Archive for the ‘Life on Lost Creek Valley Farm’ Category

We put the calves and cows back together and let them out to new grass on May 16th.  They are happy cows!  Meanwhile, we had our second Wagyu heifer calf named Sachi on the 15th. We worried when we hadn’t seen her nurse the first morning.  That first 24 hours is so important.  Calves need colostrum from mom’s milk, which contains not only energy and nutrients, but also maternal antibodies for immunity.  So, we were very concerned when we watched her that morning and didn’t see her nurse.  So after some coaxing, we got her interested and now she is doing great!  We found some hay to purchase so we can feed that in-between pasturing.  The grass doesn’t grow fast enough!  Now we are waiting for 2 or 3 more Wagyu calves to come in the next couple weeks.  Then, in early June we should have a few Angus calves coming. Our herd is really growing this year!

The first Wagyu calf was born yesterday!  A heifer named Fumiko.  We’re going with Japanese names for these guys.  Fumiko means “strong child”.  And, it’s also a family name-  My Uncle was stationed in Japan and married a Japanese woman named Fumiko.  The calf looks really good and was lucky to be born on a nice day.  The rest of the Wagyu calves are expected within a few days- hoping for 4-5 more.  Then the Angus calves are expected in June.  Our herd is growing fast.  This Fall we are selling some calves plus four yearling steers.  Finally a little income!  Looking forward to some nice warm temps and a little rain to get the pastures growing.  We are also working on getting the leased fields planted with hay.  As usual, lots of projects in the Spring!

Winter returned to Wisconsin in early April!  We got a 15″ snowfall over 2 days, which happened to be the days we planned to fence and move our pregnant cows to the calving barn.  Needless to say, it was not fun!  But, at least the temps were in the 40’s so it wasn’t so bad out there.  The calves remained in the winter paddock.  Along with fencing and moving the animals, we had to move the water tank into the shed, and make sure we had water buckets for the calves.  It’s a little more work, but that’s the way it is.  We are using a water hose to fill the tank so we are hoping the below freezing temps are gone!  After we fill the tank we use an air compressor to blow the water out of the hose, crossing our fingers we got it all.  And, now we are low on hay.  We had a time getting the hay trailer out of the mud so we can get more hay this weekend.  Cows can really eat, especially when it’s cold.  We thought we had enough hay til May!  Will Spring please come soon???

I know, it doesn’t quite feel like it yet, but Spring is just around the corner.  We are already seeing lots of mud in the winter paddocks!  We have lots of plans this year. Number one is to put in an automatic watering fountain for next winter.  It will be piped underground with a winterized pump house.  But, first thing this Spring is to get some shale and gravel on the driveway and around the shed.  That will be so nice- not to be sliding around on the greasy clay soil!  And, we hope to fence the back field into rotational paddocks.  We also have to seed the hay fields we leased from my brother.  So, there’s lots of work to be done.  And, Dusty moved to LA so we don’t have his help any more.  But, we are glad he’s following his dreams!  We’ll have to get Cody to help us when he can.

We have to separate our Wagyu Mom’s soon.  We are putting them in the pole shed with lots of dry bedding for calving.  They are due May 6th!  We are excited!  The other cows are due about a month later.  At last count, we are thinking we may have 11 calves this Spring.  Crossing our fingers….

It’s that time of year when time goes slow and winter looks like it will never end.  The only good thing is that the days are getting longer.  We can water the cows in daylight finally.  Still need a flashlight because it’s usually getting dark by the time we are done.  The cold is still holding on, but there is some relief in site for mid-February.  Hoping that this is the last week of below zero lows.  The cows are doing quite well, and we can’t believe how big the calves have gotten!  We give them protein blocks along with hay to be sure they are able to tolerate the extreme weather conditions.  Lucky we have the cattle shed so they can get in out of the wind.  A last minute trip to Los Angeles at the end of January was a nice surprise!  I went with our son Dusty to visit my niece and family for a long weekend.  Craig stayed home with the cows…  But, we had a great time- flew out of Minneapolis non-stop to LAX.  It was so nice to feel the warm sunshine and 75 degree temps!  And now, back home to reality…

It’s been very cold since the last week of December and most of January!  So glad we have the shed for the cows to get in out of the cold.  We put some cornstalk bedding in there and they loved it!  We did a good job winterizing the well so there hasn’t been any freeze-ups.  The cows are really eating the hay this winter.  Our new tractor has been a huge help during the cold- nice to have an enclosed cab with a heater!  We are wondering why we waited so long to get it!  Plans to lease my brother’s fields were finalized and we paid the rent for this year. The fields are about 8 miles from us- taking the back roads.  In the Spring we will seed the fields and hope to get a crop or two of hay off the 20 acre fields this summer, and most likely will have to purchase some bales also.  We will leave the hay equipment at my brother’s since we do not plan to make any more hay on our farm.  We are planning to fence all of it for pasture.  We are still leasing the upper field right now, and if we need more pasture we can take it back later.  We will be selling 4 steers and maybe a few Angus calves this Fall. Besides fencing, we also plan to put in underground automatic watering system to make it easier in the winter. Every year we make something easier for ourselves!  Last week, Craig also purchased an equipment trailer that we will use to transport the round bales from my brother’s fields back to the farm.  Most of the cows are looking very pregnant, so we are hoping for a good calving season!  Now, Spring can come any time….

We decided to purchase a newer model tractor with a cab and four wheel drive.  It is amazing how smooth the current models are- very compact and easy to drive!  Craig is in heaven!  This will make winter go much easier.  We got the water tank insulated and set up the winter watering system.  Most of the hay has been hauled back by the shed to make feeding easier and we moved the feeders to the winter paddock to get the cows settled there for the winter.  We are going to get some round corn bedding bales so they have a dry place to sleep.  So far the weather has been good (in the 40’s and sometimes 50’s), so it’s nice to get some of our last minute winter preparations done.  Feeling pretty good about this winter!

We are thankful for so many things!  Our health, our family, our beautiful home and farm!  Since the fire, we appreciate these things every day.   And, Craig is thankful for his 10 point buck shot on opening day!  So nice to get a buck on our own land.  The tradition of hunting continues, bringing back memories of hunting with Grampa and uncles back in “the day”.  We are looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with the Indrebo’s on Thursday, and to the Pederson’s on Friday.  At least we don’t have to eat two meals in one day!  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

The cold weather is fast approaching and holidays are around the corner!  We are knocking off our to do list as fast as we can.  Fall always seems to sneak up on us.   Last week we had the cows out in the back pasture for the last time for them to enjoy green grass.  We also had the vet here to take care of our calves- everything went great from roundup to getting them through the shoot.  Now to get the calves weaned and everyone settled in the winter paddock.  And… time to start making plans for 2018….

Don’t be a Cow-herd on Halloween!  Pepper is into the “Spirit” today!  Happy Halloween from Lost Creek Valley Farm!