SETTING UP FOR SPRING CALVING

JANUARY 2021

January is a busy month here on the ranch. After slowing down, just a little during December, we hit the ground running in January.

Spring calve will be hitting the ground Starting early to mid February and with 30 pregnant mamma cows we have had to expand our “maternity ward”.

Last years Covid outbreak created a demand for beef from local farms and ranches. We sold out with in the first month of the outbreak and have a hard time keeping stocked every since.

In response, we are working hard, within our small batch program, to meet the rising interest in Ranch to Table sales while improving the genetics of our Akaushi herd. We are excited about the direction we are headed.

In the mean time we have been ‘remodeling’ the maternity ward for all the new mammas and babies that will be making their way to those pastures later this week. New Ritchie Waterers have been installed to make sure they always have fresh.

We noticed earlier this month that the feeder steers were not eating all their food. After Greg observed them for a time he figured out the pond water, that was available to them, must not have suited their tastes because they were no drinking it. Greg put a tub of fresh water in the pasture and the problem of not eating was solved. So they will now, always, have fresh water available to them.

Fencing seems to be a never ending project on a ranch and ours is no exception. With a growing herd, new smaller pastures have been created to better manage them in.

Our barn itself has undergone a transformation as we are preparing to make it where we work the herd. It will provide shade during the summer months and protection from rain and cold during the winter months, not to mention the convenience of not having to haul around a generator when electricity is needed.

All that and the new feeder system we are working on will help us continue to produce high quality beef for our customers.