Tag: ranch

JUNE QUARTERLY ROUNDUP

On By Marci WhitehurstIn My BlogLeave a comment

Drought, Calves, and Family Fun

DROUGHT

Dry grass crunches under toes and hooves. This is normal for the end of August; not so much for the end of April. May brought a little spring snow storm or two, but nothing measureable for moisture. In our neck of the woods–and many others as well–we have been managing drought for the past couple of years. It hasn’t been overwhelming, but it’s been noticeable. Now, it’s beyond noticeable. The west is dry. We had less than 2 inches of snow all winter long.

What do you do when everything is this dry? You plan for severe drought, while being optimistic of future weather. For us, this meant selling off more of the ranch cows to adjust our carrying capacity. Prices are decent right now, so it’s a good time to cull deep. We peeled off a few of the “older” ones, although they weren’t that old. We sold some of the late calvers. A couple cows lost their calves–so they got a ride to the sale as well. It feels good to be pared down to adjust for less water.

However, we rain did surprise us this week, so that is a blessing. Perhaps more will come.

CALVING

Calving season was pretty concise this year. The herd has been AI’d (artificial inseminated, not intelligence!) the last few years and it does bring a tighter calving window. We were done calving by the end of May, which was nice since our target due date was May 1st. It’s always fun to see the babies running around.

Calving season always reminds me that life keeps going. Even when things are tough, natural rhythms, God-given life cycles, still happen. The seasons arrive. Life keeps moving and it’s a gift to be a part of it. Every day we have breath in our lungs is a gift.

FAMILY FUN

This spring has been a whirlwind for our family! Our middle daughter moved to Texas and we were able to make a trip down to see her. We even took a day or two to drive south and see the beach. I love the feeling of sand between my toes and the ocean always reminds me of the vastness of this beautiful earth.

Our son came home over spring break and we were able to spend time with him. (I didn’t take pictures then! Oops!)

Then at the beginning of May, we made a trip to see our daughter’s white coat ceremony. She has one year left of clinical rotations before she is officially a DVM! This is something she’s wanted since she was 8 years old, so it’s a joy to see it coming a little closer to fruition.

UP NEXT…

Summer is always full of irrigation, cattle moves, fencing, and the like–but hopefully we’ll squeeze in some time to kayak the river! Happy almost Summer!

Quarterly Corral–Cow Collars, Drought, and Change, Oh My!

On By Marci WhitehurstIn My BlogLeave a comment

Hello my friends!

Time goes faster the older you get. My mom used to say this and I remember thinking that was the strangest comment, but now I understand it with full clarity. Life gets fuller the older you get and that’s a good thing, but boy does the time fly!

WHAT IS THE QUARTERLY CORRAL?

I’m going to aim this year for quarterly updates, thus the name Quarterly Corral. In between, I’ll be writing in the faith sphere on Substack, so feel free to find me there. I’d love to connect with you. I also have a website for my kidlit work that you’re welcome to check out if that appeals to you.

As for the ranch, life has been interesting the past few months!

COLLARS

We implemented virtual fencing this fall with our cattle herds. A group of Montana State students came out to work with us and learn as well. We love working with students.

We chose to use Halter for our collars, and they’ve been great. There are three towers on the ranch to work between collars and cell phones. We can now create virtual fencing with an app on a phone. It didn’t take the cows long to respect the collars. The collars buzz or pulse when cows get close to a boundary, and they don’t cross that boundary. It takes about 12 minutes to implement new pasture fences.

This doesn’t mean that the phone does everything. The cattle need to be checked. They still are guided when moving big distances. Boundary lines can be adjusted and they’ll often gravitate to new pastures if it’s close by, but cattle moves still happen. However, the collars can be used during moves–you can set them so the cattle move down an invisible lane.

The cows don’t seem to mind their new necklaces. Many tossed their heads for about 10 seconds after coming out of the chute with their new collar, but that was it. We did put collars on the heifers, which we check regularly as they continue to grow. We don’t want them to get tight. A few have lost their collars, but not many.

It’s been a learning curve with software–mostly for my hubby since it’s on his phone–but it’s been an interesting process to see the cattle adapt. It’s also been great to graze pastures along the river bottom where fencing is difficult, but grass is plentiful. The river usually gorges each winter and takes out fences, but this winter has been too warm.

DROUGHT

As for us personally, the drought has impacted our leased land. Irrigation options were decreased. Here it is the beginning of February and we don’t have snow. With only one dusting all winter so far, we are praying for precipitation. Even now, the drought impacted us and we sold our personal herd. It’s a good time to sell, prices are up, but it’s weird to have them gone. The ranch where we live and work is also downsizing this month to accommodate for drought. Here we are feeding our girls one last time before they got on the truck…

CHANGE

This past Christmas season we spent some time with each of our kids, which is always great. We love spending time with them. Our oldest is in her 3rd year of vet school at Kansas State, our middle one is in the process of moving to Texas, and our youngest one proposed to his girlfriend, so we’ll be gaining a daughter-in-love in August! Phew! I’m so thankful that the Lord is working in their lives and leading them to places and situations that He has for them.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to drop me a line if you ever have questions or comments. I love connecting with you!