
conclusion that whatever was reported on TV was never what was going to happen.
So being the “supporting” wife, I informed The Farmer that if he
insisted on cutting hay on a day when every physical sign pointed to a wet
weekend that I would emphatically say, "I told you so”, when he was raking
up wet hay.
Fortunately, The Farmer was right (must be farmer intuition). He pressed on,
even under the pressure of low lying clouds and an unyielding spouse, and was
able to get the first field cut, tethered, raked, and baled before the rain
came.

Cutting grasses while they are young and tender is best because the
nutritional value is at its peak. It also makes more tender and tasty hay
during the winter months (so I’ve been told).

The ideal time to cut hay is on a clear, warm, summer day, but sometimes
that’s not possible, so The Farmer tethers the hay to dry it out faster. A
tether machine picks up the hay and scatters it around to allow the hay to
aerate. This step isn’t always necessary during really nice weather (just sayin’).

 

After the hay is cured, it is raked into windrows and then baled.

 

 

 

We stack our hay and then cover it with a tarp. This
is the first field and the first cutting. It really looks like a good year for
hay, which is encouraging, because we had to buy a lot
of our hay last year because of the drought.

Visit From The Vet

 

Visit from the Vet

The Farmer and the vet from Crawford County Veterinary Clinic

 

We worked the cattle on Saturday, but today we had a visit from the vet. He was here to do a preg check on all the fall breeding cows. As each one went through the chute, the vet would tell us if they were pregnant and give as an approximate point of how far along they are.

 

We had 16 cows that needed to be preg checked. Unfortunately, two were open (not pregnant) and one of them was #11, the crazy cow that jumped the fence on Saturday. She jumped it again today. So we don't know if she is bred or not.The Farmer is not happy. :(  And well he shouldn’t be. This cow knows exactly what to do to get out, and she’s not soon to forget it. Our choices are to build a higher fence, give her lead poison, or wait until she’s too old to jump. We can’t afford to build higher and lead is too scarce, so I guess we’ll just have to wait until she gets too old.

 

 

Working Cattle

Working cattle is always a learning experience, and this year when we worked our herd we learned a lot!

We learned that it pays to be prepared and organized.

As each cow or calf comes through the alley, we have to be
prepared with what we are going to do to them. They are all given a fly tag (to ward off flies), treated for lice, grubs and other unwanted parasites, vaccinated against pink eye, and various other infectious viruses, and then weighed. Our calves also get a shot to prevent respiratory problems and blackleg, which can actually wipe out a whole year of calves. Fortunately this disease is preventable with vaccination. So these shots and tags all have to be kept separated and organized.

 

We learned that sometimes it takes several hands to do one job.

Although the Farmer is very proficient in what he does, he just can’t be in three places at one time. As the cattle go through the alley way someone has to encourage them along, and someone else has to open the sliding gate and shut it behind each cow or calf, and then the Farmer shuts the head chute at just the right moment.

 

We learned that a 13 year-old farmer’s daughter is not a big enough threat to keep a 1500 lb. cow from going over the fence.

Usually a cow’s moo is worse than their bite, so we had daughter #5 standing at the top of the gate to ward off any wayward cow that
may have gotten a crazy idea of trying an escape while they were in the holding pen. And it worked. Although we had a crazy cow escape (#11), she didn’t go through the gate; she jumped over the fence! Well, she jumped on the fence, it broke, and then she went over. But still the same result. Several years ago we had a similar incident in a sort of make-shift lot that we used to work our cattle
in. So when we built our existing lot, we purposefully built it high enough so a cow could not go over (or so we thought until this year). The crazy thing jumped a couple of times and then finally busted through the boards and went right over, like she was a trained horse or something. Whatever…she didn’t get a fly tag so I hope she gets bitten by a great big horse fly!

 

And the final thing we learned this year is working cattle in the rain is no fun at all!

Although the day started out a little nippy, the sun soon came out and we were plenty warm about a half hour into the process. Unfortunately, the sun was overtaken by some ominous looking rain clouds and it began to pour. It didn’t take long before we were all soaked and covered in mud, which wasn't too bad because it washed away some of the manure that we were all covered in from working the silly cattle in the first place. They are so uncouth.

