Every fall we have the vet out for shots, deworming and preg-checks.  This year we had a beautiful day for it- believe me, some years it hasn’t been so nice!  We are happy to say that we have 10 pregnant cows out of 13 adults.  We have 2 heifers that were a little too young to get pregnant. We also got the calves through the shoot- most of them hadn’t been through the cattle handling system yet, but it went well.  We are always relieved to get this done.  We got some extra help from our nephew Luke and our son Cody.  It takes a few hands to get the cattle in the corral, into the shoot, operate the shoot to get them in and out safely.  The vet was especially happy to see we put in the gate this year- instead of crawling over the fence like we’ve done past years!  One of our better decisions!  A few of the cows did not get pregnant and now we have the tough decision as to who to sell.  We plan to downsize our herd for the next 3 years- until we retire and can focus on this full time.  And, with our plans to have a Wagyu herd in 6-7 years, we will be gradually selling all of our Angus cattle.

Meanwhile, it’s getting late in the season- the cold weather will be arriving soon! We are winterizing our pressure pump water system to make it easier to water the cows this winter.  We purchased a yard building that fits over the pump and well that we can add insulation around the outside and top and put in a small heater.  This way we will always have water pressure and the well will be safe from freezing.  It was always a worry in the past!  We also need to move the cattle water tank and winterize the outside of that and put in the heating element.  Lots yet to do, but it looks like we’ll make it!

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