We hope that 2015 will be a good year for the farm- growing our cattle herd, getting good hay crops, improving fences and water systems, and enjoying the farming life!  We have lots of plans and projects for 2015, so here’s to our health and future at Lost Creek Valley Farm.  May we not only work hard, but have some fun too!  Cheers!

It’s been a very cold start this winter!  Temps have been way below average .  The Wisconsin deer hunt came and went- but it was also a cold week.  No big bucks to report, however.  We’ve been watering the cows using the well in the old farmhouse.  Since it’s not winterized, we carry the pump and hose back and forth which is kind of a pain, but it works.  Craig got the loader on the tractor and that has been working great to get the bales out to the cows.  We had to purchase a bale feeder since the cows are such “pigs” when they eat!  Now that it gets dark so early, we have to do our work in the dark- note for next year- get a yard light!    We gave the calves shots last weekend, but before that we had to buy a few more fence panels to finish our handling facility.  It was our first time using it, and giving shots, but it went pretty well!

It’s time to count our blessings!  So thankful for our family and friends, our home, farm and jobs that we enjoy.  Not only our jobs in Eau Claire, but our farm chores that make every day even more rewarding!  It’s the country life that we enjoy!  Beautiful views of the ridges and valleys, the wildlife: deer, turkeys, eagles soaring overhead, and all the wonderful things we enjoy living in the country!  We thank God every day for our life on Lost Creek Valley Farm!  Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2014

We got our first snowstorm on November 10th!   The night before we were getting sleet and rain, so we decided to get the cows into our machine shed.  I know that they are tough creatures, but ice and sleet is not good for any animal!  The ground wasn’t frozen yet, so we put in temporary posts and electric wire into the barn (lucky the regular fence is only a few feet from the shed).  Then we fenced off a portion of the shed, put down some hay and tried to entice them inside.  They were very hesitant to come in- even though they wanted that hay!  We left and hoped they would get in out of the weather.  In the morning, with about 5 inches of snow, we found them standing under a tree.  Geez!!  All that work and they stand outside.  The next night, however, they were enjoying the dry barn!

      November 11, 2014

Where has this fall gone?  Our list is not getting any shorter, and the weather is getting cooler!  Let’s see- the bucket needs to get on the tractor and we need to move the cows farther into the pasture – that means more temporary fence posts and wire…  We also want to start buying hay soon.  There’s lots of hay for sale right now and the prices aren’t too bad.  We also need to weatherize the well/pump area and get a heater for the water tank.  Just heard that they’re saying this year will not be as cold and snowy as last year.  Hope they’re right! (Sorry Craig- I know you like to snowmobile!)

October 25, 2014

Mary Anderson, Grazing Specialist for River Country RC&D was here to give us some advice and check out our operation last week.  We got alot of good information and suggestions. She’s a great mentor for us!  She suggested we make temporary fences to move the cows into the hayfields to graze through November- or maybe into December if we don’t get too much snow.  That would save us alot of hay bales!  So- with that advice, we moved them the next day- and they were in heaven!  The field they were in was getting munched down and we were supplementing with hay.  There’s quite a bit of grass in the hayfields and we can move them a couple times before bringing them back to where we will winter them.  The temporary fences work great- as long as they have enough to eat!  Best advice- cows will stay in the fences unless they are hungry or thirsty!  Mary was impressed with our 4 barb wire and 2 electric wire fences and we were so glad to hear that!  And the temporary 2 electric wire fence is a great way to move them around without investing too much.

We also talked about breeding and Mary thought the cows were already pregnant since we hadn’t seen any signs of heat since we got them.  They were with a bull from July – August before we got them.  And, if we’re wrong on this we can chalk it up to a learning experience!  So, the only one left to breed is the one that just calved.  We’ll keep an eye on her and have the AI guy here in November some time.  As far as breeding, we may consider a bull next year…

October 19, 2014

We are undecided about going the AI breeding route because of how closely you have to watch the cows- you have to catch them in their 24 hour “heat” time in order to have them bred.  There are ways around this with shots to move them along, but we need to do more research and think about it.   Our neighbor is an AI tech and said he would be available any time we need him.  Maybe the bull idea isn’t so bad!

October,  2014

Cows are naturally curious.  They’ve been watching us work and seem to enjoy being near us.  It also gives us a chance to get to know each of their personalities.  Brownie, the Herford is the most friendly.  And there’s a “pecking” order!  The queen of the herd is Curlie (aka Queenie).  She’s the boss.  Every morning before going to work, we check on them and they’re usually laying together in a far corner, on higher ground.  One by one they get up and come over to us by the fence.  I think they expect a treat or something!  But, they don’t get too close unless Craig holds out a handful of grass or hay.  I grew up on a farm with dairy cows, but was never around them much- that was my Dad and brothers’ domain.  So, I didn’t know much about cattle to start with- but now  it’s fun to watch them and help take care of them.  I stay on my side of the fence, though!

October, 2014

In order to make it safe for a vet or breeder to work on our cattle, we need to build a cattle handling facility.  It will be in the nearest pasture to the gate, and will be constructed of posts with steel panels and boards.  We have a head gate and designed the shoot and panels from there.  We did our research to get ideas on the design.  We’d like to breed the cows soon so we can plan on calving in June or July. And the calves need shots.  Hope our design works when we run the cattle through it!

     October 6, 2014

We figured out that we need about 20 more round bales to get the cows through the winter.  After checking around, we found a couple places nearby that were pretty reasonable.  We hope we can get them delivered, but if not we can make a few trips with the truck and trailer.  Meanwhile, Craig is making a few more bales from the last hay crop- inbetween fixing the haybine and belts on the baler!  Seems like he can’t hay without something breaking.  We need to look into better equipment for next summer.  I’ve been told- that’s the life of a farmer!

September 30, 2014