Son #4 setting up the scales so we can weigh the cattle. Our largest cow weighed 1550 lbs. and our largest fall calf weighed 732 lbs.

 

Daughter #5 still holding her post after the rain had let up a little.

Notice she's staring down one of the mama cows

 

If you look closely, you can see Son #1 and the Farmer separating

the spring cows and their babies from the fall calves.

 

All the cows and calves have been separated and will soon be back on the pasture.

 

 

 

 

Enloe Farms Is Going Green

Well we didn't make it for Earth Day, but we're still going GREEN!

We’re trading in our blues and we’re going green. That’s right, for over 50 years the only tractor that’s been on this farm has been a Ford or a New Holland  (the company that bought out Ford).

But now we are going John Deere green!

 

What do you think of the Farmer's new toy (oh, I mean necessary farming equipment). :)

 

The Farmer Going Green

Saying Goodbye to a Tradition

Going Green Looks Pretty Good!

Got a great deal from Schweissguth Bros. in Dutzow

But they did too...

>>Click Here to see more pics of the tractor

Old Mother Hubbard

Just like Old Mother Hubbard, I went to my cupboard and found it getting bare. Except the freezer was my cupboard and looking into it this afternoon reminds me that it’s getting close to calf-selling season again.

At this time of year, our spring calves from the previous year are getting ready to be processed. They’ve gained approximately 800 lbs. since birth on mama’s milk, grass, and grass hay. Because food supply is limited for these calves, they are fed a little bit of grain throughout the winter months. Being time to condition them for processing, we separate our calves into the lot where they are still exposed to fresh green grasses, but their grain intake will increase—no argument that this improves marbling and, in my opinion, the taste of the beef.

However, the great debate over grass-fed beef vs. grain-fed beef always seems to intensify around here when new customers begin to inquire about our beef. There are strong opinions on both sides, but the final call comes down to personal preference.

Our Calves Are Raised Naturally

According to the USDA, naturally raised means that the cattle have been given:

• No growth promotants


• No unnecessary antibiotics


• No animal by-products

Our Beef Is Organic

In accordance with USDA Sec. 2105, Sec. 2107, organically produced livestock must meet these qualifications:

•  Produced without the use of synthetic chemicals


• Not fed plastic pellets, manure, or feed containing urea


• Not given growth promoters and hormones


• Complete traceability (our calves are born and raised here)

 

The beef we sell to our customers is the beef we feed to our children; therefore, the quality of our beef can be completely trusted. Our cattle are not kept in a crowded feedlot, which is a problem with commercial feedlots, nor are they exposed to harmful chemicals and growth stimulants. Because they are our food supply, too, we take care that our cattle remain healthy in a very humane environment.

If you would like more information on buying beef from us, go to the FAQ tab.

Shared Link:

Grass-Fed vsGrain-Fed: What’s the difference

Dash And Flash Meals For The Farmer

If you know me at all, then you probably know that I’m not a big plan-ahead person. My daughter (#1) enlightened me on the reason recently, by reminding me that I was born on the biggest procrastinating day in US history—April 15 (tax day, in case you live under a rock). At any rate, this gift of procrastination is manifested in just about every area of my life, but the most noticeable area would be in supper preparation.

The Farmer gets home around 4:30 every evening (for the past 35+ years), and being the hard working, over achieving, workaholic that he is, he’s usually starving by the time he hits the door, wraps me in his arms, and tells me what a great wife I am! (hee, hee)

Of course, being the perfect wife, I have supper timed so that he still has just enough time to check cows, move them to another paddock, and feed the bull (which I’m sure he doesn’t give a thought to how much effort I put into this notable achievement).

So, you may be wondering how the queen of procrastination can accomplish such a feat (maybe not, but read on anyway).

First of all I have a freezer full of frozen beef—frozen being a key word here. I keep staples aplenty like potatoes, canned vegetables, flour, and seasonings. And that’s really all I need; oh, and soda.

The procrastinating attribute comes to light when the Farmer calls to let me know he is on his way home from work, which gives me a full 40 minutes to prepare supper. Not too bad, if he calls when he leaves work, but more often than I like, he gets busy on the phone with someone else before he can call me. Often I have received a 20-minute warning, or worse yet, a 10-minute warning! (yeah, well supper isn’t always on the table).

