And wild oats.   The grass here is very green with no dry material, unlike the other 98% of the paddock. Gremlin eating with the girls. Most Salers bulls have horns that go straight out, but some curve up a little. In either case the horns do not get to the length of those ofContinue reading "Cows eat grass"

Pastures around here have the same pattern of usage going back a few decades. In spring, fertilize the grass (usually artificial nitrogen on short term ryegrass pasture) to get as much early growth as possible. Then turn the cows out onto a subset of the pasture and let them eat it down to nothing. HayContinue reading "You seeded these legumes, yes?"

John Robb of Resilient Communities asked for some information on grass-fed beef, so I sent him the following list of people smarter than me who know what they are talking about. Low cost dairy – F.W. Owen rocks, too bad he isn’t updating any more. I tried mailing him but no response. http://userpages.bright.net/~fwo/ Greg JudyContinue reading "A bunch of grass-fed and grazing links"

It was a hot day and the herd was chilling under the trees. Calling the herd. New grass. Nom nom nom. Eric’s dog likes to tell the herd to stay on their side of the fence. Heifer 08 seeing if the dog is worth bothering about. You just keep on pushing my love over theContinue reading "Cow move, warm day, small dog"

Thanks to the Agricultrix’s brush cutting efforts we now have a fence that runs nice and hot. But there was collateral damage and we lost a couple of bits of wire that had to be patched. A sunny afternoon walking the wire? Time for some photos. It feels like we’ve only just baled the lucerneContinue reading "While fixing some fence wire I saw…"

This is heifer 10, who puts on condition well and is one of my favorites. Because of our hot and cold changeable weather, she’s only halfway through losing her winter fur. Time to scratch on the water tank. And select some fine grass from the other side of the fence. Taking the shot a littleContinue reading "Heifer 10 shows how green the grass is on the other side"

The herd is in a part of the farm that has become a center of growth for lotier, or birdsfoot trefoil. The cows love this stuff and it is in flower. It is fun watching the cows eat all the meadow flowers. There was a lot of buzzing around the lotier. Since it is inContinue reading "Flowers for bovines and bees"

Like a lot of cows, Salers like to hide out in the trees. At the lake end of the Emerson paddock there are a few large trees and a pile of blackberries making a nice little cow cubby. Each time the herd is in there I tell myself to get the broyeur on the tractorContinue reading "Hanging out by Lake Emerson"

Cow 007 wants to eat weeds. You go, girl! Blackie Onassis getting the greener grass. It’s a turtle! No, it’s a tortoise! Reptile? Grass, legumes, weeds, nom, nom, nom. Vicious intrepid barn kitten hunts wild roast pig leg.

The French call Salers rouge or red. I guess it is the same way red Angus and North Devons are ‘red’. They look brown to me. This is Old Girl, who isn’t the oldest girl in the herd but that’s become her name. She looks good for an old girl of 16. Calve soon, please.Continue reading "Brown Cows"