Calving season, fixing fence and the changing seasons

McCOOK, Neb. — On our farm, we raise Angus cattle to sell commercial beef. Some buyers have bought our heifers for potential breeding, and we do keep back heifers to replace old cows. Our family are beef eaters. We love our own beef.

A funny story — we went on a cruise once and they were advertising on their menu Nebraska Black Angus steak. Some folks praised the meat as some of the best they ever had. In our opinion, it didn't even come close to our home-grown beef.

Currently we are still having baby calves born each day and the weather has been agreeable except for the changes from hot to cold and back to hot again which can lead to illnesses like pneumonia.

The oats are up and some of our grass is greening a bit as well. Not sure how well the pastures are going to recover after the severe drought this last couple of years. We may still need to cull some cows if we don't have enough grass for pairs.

Farmer Tom and I have started going around fences to get ready to put the livestock out. Normally we would put cows out on the first of May and then take bulls out in June, but the pastures may not be mature enough to handle grazing yet. That would mean we will continue to feed the pairs hay while they stay in the stalks.

I personally enjoy fixing fence every Spring. My expertise is limited to hammering in staples, marking broken posts, and helping Farmer Tom replace or stretch barbed wire. I'm not all that great with tools. I’m not sure they made them with women in mind. Even though I do have large man hands they don't seem to work well with pliers or stretchers. I am pretty good at walking fence lines.

My dog Sylvee is usually my companion although my toy poodles are bright as well. It's said that most canines have the intellectual capacity of a human two-year-old. That being said, I think any one of my dogs would make a better leader than the sitting President or any of his appointed administration. I mean this honestly and wholeheartedly! Even though all my pets are elderly, none of them have cognitive decline like the Commander in Chief. I seriously believe even a dog could do a better job with our domestic and global affairs.

Have a good one!