Well, I have become a master of Dash and Flash Meals.

Translated—putting together a delicious meal super fast!

Hamburgers and fries are probably the easiest, because when we get our beef processed I have a lot of my hamburger made into patties. So, I scrub a few potatoes, cut them into steak fries, and soak them in vegetable oil that's been brought to a boil (saw this on FoodNetwork). Then I get the hamburger patties out of the freezer, throw them into the microwave for 2 minutes, break them apart, and throw them into the skillet. (I’m about 10 minutes in at this point) When the hamburgers are almost done, I turn the fries on high temp. And magically my hamburgers and fries get finished right before the Farmer comes in for supper.

Spaghetti is another really quick meal. I again start with frozen hamburger, peel off the outside plastic, and throw it into the microwave for 3-4 minutes. It comes out ready to crumble into a skillet. It only takes about 5 minutes to brown at a high temp, so I put my water on to boil during this process. After the hamburger is browned and drained, I add seasonings, tomato sauce and Parmesan, and simmer this until the spaghetti noodles are cooked. I usually fix biscuits (canned of course), garlic bread, or just butter bread with this.

Both of these meals can be cooked in about 20 minutes. As I was writing this, I thought of other Dash and Flash dishes that I make.

  1.       Beef and noodles

  2.       Chili (made from left-over pinto beans)

  3.       Cowboy Supper (made with beef, beans, and BBQ sauce)

  4.       Tacos

  5.       Chicken Quesadillas

  6.       Sausage hash

  7.       Steak and baked potatoes (baked meaning microwaved)

  8.       Swiss steak burgers

  9.       Chef’s salad

10.       Frozen pizza J

What about you? Do you have any Dash and Flash meals that you make? Share it with the rest of us and maybe we can exchange recipes.

The Final Tally

The best thing about spring is seeing all the signs of the new life that is beginning to appear at this time of year.

Seeing the grass sprouting up through the cold ground, the new blossoms on the trees, the soft sounds of the wind, the chirping of the birds, the warmth of the sunshine—I could almost burst out into song! (You should be thankful there is no sound) :)

 

One of the greatest things about living on the farm is being able to see our calves being born. Unfortunately, three of our heifers did not
calf this spring so we are down from what we had expected. The birthing season has ended and we only have nine calves.

 

Although it was not the number we were expecting, we had a successful season. A couple of our calves were born during the frigid weather when winter would not turn loose of spring, and at times we wondered if they were going to make it. Seeing a brand new, wet, cold, shaking baby calf fall to the ground of a snow covered field is at times unsettling. However, the fortitude those babies have are nothing less than miraculous! It doesn’t take them long to nuzzle up to mamma and warm their little bodies.

 

Often the baby calves huddle together when laying out in the field. I tried to sneak up on them to take a picture, but they were too quick for me. As soon as they saw me coming they started getting up.

 

 

Oh well, I'll get a closer picture next time. Once it gets a little hotter,

they won't be so quick to jump up.

 

Spring Has Sprung!

During the winter months, we contain our cattle in one or two of our back paddocks to make it easier to feed hay and to keep all our other fields from being tromped to pieces…you can imagine what a herd of 1200-pound cows would do in a soft, wet field.

Today it seems that the cold, snowy weather of the past few weeks are finally disappearing. Standing outside and looking out over the fields, I can almost see the grass growing. The smells, the sounds, and all the sights that come with a new spring are beginning to appear.

One of the first signs that spring has sprung, in our little world, is being able to open the gates and allowing our cattle to graze on the cool, green grasses of a fresh new paddock. I have to say, the cows seem pretty excited, too. 
It is quite funny to watch them crowd through the gate and run and frolic in the new field. (yeah…frolic!) I will have to post a video some time. :)

Looks like they had a belly-full

...and laying around in the sunshine

Of course, they have to get up to see what I am doing

 

Fortunately,
for now, they are off the hay and onto the pastures. 

Now, like all farmers
throughout the ages, we will be praying for rain, sunshine, and a profitable harvest!