Author Archives: bc

The last time we merged two herds was a tough day with broken fences and cows running through vineyards and off up the road. This time we managed it a little better. First we checked the fences. Gustav did some … Continue reading →

I was just about finished rolling the Nebraska paddock with the cultipacker when the tractor lurched to the left and started sliding sideways down the hill. Ah, a flat. My bicycle puncture repair kit wasn’t up to this job. The … Continue reading →

You have to wipe off the little windows every now and then to read the instruments. Instruments by Jaeger, too. This field is now seeded with lucerne (US:alfalfa; FR:luzerne) and dactyle (US: orchardgrass; EN: cocksfoot). We have had a bit … Continue reading →

Salers cows are red. They look like this, although usually not quite as silly as 33 here: There’s a rare gene in the herd that gives you black Salers. A lot of the French farmers don’t like the black color, … Continue reading →

Part of renovating our cattle yards is the new hardware – barriers, gates and a cage de contention to hold cows steady for examination or insemination. Getting the material off the low loader means putting the pallet forks on the … Continue reading →

A few days ago: snow. We had 12 days of cold with nights dropping down to –10 and days remaining below zero. But we had sun, which warmed the heart if not the water lines. The snow has since gone. … Continue reading →

After running for 20 minutes the tractor gave a sigh and decided to take a nap in the sunshine. It stopped on a spot with a lovely view and with a bale of hay still on the loader. It was … Continue reading →

If there’s one thing rural France has an abundant supply of, it is beautiful churches. I was up on le Cher in the Centre to visit a Salers farm, one that has 200 mother cows on 320 hectares. This was … Continue reading →

About a year ago I visited a friend who has a big cow farm and helped him do his morning rounds feeding the various herds. The photos from this visit just surfaced and reminded me how slack I was in … Continue reading →

Cold morning.   Patient cows.   Fresh lucerne hay.   Well-rested grass.   Watching the rollout.   Nom nom nom.