Well they say you shouldn’t get too close to your beef cattle since you will eventually sell them, but we thought we should name some of them to help keep track.  The hereford of course is “Brownie.”  The new calf is “Betsy” and there’s Curlie (aka Queenie) for the obvious leader of the pack.  So far that’s all I’ve come up with!  As we get to know them better, I’m sure we’ll come up with names!

September 26 2014

 

Last night when I was working in the yard, I heard the cows mooing!  So cool!  Craig was haying and they must have been talking to him.  Cows are pretty curious and I bet they were as close to the fence as they could get to see what he was doing!  Our house is up the hill and across the field from where the cows are, so we can’t see or hear them.  We would like to fence the top field some day so we can watch them from the house.  When Craig came back he said the new baby was checking out her legs and running around.  Will have to get that on video soon!  So glad to know everything is well.

September 2014

Time is the enemy!  We have so many projects and so little time before the cold weather!  We prioritized our list and will take it a weekend at a time.  First project- get the last hay crop in.  We’ll take stock on the number of hay bales and figure out how many we need to buy.  Craig also has to get the loader on the tractor.  He bought another tractor this summer with better hydraulics but the loader isn’t an exact fit.  Good thing Craig is good at fixing stuff!

September 2014

Our first calf was born on Saturday Sept. 13th around noon.  It was a sunny day and in the low 70’s- perfect weather!  And the calf is a heifer so we are happy we can keep her in our herd. We are glad that everything went well- and that the mystery of “is she pregnant” was solved!  We called Werner right away to ease his mind also! What a sweet baby- we named her Betsy.  We think this may be the first calf born on this farm in over 40 years!

September 13, 2014

Over the long Labor Day weekend, we spent our time fencing a new pasture.  The cows ate down the original pasture faster than we thought they would!  We decided to move them to the “swamp” area where there’s lots of grass.  We pulled up steel fence posts from around the farm to use again.  Lots of work and it was hot, of course.  The cows were anxiously waiting!  In fact, we treated them to some small hay bales!  Funny how they come running when they see the bales!
We opened the gates and Craig walked down to get the cows- with a handful of hay to entice them- and they followed him like the Pied Piper to the gate.  They all went in except the 2 smallest calves- they got skittish and stayed back.  So, it took another half hour or so to get them to go through.  They are kind of dense sometimes!  No- you can’t go through
the fence- you go AROUND!!  But, all is well and they are enjoying the new pasture.  We made a small paddock and will move them down the pasture as they graze it down.  We hope they stay here until the end of October, then move them to the winter pasture by the pole shed.

Labor Day Weekend 2014

We had some pretty hot conditions in August, but the cattle seem to be adjusting quite well.  There’s a nice breeze through the pasture, and shade in the afternoon.  We keep an eye on the water trough so it’s always full and check on them every day.  We understand now how it feels to care for the animals- after all, they depend on us.  The better we care for them, the better the end result.

We contacted May Anderson, Grazing Specialist for River Country RC&D who we’ve known since we started planning this adventure, and she is anxious to see the cows and go over our grazing plans.  She has lots of information and ideas to help us get started on the right hoof!

August 2014

We have been waiting for the last calf to be born- which will be the first calf to be born on our farm!  We check every day in the hope of seeing the new baby, but no luck yet.  We’re beginning to wonder if she’s really pregnant!

Well, we decided to get a pregnancy check and called a vet from Mondovi to come out and check her.  But a couple days after we made that appointment … she started to “bag up”, an indication that she’s going to have her calf soon!  We cancelled the pregnancy check and will wait another week or so… c’mon baby!

August 2014

Fate…  Sometimes things fall into place!  On June 30th we attended a beef cow/calf seminar in Augusta, Wisconsin and met an older couple there who were thinking about selling some of their beef herd.  We talked and decided to go see them the next day!  Werner and Diane are the nicest people!  We talked and talked around their kitchen table and came up with a deal to purchase cow/calf pairs.  We were impressed with the nature of his cattle and how we could walk among them without frightening them (or us!).  We bought one black Angus cow and her 2 week old calf, one black Angus cow that is calving in a few weeks, and one Hereford cow and calf (black Angus bred).

We planned to get the cattle delivered to us in early August… lots to prepare for, but so exciting to FINALLY bring cattle home to Lost Creek Valley Farm!

…Til the Cows Come Home!
On August 11th, 2014 our cattle came home to the lush grasses of Lost Creek Valley Farm!  They came from Werner and Diane’s farm near Taylor, Wisconsin, and they seemed pretty content to wander the new pasture and check everything out.  We were nervous that they might be gone in the morning… but, they were standing peacefully near the water trough!

We had a problem, however.  One of the calves was switched.  It was not with it’s mama, and we knew it in the morning when it wasn’t with a cow, and was bellowing like crazy- “I’m hungry!”   So, after some phone calls, and an offer we couldn’t refuse, we not only got his mama, but also the other calf that belonged to the cow we already had!

So, we have 4 cows, and 3 calves, plus the calf yet to be born.  The beginning of our grass fed beef business that we hope to grow to a herd of 20-25 in the next few years.

Now we can enjoy watching them graze and worry about the weather, haying, watering, flies, fences, and anything else that could happen on the farm!  But, this is what we’ve been working for and it’s about time we made it happen!

June – August 2014

Craig put the electric box and wiring  in the pole shed and we had electricity on June 3rd.  Nice to have some light and listen to the “oldies” on WHTL radio!

We got a used cattle head gate on “CraigsList”.  That’s been a good source for local items!  And Craig spends time on “YouTube” watching how-to videos and keeping up with current farming issues and trends.  We’ve been hearing “mooing” in the house – but now it’s time we heard it in our own fields!

The plan is to get 3 or 4 black Angus calves.  And, of course we picked the time to buy when cattle prices are sky high….  We have about 12 acres open for grazing right now.  We plan to “mooove” them to different paddocks and rotate them as they graze the sections down.

We have about 20 acres of hay field this year.  and rent about 20 additional acres to our neighbor for crops but have the option to get it back as we need it for hay fields.  It’s all in the plan.

June 2014

We’ve been weeding, planting, fencing, clearing brush, tearing down, building, and collecting farm machinery for almost 8 years!  Planning our future, waiting for the moment when we can say…

Lost Creek Valley Farm has grass-fed beef in the pasture!

Here’s where we begin our journey… our joys and hard-learned lessons of a start-up farm!  Join me (Sandy) and my husband Craig for news and stories of life on Lost Creek Valley Farm!

June 2006 – June 2014